How to Use Twitter's New Search Features

Microblogging platform Twitter overhauled its search this week, making finding users, hashtags and mentions easier.

Twitter's "simpler search" lets users discover more news in real time. The search updates also let users connect more efficiently. Just think about all the times you've input the wrong name or misplaced a letter and subsequently missed out on results.

Even when a search term is misspelled or slightly off, Twitter now pulls up results for what you may have meant. The spelling correction feature and related suggestions are improving the Twitter search experience tremendously.

Twitter will be rolling out autocompletion to users over the next few weeks, Twitter's product team tweeted. Around the Mashable newsroom, the feature doesn't mean to be working widely for users just yet. If autocomplete is working for you, typing in a keyword will prompt a list of queries and relevant users. The spelling corrections feature, however, is a go for all users.

On Tuesday, Twitter also updated its iPhone and Android apps to include autocomplete. Other mobile updates include video tweets and expanded tweets from the platform's media partners, including Mashable, MLB and C-SPAN.

Twitter search — on the web and on mobile — is still lacking aspects users would love to see, such as the ability to search within one's tweet history. What search updates would you like to see? Share with us in the comments below.

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, sodafish