It looks like Twitter is about to make a pretty significant move on the mobile front. According to a new report, the social network is about to push out an update to its mobile apps that will add the ability for users to upload photos with Instagram-like filters….
The New York Times has the scoop:
“In the coming months, Twitter plans to update its mobile applications to introduce filters for photos that will allow people to share altered images on Twitter and bypass Instagram, the popular mobilecentric photo-sharing network, according to people who work at the company but asked not to be named as they are not allowed to discuss unannounced projects.”
The word is that Twitter actually shopped around for a photo service to acquire, shortly after the Facebook-Instagram deal was announced. But after extensive searching, the company decided that it would be much cheaper to just create its own editing features.
So why does Twitter think it needs filters anyway? The NYT continues:
“According to one Twitter employee, the company’s V.I.T.’s, or Very Important Tweeters, as they are known internally, usually celebrities and media personalities, would be especially happy to see filters in the Twitter mobile apps. Most V.I.T.’s now use Instagram to take photos, and then share them on Twitter, where they often have a larger following.”
If you think about it, this would be a pretty big move. Imagine millions of users bypassing Instagram in favor of Twitter’s filters. Though, given the company’s recent crackdown on developers, it doesn’t seem likely that they would be accessible by third party clients.
The report goes on to say that the NYT has also heard Twitter is exploring adding other tools to its mobile applications, including the ability to upload and possibly even edit videos without having to go through a third-party application or service, like YouTube.
These are some pretty big ambitions, and I’m skeptical that Twitter can pull it off. However, I am excited to see the company add some big features to its mobile apps.
What’s your take on this? Would you like to see built-in photo, video editing options in the official Twitter app?