Read on Twitter
1/20
A thread about threads
If you ever write them, please, please read on - it contains some crucial advice.
A thread about threads
If you ever write them, please, please read on - it contains some crucial advice.
2/20
I love Twitter threads. If they’re well written, they have the scope of a short newspaper article but there’s something almost haiku-like in the discipline, creativity and economy of writing needed to get a clear thought or set of thoughts into each individual tweet, though
I love Twitter threads. If they’re well written, they have the scope of a short newspaper article but there’s something almost haiku-like in the discipline, creativity and economy of writing needed to get a clear thought or set of thoughts into each individual tweet, though
3/20
you can spill over, like I’ve done here, if you need to.
you can spill over, like I’ve done here, if you need to.
4/20
But, unlike newspaper articles, readers can interact with individual paragraphs - or tweets - giving the writer an indication as to which of his or her points are most popular, thought-provoking or controversial.
This can help shape their future writing and thinking.
But, unlike newspaper articles, readers can interact with individual paragraphs - or tweets - giving the writer an indication as to which of his or her points are most popular, thought-provoking or controversial.
This can help shape their future writing and thinking.
5/20
But my reason for writing is this:
Some of my favourite threaders on here, who I of course won’t name, are apparently unaware of the simple functionality Twitter provides to facilitate thread-building.
Either that or they’re contrarians. I honestly don’t know.
But my reason for writing is this:
Some of my favourite threaders on here, who I of course won’t name, are apparently unaware of the simple functionality Twitter provides to facilitate thread-building.
Either that or they’re contrarians. I honestly don’t know.
6/20
You see, there are two basic ways of writing threads.
The first is to tweet something and then simply reply to it after you’ve sent it. For a long time, in fact, that was the *only* way.
You see, there are two basic ways of writing threads.
The first is to tweet something and then simply reply to it after you’ve sent it. For a long time, in fact, that was the *only* way.
7/20
But at some point a couple of years ago, Twitter quietly improved their platform, making it much easier to compose threads, edit them (before publishing) and publish the whole thread in one go.
But at some point a couple of years ago, Twitter quietly improved their platform, making it much easier to compose threads, edit them (before publishing) and publish the whole thread in one go.
8/20
I’m not sure when they made this change. On the Twitter app, it was simply the subtle addition of this unobtrusive little blue cross. It’s easy to miss, as I did for several weeks, so I wonder whether some threaders still haven’t spotted it or questioned what it does.
I’m not sure when they made this change. On the Twitter app, it was simply the subtle addition of this unobtrusive little blue cross. It’s easy to miss, as I did for several weeks, so I wonder whether some threaders still haven’t spotted it or questioned what it does.
9/20
It’s similar on your phone’s browser, at least in Safari:
It’s similar on your phone’s browser, at least in Safari:
10/20
If we go to the desktop version, we can continue the tutorial there; all of the advice applies to the mobile app and mobile browser, as far as I can make out.
We’ll start by returning to the little blue cross, an ‘add’ sign.
If we go to the desktop version, we can continue the tutorial there; all of the advice applies to the mobile app and mobile browser, as far as I can make out.
We’ll start by returning to the little blue cross, an ‘add’ sign.
11/20
On your desktop browser, at least in Google Chrome, it looks like this.
On your desktop browser, at least in Google Chrome, it looks like this.
12/20
When you click on it, it opens up a new tweet like this, greying out the earlier one.
When you click on it, it opens up a new tweet like this, greying out the earlier one.
13/20
But you can click back into your earlier tweet to carry on editing it, like I’ve done here - or rather like I did when I mocked up the below.
But you can click back into your earlier tweet to carry on editing it, like I’ve done here - or rather like I did when I mocked up the below.
14/20
You can add tweets in between drafted tweets, like this.
You can add tweets in between drafted tweets, like this.
15/20
And you can add them afterwards, like here.
Then, when you’ve finished editing them all, just click ‘Tweet all’, and they’re all published at once, meaning people won’t (or are less likely to) annoyingly reply when they think you’ve finished but you haven’t.
And you can add them afterwards, like here.
Then, when you’ve finished editing them all, just click ‘Tweet all’, and they’re all published at once, meaning people won’t (or are less likely to) annoyingly reply when they think you’ve finished but you haven’t.
16/20
That’s it, really.
I can’t see why, knowing how this works, anyone would persist with the one-by-one approach, which is so annoying for their fans. But they still do, which suggests to me that they don’t know and that this thread could be useful to them.
A few notes:
That’s it, really.
I can’t see why, knowing how this works, anyone would persist with the one-by-one approach, which is so annoying for their fans. But they still do, which suggests to me that they don’t know and that this thread could be useful to them.
A few notes:
17/20
You’re limited to 25 tweets, at least 25 that you can publish in one go; you can add to them using the traditional method... if you really want to. Do you really need to, though?
You’re limited to 25 tweets, at least 25 that you can publish in one go; you can add to them using the traditional method... if you really want to. Do you really need to, though?
18/20
You can’t, as far as I know, do threaded replies to other people’s tweets (though you can with quote-tweets); a workaround, if you have only two or three tweets’ worth of comment (which is surely enough!), is to do this:
You can’t, as far as I know, do threaded replies to other people’s tweets (though you can with quote-tweets); a workaround, if you have only two or three tweets’ worth of comment (which is surely enough!), is to do this:
19/20
Start typing your reply.
When you’re close to the character limit, add a paragraph space.
Carry on typing your second tweet in the environment of the first.
Once it’s done, if it hasn’t exceeded the length of another tweet, cut, tweet the first, then paste your second.
Start typing your reply.
When you’re close to the character limit, add a paragraph space.
Carry on typing your second tweet in the environment of the first.
Once it’s done, if it hasn’t exceeded the length of another tweet, cut, tweet the first, then paste your second.
20/20
You can add numbering however you want to style it, going back to edit once you know the length of your thread.
At the start. At the end. With an indication of how many tweets in total there are or not. Or leave it unnumbered.
And that’s it.
/End, as some threaders say.
You can add numbering however you want to style it, going back to edit once you know the length of your thread.
At the start. At the end. With an indication of how many tweets in total there are or not. Or leave it unnumbered.
And that’s it.
/End, as some threaders say.
