Twitter Capitalizes on Sharing with New Tweet Button

By Chelsi Nakano Aug 13, 2010 Comments

1 comment

Twitter's (news, site) got a brand new button, and it's very Facebook Connect -y. By adding the new Tweet button to webpages, publishers enable Twitter users to retweet content directly from the source.

Wait, Can't We Do That Already?

Retweeting from the source isn't a new concept. The difference is that this is a solution native to Twitter, rather than a third-party offering. This move is yet another example of Twitter doing things for themselves, a mission they've previously exhibited through the sacking of Bit.ly, inline photo and video testing, and the integration of an analytics tool.

Rumors of upcoming doom and gloom for third-party applications have been circling the 'net for some time now, but, at least in this case, Twitter seems intent on staying cool.

"You may have seen similar buttons on blogs, news sites and other places that let you share content on Twitter,:" noted the official Twitter blog. "These have been created by third parties. Most notably, a company called TweetMeme created a popular “retweet button” for publishers. They’ve already made it easier to share links on Twitter and have helped a tremendous number of publishers get their content into Twitter. We’re pleased to be working closely with the good folks at TweetMeme and, from here on out, they will be pointing to the Twitter Tweet Button."

Twitter's Improvements

In any case, Twitter's new Tweet button does more than TweetMeme's. In addition to sharing content from the source, users will be offered suggestions for accounts to follow. These accounts are suggested by the website and may include, for example, the reporter of the article you shared.

Further, the company stresses that its ease of use is not just for users. Publishers of all sizes are equally welcome to benefit by plugging in just a few lines of code to boost traffic.

Check out the following vid to see it in action: