As it looks to move towards becoming as widespread and accepted as the likes of Instagram, Facebook and others, Twitter is now reportedly testing a brand new feature. The feature will let two users become co-authors and has been in the works since last year.
Similar to how collaborations work on Instagram, the feature is as the name suggests – it will allow two users to co-author a tweet together and both be tagged in it. The tweet will be posted on both of their accounts simultaneously.
The company confirmed the same in a tweet by Twitter Create, which informed that select accounts in the US, Korea, and Canada can send invites to co-author a tweet. This will be useful when different brands or users collaborate on something, or there is a need to issue a shared statement.
A CoTweet will be distinguished from others, and other users will be able to see the profile pictures and usernames of the two authors in the headers of the tweet. According to Twitter, this will “help authors share the spotlight, unlock opportunities for engaging new audiences, and enhance their established partnerships.”
If you think that this feature sounds familiar, then you are correct. Fellow social media Instagram (owned by Meta) has rolled out a similar co-author feature since last year. The Collabs feature allows two accounts to co-author a post or a Reel.
“We’re continuing to explore new ways for people to collaborate on Twitter,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re testing CoTweets for a limited time to learn how people and brands may use this feature to grow and reach new audiences, and strengthen their collaborations with other accounts.”
This begs the question, how do two Twitter users successfully co-author a post? If they are among the lucky ones to have access to the feature in its testing phase, then they can see the CoTweet option next to the ‘Tweet’ button that lets users compose a tweet. The user can then invite another user to co-tweet, provided that the second user follows the first and has a public account.
Once both authors finalize the content to be posted (Twitter recommends that they do so via its Direct Messaging feature), one author creates the CoTweet and sends an invite to the other. Once the co-author accepts the invitation, the CoTweet will be published on both of their profiles, and their followers’ timelines.
Should the second user changes their mind about being a co-author, then they can revoke the published CoTweet, which will then appear as a regular tweet by the first user and removed from the second user’s profile. If they do not want to receive invitations to CoTweet in the first place, then they can block any account from sending the same using Twitter’s block feature.
