Good news, Twitter users. The micro-blogging service is revamping its quote tweet function.
In the past, adding a comment to something you retweeted wasn't particularly easy or straightforward. You had to manually copy and paste the tweet's original text, or the link to it, and add your comment — all within Twitter's 140-character limit. Now, the process is a lot easier, and you'll get more characters to work with for your comment.
Instead of quoting tweets with straight text or a direct link, Twitter will now embed the actual tweet inside yours and let you add an extra comment. On the Web, all you have to do is click the retweet button as you normally would, and you'll see an option to "Add a comment" where you can include your thoughts before posting. On iOS, click the retweet button, select "Quote Tweet, add your comment, and press the Retweet button.
It's as simple as that. This way, your comment will show up above the original tweet, letting people easily see what you're talking about, and view any images in the original post, without having to click around.
Your retweet will still include the original tweet's link, so you'll get 116 characters to add your commentary instead of the full 140, but this is still a huge improvement over the old way of quote tweeting.
The new quote tweet feature is rolling out now on the Web and Twitter's official iPhone app. So if you're using a third-party app like TweetDeck, you'll be stuck with the old way of quoting tweets. In addition, those on Android will have to wait a little longer for access to the new way to quote a tweet, but sit tight because Twitter says it's "coming soon."