TWITTER IS TESTING ITS OWN VERSION OF STORIES

After first being introduced by Snapchat in 2013, the Stories format became insanely popular with users on the platform, allowing them to post content which expired after 24 hours. It proved so popular in fact, that the format was adopted by Instagram and Facebook, with huge success on Instagram (but less so on Facebook…). Seven years on, and Twitter, the remaining major social platform to not yet have the Stories functionality, may be looking to introduce the format. It is testing a new feature called “Fleets” in Brazil, which allows users to post time-limited content that cannot receive likes, replies or retweets.

The attraction of Stories for users is that it seems to encourage a more disposable and less polished kind of sharing. With Twitter specifically, some people might feel uncomfortable to tweet because tweets are public and have public engagement counts. In this respect, Twitter will be hoping that the introduction of “Fleets” will encourage users to post more reactively and think less about the longevity of their posts. We can’t wait to see if the feature is launched more widely, and see how it is used by brands and individuals respectively. Watch this space!