Instead of screen images, users are being urged to share (profitable) URLs.
Twitter appears to be making an effort to remind users that interesting tweets should be clicked, loaded, and seen when logged into the company’s ad-supported service rather than simply being seen in a snapshot. Because of this, anytime the Twitter app detects a user capturing a screenshot, a “Share Tweet?” pop-up message appears for some users.
“Copy link” and “Share Tweet” are two examples of nudge prompts that can appear in a tweet, according to social media expert Matt Navarra. TechCrunch referred to another tweet in which Twitter offered both “Copy link” and “Share Tweet” buttons and observed that some of its employees were receiving the prompt.
I checked my own Twitter app as I was writing this and captured a snapshot of a tweet with the “Copy link” version. Although there is no “dismiss” button, the pop-up disappears after roughly seven seconds.
The “Share Tweet” and double-stacked iterations of this prompt have been witnessed by other Ars staff members.
When users access the site via a browser or one of Twitter’s official apps, they may see sponsored tweets or pre-roll ads on native videos (users may also subscribe to Twitter Blue). Screenshots don’t generate income, whether they are shared directly or via rival social networks. People may sign up for Twitter and participate more if they do so after engaging with it.
In Q2 2022, Twitter reported 237.8 million “average monetizable daily active usage,” an increase of 16.6% from the corresponding period in 2021. According to the corporation, “ongoing product upgrades” and “global debate around current events” are what led to this surge. It makes sense that Twitter, the company, prefers tweet links to screenshots, to the point where it decided to A/B/C test a prompt that would make users feel as though the Twitter app is both monitoring them carefully and reprimanding them.
However, screenshots are much more valuable for Twitter as a cultural phenomenon than links alone. If you have been involved in Internet culture for some time, you are aware of this.
Donald Trump, the former president, mostly utilised Twitter to break news, announce policy, and occasionally make himself vulnerable to legislative and judicial action. Following the uprising on January 6, Trump (or his social media team) erased three tweets that resulted in a late-night suspension from Twitter. All of Trump’s tweets were basically erased after his Twitter account was suspended “because to the possibility of additional instigation of violence.” Although there are archives, none of the embedded tweets or links to what the Twitter-savvy president said on the platform still work.
