Twitter revealed a month ago that it would start testing a new social interface in rooms where Tuiters could only connect through audio. The new functionality, dubbed Twitter Spaces, has only been launched as a private beta, and certain social network users will be able to test it out over the next few weeks.
Not all social networks are simply "audio" and those that remain, as is the case with Clubhouse, have not gained excessive success and recognition by consumers. The biggest challenge facing sites such as Spaces is to make a dialogue happen in a safe manner.
Furthermore, on a forum such as Twitter, where the battle against abuse and harassment, as well as disinformation, has become a big problem for the company, it does not seem easy to guarantee the protection of users in places where contact takes place by voice and where offensive behaviour cannot be identified as it does in text.
We'll see how Twitter Spaces experiments evolve. For now, they will only be built with around 200 users of the iOS Twitter app. Those that take part in the experiments will be able to take part in discussions with two or three participants, moderated by the person who organizes them.
To create a Space, simply click the "compose" button in the bottom right corner of the screen or create a Fleet-Twitter Stories-and in the bottom menu, scroll between the options to access the Spaces, as Twitter has stated via its official Social Network Spaces account:
aye we’re live! what up y’all, we're the team behind Spaces––a small experiment focused on the intimacy of the human voice🧵
— Spaces (@TwitterSpaces) December 17, 2020
As a Space Organizer, you can encourage other users to participate via the company's Direct Messaging, or even tweet or post the Space connection on other social networks. Anyone with an entry connection can enter, but only the moderator can monitor who talks, who or who chooses. Twitter also noted that more moderation options will be added as the pilot continues.
More functionality may also be included, such as varied response emojis, and even a tool to automatically transcribe spaces, speaking about hearing impaired people. In this way, Twitter learns from the error made in publishing its audio notes without usability choices this summer, something that it later did.
If it were to solve the challenges that arise and successfully launch Spaces, Twitter would be one step ahead of its competitors, because neither Facebook, Nor Instagram, nor most social networks have an exclusive platform for audio-only communications. However, alongside the security challenge, Twitter would be presented with an additional one: knowing how to take advantage of being the first to launch such a product and positioning itself on the market.