X has added a new way to help users navigate longer videos in the app, with uploaders now able to add timestamp links to their attached clips.
Here’s my conversation with @elonmusk, his 4th time on the podcast. We talk about war & peace, AI, physics, politics, video games, and the future of humanity.
This is episode 400 of the podcast. It’s been an incredible journey. I’m grateful to Elon for his friendship, and I’m… pic.twitter.com/CX1hYoK8ZD
— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) November 9, 2023
As you can see in this clip, uploaded by Lex Friedman, you can now add timestamp listings to your post, which users can then tap on to skip to that specific segment in the playback.
If you’re on iOS.
If you’re not seeing the links in the post above in blue, that’s because they’re only active on iOS for now, but X is looking to make the option more widely available in future.
X first previews its new timestamps option back in August, with an example of how you can add a reference within your post text.
In order to add timestamps to your X video uploads, you simply need to add in time markers in the post.
As explained by X:
“While composing a post containing a video, a timestamp will automatically become clickable on iOS once you post if you reference a specific time in the video in any of the following formats:
- x:xx
- xx:xx
- x:xx:xx
- xx:xx:xx”
So, it’s as easy as putting in a few numbers, with the system then automatically linking to those time references in the playback.
X further notes that clickable timestamps will only be visible on posts that have a single video attached, while you’ll be able to add up to 50 timestamp references per upload.
It could be a good way to help users navigate your longer clips, and with X looking to put more emphasis on long-form content, that could be a consideration for your 2024 platform strategy.