Earlier this week, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted out a call for assistance on possible product improvements for 2017.
If @Airbnb could launch anything in 2017, what would it be?
- Brian Chesky (@bchesky) December 26, 2016
Chesky's tweet sparked quite the reaction, with more than 2,000 responses. It's an interesting idea, a sort of crowd brainstorming, and one which piqued the interest of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who, at the time, praised Chesky for the initiative.
And today, Dorsey's taken that appreciation a step further - using Chesky's call-out as inspiration, Dorsey has issued his own, similar query.
Following in the footsteps of Brian Chesky: what's the most important thing you want to see Twitter improve or create in 2017? #Twitter2017
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
As you'd expect, the response has been frenetic - Dorsey's call out ticked over 1k replies in less than an hour.
And of course, the majority of them called for one thing - an option to edit tweets.
@jack Ability to edit tweets and organize Twitter lists.
- Anthony Quintano (@AnthonyQuintano) December 29, 2016
@jack enable Tweet editing!
- Clodagh O'Leary (@cloleaf) December 29, 2016
@jack Edit typos on tweets. I mean, come on!
- Richard Chambers (@newschambers) December 29, 2016
Interestingly, Dorsey appeared to be listening, even angling the conversation towards an option to edit tweets within a time window after posting, as opposed to being able to edit them whenever (which the company has avoided in the past due to potential complications with embedded content and such).
@AnthonyQuintano edit mistakes quickly or edit anytime? Big dif in implementation. Latter requires change log as we're oft the public record
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
@cloleaf is it more important to edit for spelling/corrections? 5 minute window to edit mistakes or do you need to be able to edit anytime?
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
@matallo considering!
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
More than that, Dorsey actually noted that such an option was a requirement.
@howardlindzon not sure why you're quoting this tweet but yes, a form of edit is def needed. But for everyone, not just those w badges
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
A time-limited edit option would definitely help - it may not please everyone, but it would get rid of the biggest headache, that being those times when you only notice a typo just after the tweet's been posted, and you know the only way to fix it is to delete and start again.
Given the platform's reluctance to act on the many (many) request for a tweet edit function so far, it seemed like it would never come, but Dorsey's replies suggest they are working on it.
In addition to this, Dorsey has replied to several questions with interesting notes on what might be coming next.
There were questions about a potential new bookmarking option, in addition to Liking, which Dorsey seemed in favor of:
@JamesFarley yup thinking about this
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
More localized trends and updates:
@WSig yes me too. Def working on this. We want to be the fastest! @kcoleman
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
Potential tweet channels for different topics/people:
@PeteHeacock been thinking a lot about this. More topic focused v account generally
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
There have also been various questions about improving the platform's efforts to counter trolls and abuse, which they have been improving on with new tools and features. Dorsey has asked for specific examples and ideas on this, showing that they are still looking for ways to enhance their efforts.
@GregPayneRuns what's the most important specific thing we can do to address?
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
This is obviously a key area of concern and focus for the platform, and no doubt we'll see more on this in 2017.
Dorsey's also noted that they're current efforts to turn the company around are working, in response to criticism of his management.
@mothermarkets our plan has been working
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
And Dorsey's right, the numbers are improving - maybe not at the rate that the market or investors would necessarily like, but they are trending up, as evidenced by their Q3 numbers.
There was also a suggestion on improving their stock listings in connection with tweet searches:
- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016
Several questions centered around the potential banning of Donald Trump, while some also suggested Dorsey consider buying curation app Nuzzel as a means of improving their service.
There's also this from the former CEO of Blab, which was interesting:
@jack make twitter the place we watch video together. Like Thursday night football or the debates, but more. Replace tv for me.
- Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) December 29, 2016
As you can imagine, the replies are still coming in, and no doubt they'll keep flowing through for some time, and Dorsey won't be able to reply to them all (nor should he), but it's interesting to note those that Dorsey is replying to as a measure of what the platform is looking into more seriously.
If you're interested in getting an understanding of the key user gripes and potential focus of the platform, it's worth having a look through the full thread. There's a lot there, of course, but if you have the time there's some great, insightful responses worthy of consideration.
UPDATE (12/30): Dorsey has summarized the key notes of the user feedback, providing the following overview/statement in a series of tweets (edited for clarity):
"Thanks for all the feedback yesterday! The four clear themes you want us to work on: abuse, edit, topics & interests, and conversations.
- Abuse - Obviously a ton of work ahead, but biggest ask was for greater transparency around our actions (or inaction) and faster shipping
- Edit - Clearest ask was to provide a quick way to fix errors. Anything beyond requires showing edit history given tweets are public record
- Topics - Lots here but simply being able to follow topics was strongest request. Being more topic/interest-focused (v account) opens up a lot
- Conversations - This is a big part of the magic of Twitter and currently really difficult to follow & manage. We'll work to make this easier
We'll consider everything we heard from you. We're not going to ship all of it, but we'll be more transparent about why and what we've learned.
The open exchange of information has a positive impact on the world, and that's why we're here. That starts with an open dialogue with you.
We'll be more open. Thanks for all your support and patience as we plan for the next 10 years of our service. And thanks to @bchesky!"