Facebook is now testing a feature that will allow some users to add posts to a ‘thread’.
Facebook appears to be testing a new feature that would allow users to post a series of connected posts that could be simply text-heavy or with multi-media files. The new feature that is inspired by Twitter threads is said to be in the development stage, and the stable rollout may take some time.
The development comes from notable social media consultant Matt Navara who also shared a screenshot of the feature. The screenshot notes that threads would allow users to “add another post to any previous one to create a thread.”
It adds that all posts in a thread will have the same audience as the first one.
Originally, threads on Twitter was a result of its limited characters per post, thus allowing users to convey a long message through multiple tweets, all connected via a ‘thread.’
Facebook does not have any character limit per post, but the new feature would still be helpful as readers won’t have to search for individual posts published a month or a year ago.
Threads can also allow live commentary, as done by many publications on Twitter.
As mentioned, users could post updates to their existing posts in a thread, rather than updating the original that may lead to the omission of information. Meanwhile, the social media platform launched a new newsletter product dubbed “Bulletin” last week, a standalone platform for free and paid articles and podcasts that will aim to rival Substack.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the platform, which is live at Bulletin.com, and introduced some of the writers that the company has recruited in a live audio room on Facebook. Facebook is pushing to compete in the fast-growing email newsletter trend, as high-profile journalists and writers have left media companies over the past year to strike out on their own. The platform and its popular services, including Instagram and Messenger, faced an outage last night, though services are now restored.