Twitter’s working on new voice and video elements within its DM UI, which will provide more utility in the app, and make it easier to stay in touch with friends.
As you can see in this example, shared by Twitter designer Andrea Conway, the new Twitter DM interface, which is still in development, would enable easy access to voice and video calls, by tapping the call icon at the top right of your DM feed.
That could be another way to expand Twitter’s utility, and with Elon Musk looking to convert the platform into an ‘everything app’, able to facilitate a broad range of functions, it’s another step towards expanded usage, which will ideally help to shift perceptions of what’s possible within your Twitter approach.
Though it’s going to be tough going for Twitter to shift traditional behaviors in this respect. People can already conduct voice and video calls in pretty much every other messaging app, and with WhatsApp alone being used by 8x as many people as Twitter, it’s hard to imagine that many users are going to switch to Twitter for calls instead.
But maybe, by incorporating the functionality direct in the app, with easy access, that’ll encourage new types of Twitter engagement, which could make it a more valuable tool for staying in touch, while also, as noted, aligning with the broader push towards changing how people interact within the app.
But at the same time, Twitter’s also testing new restrictions on who can send DMs, which could limit the use of these options to only paying Twitter Blue subscribers. If those come into effect, that would significantly limit the value of these options – given that less than 0.3% of Twitter users have signed on to the Twitter Blue program.
But maybe there’s a bigger plan at play, for a larger push on DM usage, which could make this a more valuable, viable consideration.
It’s still in early testing – we’ll keep you updated on any progress.