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Topline
Twitter on Tuesday introduced an Instagram Story-like feature called Fleets, making it the fourth major social media company to launch ephemeral messages on their platforms.
Key Facts
All mobile Twitter users will now be able to post Fleets, which sit in bubbles on top of the timeline and disappear after 24 hours.
Twitter has been testing the feature in India, Brazil, Italy, and South Korea since June and the company found that Fleets helped users “talk more on Twitter,” Twitter said in a blog post.
Twitter says the feature will be available to all users on iOS and Android devices in the next few days.
Crucial Quote
“Through our tests in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea, we learned Fleets helped people feel more comfortable joining the conversation—we saw people with Fleets talk more on Twitter. Those new to Twitter found Fleets to be an easier way to share what’s on their mind. Because they disappear from view after a day, Fleets helped people feel more comfortable sharing personal and casual thoughts, opinions, and feelings,” the company said.
Key Background
First popularized by Snapchat, the Stories format has also been picked up by Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Instagram Stories in particular have been a smash hit for Facebook, and even surpassed Snapchat Stories in popularity in 2017.
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