David Bridges
Do people really want Twitter groups, and to tweet into more enclosed communities within Twitter, as opposed to broadcasting their thoughts to all users?
Apparently, they do – Twitter says that due to ‘overwhelmingly positive’ feedback on its new ‘Circles’ enclosed group tweeting option, which it first launched to selected users in May this year, it’s now bringing Circles to all users on iOS, Android, and the web.
So now you can welcome all your ‘real ones’ into your Twitter group chat, which keeps your discussions enclosed and out of the public eye, so you can maintain more intimate interactions within the tweet experience.
As explained by Twitter:
“Before you post on Twitter, you’ll now see an option to share your Tweet with either your circle or your full followers list. Circles can contain up to 150 people, and you can adjust who’s in and who’s out at any time. Don’t worry, no one will be notified of any changes you make to your circle.”
Members of Circle will be alerted that their tweets are only viewable by those in the group via a green indicator attached to each Circle tweet.
Circles – which, every time I write it, reminds me of Google’s failed social network Google+ – is essentially an extension of Twitter’s reply control options which it launched back in 2020, which enable users to decide who can see and respond to each of their tweets. Twitter has also launched Communities to lean into the same, facilitating new types of use cases for tweets, which better align with modern sharing behaviors in social apps.
Because the novelty of sharing in public, via your own digital soap box, just ain’t what it used to be when MySpace first arrived on the scene.
Initially, when social media first became a thing, people were excited to have their own digital space, a personal website, of sorts, without the added hosting fees or coding knowledge requirements. But over time, amid various controversies and revelations about people’s past experiences and activities, the allure of public sharing has worn off, which has pushed more users into private groups and DMs instead of posting their thoughts for all to see.
Indeed, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri recently acknowledged that most sharing on IG now occurs via DM, which is reflective of how more and more people are engaging, enclosing their chats to only chosen, smaller audiences.
Which Twitter’s leaning into as well – though it does seem to go more against the grain on Twitter, which has long been about sharing your thoughts on the latest trends and topics via short, witty comments.
But Twitter says that this is what people want, which could open up new use cases for tweets – while for brands, it could facilitate new community-building options in the app.
Imagine exclusive branded Circles for your top fans, or invite-only groups for influencers, to help promote your latest products.
There’s a range of ways in which this could be used, and now, you can get experimenting, with Circles available to all Twitter users, on all platforms, from today.
Ivy Caldwell
Sophie Langley
