Twitter with new function and innovations

In the future, not only two users will be able to communicate confidentially with each other, but also several people in groups, as Twitter announced on Tuesday. This is a field that Twitter previously left to Facebook or messaging services such as WhatsApp. "We found that the only way to communicate with many people is through Twitter, so this circle of contacts is unique," product manager Jinen Kamdar told DPA. Every Twitter message could be the starting point for a conversation - and the company wanted to give users the opportunity to exchange ideas even on a small scale without leaving the platform.

With the second major innovation, videos can now be created directly via the Twitter app and uploaded to the short message service. Previously, only links to videos on other platforms could be distributed via Twitter.

Without advance advertising

The goal is to make it easier for users to share videos, Kamdar said. There will be no advertising before the videos begin, as is the case with Google's YouTube platform.

Facebook has also been offering users and advertisers the option of uploading videos directly to the online network for some time. On Twitter, companies have been able to upload videos of up to 10 minutes in length since last spring. With the new function for consumers, the length of the clips is limited to 30 seconds.

That has been identified as the optimal format, Kamdar said. Twitter also owns the Vine app, which allows users to share videos up to six seconds long. Facebook's Instagram platform has a 15-second limit on video clips.

Twitter is under pressure from the stock market to grow faster - investors have repeatedly expressed disappointment with the increase in user numbers. According to the latest figures, Twitter had 284 million users at the end of September. Facebook comes in at more than 1.3 billion and the short message service, which is now also part of the world's largest online network. (SDA)