Tweets in your media, media in your Tweets

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

On a sunny September Sunday inside a non-descript trailer in downtown Los Angeles, media evolved.

There—in the shadow of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, next to an outdoor stage where Justin Bieber would soon perform—web developers and TV producers were working together, leaning into laptop screens and NTSC monitors, bringing the real-time conversation around the VMAs to life on live television for 11.4 million viewers.

While Twitter is about all types of information, the ways that the service fits into media have long been important to us, and increasingly, media makers are weaving Tweets into the very fabric of their content. Look at segments like Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Hashtags, where Tweets from viewers aren’t a gimmick; they’re great content. Look at sites like the Huffington Post, where Tweets underscore and amplify the headlines whenever there’s a big story brewing. Look at live shows like the VMAs, where Twitter came alive on a 95-foot-wide screen.

Now, with the launch of the new Twitter, the ways that media fits into Twitter.com are just as important. Whenever there’s a new movie release, a TV show premiere, a big football game, or a breaking news story, people are talking about it on Twitter. With the new Twitter, they’re seeing glimpses of it, too, because photos and videos are now presented as part of the core Twitter experience.

We’re working hard to display photos and video from more sources in the details pane. We also look forward to future brainstorms both inside and outside of Twitter about what will be possible. Imagine a Tweet about a breaking news story that pulls a live video stream and eye-witness photos from the scene into the details pane. Imagine a Tweet from a football game that includes a highlight clip, edited down and posted in near real-time. Imagine Tweets from a music festival curated to present the best images—from the crowd, from behind the scenes, and from up on stage.

In that trailer out behind the VMAs, it was web developers and TV producers working together to find the best Tweets and tell a story across platforms. It was code working with content, and that’s going to be a crucial combination in the months and years ahead. In the next evolution, you’ll see Tweets enrich and enliven great content—and you’ll see that content spread out and make the new Twitter better for everyone.

The trailer is optional.