During the first week of July, Twitter started testing a brand new feature that would allow two separate accounts to author the same tweet within the social network. This new “CoTweets” feature allows not only two accounts to co-author a single, original tweet, but also allows for each of the co-authors to be tagged in that tweet’s thread.
Twitter has confirmed that the feature is active for select users and only for a limited time after having experimented with the concept for most of this year.
According to Twitter spokesperson Joseph J Nunez, “We’re continuing to explore new ways for people to collaborate on Twitter. We’re testing CoTweets for a limited time to learn how people and brands may use this feature to grow and reach new audiences, and strengthen their collaborations with other accounts.”
But “What is a CoTweet?” you might ask. Well, a CoTweet is described as a single Tweet authored by two accounts who post it to their profiles simultaneously, which would also appear on the follower timelines for each account. If you find a CoTweet on your timeline, you will see both authors’ usernames and profile pictures in the header. Twitter further explains that CoTweets help authors of the same idea to share the spotlight but also unlock engagement opportunities with new audiences each author may not have access to on their own. CoTweets also have the potential to enhance existing partnerships for each author.
To publish a “CoTweet,” then, the two authors must first finalize the content they want to simultaneously share. Twitter’s Direct Messaging feature is a good tool to use for this collaboration. When the authors decide the message is ready, one of the two authors creates the CoTweet and, basically, invites the other co-author to join it. When that co-author accepts the CoTweet invitation, it immediately posts to their respective profiles and to the timelines of each of their followers.
