Twitter has just just announced they are shifting to a two-tiered social networking service! Everyone can still use its basic service for free, the new Twtrr, only making use of consonants though. And for $5 dollars a month, you can continue to use the premium “Twitter” service as you know it which also includes vowels. Twitter also made a good faith gesture towards users by keeping the controversial letter “Y” free to everyone – today and forever!
Here’s what Twitter had to say about the new social network offering:
We’re doing this because we believe that by eliminating vowels, we’ll encourage a more efficient and “dense” form of communication. We also see an opportunity to diversify our revenue stream.
Ths mks sns, thnk bt hw mch spc ws wstd n pntlss vwls?
This is a mock-up of the most retweeted Tweet of all time as it would now appear within the new Twttr:
Extra Room For Better Tweets
In addition to Twitter’s regular suite of Promoted Products for advertisers, its also offering a new single character extension, expanding the length of a tweet all the way to 141 characters, for those moments when you need just one more letter to finish your thought. The price of the extra character is determined based on the popularity of the given letter at that time. Twitter has made no official announcement about a speculated 142nd character at this time.
Early Results
Twitter rolled out the breakthrough product with a few key partners to iron out the logistics. Moments after launching the new service the changes seemed to be well accepted by social media influencers:
Twyttyr? Why byy vywyls whyn yyy gyt “Y” fyr fryy? Syckyrs! #nvwls
— Joan Rivers (@Joan_Rivers) April 1, 2013
Product Inspiration:
Twitter’s VP of Product, Michael Sippey, mentioned a several surprising sources for the inspiration behind the new Twitter Tiers:
I was carpooling home after Twitter’s seventh birthday party with my head filled with images from our past, like our early logo where we spelled it TWTTR, in neon green toothpaste. And then Prince’s song “I would die 4 U” came on the radio. I felt like there was something there, but I wasn’t sure what or how to bring it to market.Then later that night, I was watching “Wheel of Fortune” with @adambain, and a contestant yelled out ‘I wanna buy a vowel’. Everything just sort of clicked. Adam and I turned to each other and high-fived. It was one of those product moments that just felt like magic.
twttr.com
The new Twtrr will roll slowly over the next few days. To make the transition easier for you, they’ve also built a site that will automatically transform your Tweets into a Twtrr voweless friendly format. Try it right now at twtrr.com.
Think about all the time you’re going to save!
Happy April Fool’s Day suckers 🙂 The sick thing is half of you would of probably forked up some cash to keep tweeting vowels. I know I would of…
Excellent – that is the best and first laugh of my day. Have a wonderful month ahead Daniel.
Thanks Joan you too!
Very, very clever! One of the better social media “tricks” I’ve come across. Well-done! ; )
Thanks Liz, happy April Fool’s Day 🙂
seems like a good deal.
h my thts fnny. Hppy pril fls.
#nwvwls
wh nds vwls?
They have to make money somehow.
Poisson d’avril!
h4h4h4h4h4!
That was a pretty good joke. It is always fun to see what they come up with each year.