In this fleeting time, users feel that their presence is overbearing or disruptive when sharing their opinions or thoughts on Twitter. In efforts to minimize that tinge of pressure, Twitter recently introduced Fleets.
Similar to the story-like feature on other platforms where content posted is only visible for 24 hours. Fleets rolled out on Twitter with the recent updates for all iOS and Android users.
That thing you didn’t Tweet but wanted to but didn’t but got so close but then were like nah.
We have a place for that now—Fleets!
Rolling out to everyone starting today. pic.twitter.com/auQAHXZMfH
— Twitter (@Twitter) November 17, 2020
With regards to the announcement, Twitter explained:
“Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation – it’s where you go to see what’s happening and talk about it. But some of you tell us that Tweeting is uncomfortable because it feels so public, so permanent, and like there’s so much pressure to rack up Retweets and Likes.”
As twitter shares that the purpose of Fleets is to “share momentary thoughts.” With Fleet’s aid, users can now message, react to (tweets, photos, and videos) and even have the opportunity to personalize it with different background and text options.
For example, if a user wants to share a tweet, they have to click on the tweet’s share icon and then select share in Fleet. This can then be followed by adding in texts, emojis. It has also been announced that soon live broadcasting and stickers will be available to access in Fleets.
Followers can access your Fleets at the top of their home timeline, as this access is open to anyone who can see your full profile and can send you a direct message. Users can also reply to a Fleet by clicking on it and sending a direct message or an emoji as the users who posted Fleets can view who has seen their content.
The features rolled out seem similar to stories on both Instagram and Snapchat, as Twitter itself acknowledges by sharing, “This format may sound familiar to you! We’ve learned that some people feel more comfortable joining conversations on Twitter with this ephemeral format, so what they’re saying lives just for a moment in time.”