While there have been whispers of a Twitter editing feature, CEO Jack Dorsey has shut down rumours this week in an interview with Wired saying “please stop bothering us about this, please.”
Since its founding in 2006, Twitter users have been desperate for an editing featuring. Even the most successful marketers have made the common error of posting a typo, broken link or incorrect creative. And while Dorsey has teased editing functionality in the past, he’s since retracted his sentiments stating that “the answer is no.”
As a marketer, I would be eternally grateful for an editing option. However, I do agree with Dorsey’s reasoning in holding off on the feature. In the recent interview, he explains his decision saying “We started as an SMS, text message service. And as you all know, when you send a text, you can’t really take it back.” Moreover, he argues that while he understands the benefits of an editing feature, he simply has more priorities to tackle first.
We also need to ask ourselves if Twitter would have the same appeal if an editing feature were introduced. Some of the best news stories come from ‘since deleted’ tweets. Would the platform be as appealing if we weren’t one click away from sharing something we couldn’t take back?
