Twitter enables interactive Paralympics conversations with new features

The updates launched by Twitter enable users to cheer for athletes participating in Paralympics 2021, make converations expressive with emojis, initiate conversations via Twitter Topics, and accessibility features that differently-abled users can use to discover event-related content have also been introduced.

As the international sporting event unfolds, and conversations on Twitter rise, here are some ways through which sports enthusiasts can support their favorite athletes and be a part of the Paralympics conversation –

• Twitter Emojis: Twitter has introduced several custom emojis for the #Paralympics. Fans worldwide can use the official Paralympics emoji by Tweeting with #Paralympics throughout the Games, and can also browse sport-specific emojis like #ParaRowing, #ParaArchery, #ParaSwimming, among others. Moreover, sports enthusiasts from across the world can also cheer on their country using three-character country hashtags that will unveil a flag emoji of each nation - such as #IND, and many more. For the Indian fans, a special emoji can be used by Tweeting with #Praise4Para. Custom emojis for medals that will displayed upon tweeting #Gold, #Silver or #Bronze have also been introduced. 

• Twitter Topics: Topics use machine learning to find related Tweets on a subject When one chooses to follow a Topic, they’ll see Tweets from a whole host of accounts that are experts, or fans. For the Paralympics, too, Twitter has a dedicated topic that users can follow for recent updates and conversations around their favourite para-sport.

Also Read: Twitter Updates: Improved DMs, Newsletter subscription & more

• Introducing #WeThe15: With the ongoing Paralympics, people can follow WeThe15 campaign that aims to ensure inclusivity for differently abled people. Users can Tweet their thought with related hashtags to be a part of the conversations with about 15% of the disabled world population. The #WeThe15 hashtag is available in 17 languages, including Hindi #हम15.  

• Accessibility features: 
  1. Captions for Twitter Spaces: Spaces is Twitter’s live audio feature that lets people have conversations through voice. To make Spaces more accessible, Twitter has enabled captions so people can read what’s being said as text.  
  2. Captions for Voice Tweets: Twitter introduced voice Tweets last year. To enhance accessibility of the feature, the platform enabled captions for voice Tweets this year in July. 
  3. Picture descriptions: When Tweeting images, people can also add descriptions to their images to make their content more accessible for people who are visually impaired.
  4. Tweeting from the web using VoiceOver on macOS: On macOS, people can also Tweet by using VoiceOver instead of having to type out their Tweet.