Social media giant Twitter on Tuesday said it will start testing its new feature ‘Fleets’ in India, allowing users to post “fleeting thoughts” that will disappear after 24 hours and cannot be retweeted or liked.
This functionality is similar to the popular ‘story’ features offered by social networks such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
“We learned from research that people don’t tweet because tweets are public, feel permanent, and display the number of retweets and likes. We hope ‘Fleets’ will empower many more people to express themselves more freely,” the company said.
Third test
India is the third market globally, after Brazil and Italy, where Twitter is rolling out this feature on a test basis.
“India is important for Twitter since it is one of our largest and fastest-growing audience markets globally. We are excited to bring the Fleets experiment to India and make it one of the first three countries in the world to experience this new product,” Manish Maheshwari, MD at Twitter India said.
He added that from the test in India, Twitter will learn how adding a new mode of conversation changes the way Indians engage on Twitter. “It will also be interesting to see if it further amplifies the diversity of usage by allowing people to share what they’re thinking in a way that is light-touch and light-hearted,” he said.
‘Fleets’ from the accounts one follows will appear on the top of one’s timeline. To create a new Fleet, users will need to tap on the profile picture on the top left corner, and then type in a message or add a photos or video and tap ‘Fleet’ to post.
Less pressure
To engage with followers on Fleets, the option to reply and react will be available when Direct Messages (DMs) are open. Followers can reply privately via DM or quickly react with an emoji, and continue the conversation privately in DMs. Their replies and reactions will appear in DMs along with the Fleet they are responding to.
Mo Al Adham, Twitter Group Product Manager said, “Twitter is where people go to see and talk about what’s happening. We want people to be able to have conversations on Twitter in different ways, with less pressure and more control. That’s why we’re testing a way to share their fleeting thoughts.”
Since starting to test Fleets in Brazil, Twitter has seen people become more comfortable sharing what’s on their minds. People who don’t usually Tweet are starting more conversations and sending both Fleets and Tweets, the company said.
It added that when people send a Fleet, they often share a number of thoughts rapidly.
Fleets will be available for everyone in India on Twitter for iOS and Android in the coming days in updated app versions.
