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| Twitter Moments is now available in the UK, the first European country to get the feature |
TWITTER has rolled-out a new feature for UK social network users, Moments.
Twitter has launched its Moments tab in the UK, the third country in the world to get the new feature.
In a nutshell, Twitter Moments is a selection of the most import breaking and developing stories taking place on the hugely popular social network at any one time.
An editorial team based in central London, who all have a background within journalism, are responsible for curating and sorting the latest stories for Twitter Moments.
Stories are sorted into a number of categories – presented as tabs within Moments – including Today, Entertainment, News, Sports and Fun. Each of these topics holds a dozen or so stories at any one time.
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| Twitter Moments is slowly rolling out across the UK on iOS, Android and online |
Twitter appears to be very conscious of what makes its social network unique and as a result, the editorial team hope to include eye-witness reports on breaking news stories – not just updates from established news outlets.
Entertainments topics will be populated with reactions and funny one-liners from unknown Twitter users, as well as popular articles from national newspapers and updates from celebrities with thousands of followers.
Moments is a fast and simple way to get a flavour of what is breaking or triggering debate on Twitter at any one time. It also allows users to discover stories that would not usually appear in their own timeline.
Twitter Moments – found in a separate tab within the official Twitter app or website – feel very different to standard tweets, thanks to the beautifully animated full-bleed images, Vine videos and music.
During our brief time testing the new feature, we enjoyed flicking through the latest updates, watching videos from users and discovering new users and account we wouldn’t usually have stumbled across.
However the feature is likely to unsettle some users, since it brings an editorial spin to the usual unfiltered, unregulated stream of updates that populate the US social network's timeline.
It remains to be seen how the internal editorial team will react when a particularly inflammatory or controversial debate or trend flares up on Twitter. Does Twitter have a political stance? Can it be impartial on every social media trend?
Twitter has partially solved this problem will its choice of launch partners, who will be helping to curate and sort through tweets for the Moments tab, these include the Premier League, Glamour magazine, The Sun, Have I Got News for You, VICE, Sugarscape, Food Network, Sky News, The Economist, the Met Office, Popjustice, Global Radio, Vevo, BT Sport, Empire, Sky Sports, STV, and Buzzfeed UK.
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| An editorial team at Twitter is curating news coverage, commentaries and tweets throughout the day |
During our brief time testing the new feature, we enjoyed flicking through the latest updates, watching videos from users and discovering new users and account we wouldn’t usually have stumbled across.
However the feature is likely to unsettle some users, since it brings an editorial spin to the usual unfiltered, unregulated stream of updates that populate the US social network's timeline.
It remains to be seen how the internal editorial team will react when a particularly inflammatory or controversial debate or trend flares up on Twitter. Does Twitter have a political stance? Can it be impartial on every social media trend?
Twitter has partially solved this problem will its choice of launch partners, who will be helping to curate and sort through tweets for the Moments tab, these include the Premier League, Glamour magazine, The Sun, Have I Got News for You, VICE, Sugarscape, Food Network, Sky News, The Economist, the Met Office, Popjustice, Global Radio, Vevo, BT Sport, Empire, Sky Sports, STV, and Buzzfeed UK.
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| A single tap gives you a fuller view of the Tweet, which you can favourite, Retweet, and more |
If some of the chosen launch partners seem a strange fit, that's exactly the point, according to Twitter.
Jo Geary, head of Twitter Moments in the UK, said: "People across the world send millions of Tweets every day.
"They’re breaking news, sharing thoughts, highlighting their passions, and supporting each other all the time.
"If something has a million in one chance of happening, it could occur several hundred times a day on Twitter!
"We know this means that it can be hard to keep up, and that’s the motivation behind our latest project, Moments. Here in the UK, we’re proud to be the first European country to roll out the service, and we pulled together a talented curation team whose sole aim is to bring you the very best of Twitter across the biggest and most fascinating topics.
"Twitter is absolutely part of the national conversation in UK across everything from sports to TV to politics to local news and music.
"Previously you may have felt you could only keep up by following thousands of accounts; with Moments, we do that for you. And while a single Moment is a temporary follow, it’s a great way to find out about fellow users you might not normally connect with.
"It’s all about making it simpler and easier than ever before to get the very most out of Twitter.”
To access Twitter Moments, tap on the lightning bolt tab on the official Android and iOS smartphone app.
This loads a live list of Moments. Swipe left and right to cycle through the topic categories.
As new stories emerge throughout the day, Twitter will continue to update this list.
When you click into a Moment, you’re taken to an introduction with a title and description.
Start swiping to dive right into the story, with pictures and autoplaying videos, Vines, and GIFs.
A single tap gives you a fuller view of the Tweet, which you can favorite, Retweet, and more. A double tap lets you instantly favorite the Tweet.
The progress bar at the bottom indicates how much more each Moment has to offer.
Swiping up or down dismisses the Moment and takes you back to the guide. At the end of a Moment, click the share button to Tweet your thoughts, and send it out to your followers.
Twitter Moments are available now in the UK, Brazil and United States.
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