MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Last year Twitter introduced Spaces: live audio conversations on Twitter. Since then, they’ve been building and testing with a limited group, and have found that hearing people’s voices bring conversations on Twitter to life in a completely new way.
The ability to create a Space has become available to millions of people, and Twitter continues to make improvements based on feedback. Today, all accounts with 600 or more followers on Twitter have ability to host a Space.
People already come to Twitter to talk about what’s happening. You’ve always followed people for their Tweets, now Spaces lets you hear their voices and talk about what’s happening now and what’s most important to you – live. From Tweeting to talking, reading to listening, Spaces encourages and unlocks real, open conversations on Twitter with the authenticity and nuance, depth and power only the human voice can bring. Spaces are for small and intimate conversations with just a few others, or for big discussions about what’s unfolding right now with thousands of listeners. From connecting to your favorite musician to a post show about the game or a recap of news that just dropped, dig into the topics and conversations you care about with people you know and people you want to know.
So how do you join or create a Space? Glad you asked.
How Spaces work
On Twitter for iOS and Android, when someone you follow starts or speaks in a Space, it’ll appear at the top of your timeline as a purple bubble for as long as it’s live. When you join a Space as a listener, you can react to what you hear with emojis, check out any pinned Tweets, follow along with captions, Tweet or DM the Space, or request to speak.
Join a Space
Request to speak in a Space
How to view captions
When you join a Space as a speaker, in addition to talking, you can pin Tweets to the Space, turn on captions so everyone can follow along with what you’re saying, and Tweet the Space so your followers can join.
How to add a Tweet to a Space you’re speaking in
When you create a Space, you’re in control – who’s speaking, the topics, and the vibe. Invite people to join by Tweeting or DM’ing them to jump in and then invite them to speak directly from your Space. From there, talk about whatever is happening in your world.
How to start a Space
How to invite people to speak
It’s important that people feel safe hosting and participating in Spaces conversations – that’s why they built in safety controls available to hosts and speakers. For example, as a host, you can mute speakers and take away their mic, or remove them from the Space completely. Recently, Twitter added the ability for Hosts to mute all speakers at the same time and a new management page for easier hosting.
How to manage your Space and block
Now you can mute everyone in your Space
Anyone can report and block others in the Space or report the Space. Also, people you’ve blocked can’t join a Space you’re hosting, and you’ll see labels and warnings if someone you’ve blocked is speaking in a Space you join.
Labels you’ll see if you’re in a Space where someone you’ve blocked is a Speaker
You can learn more about how Spaces work here.
Feedback + What’s Next
Feedback has been key in helping build and improve Spaces over the past several months. Testing and building in the open via @TwitterSpaces, because of the interest in incorporating feedback early and often. For example, users wanted more audience management controls, so Twitter built them. Users wanted a way to show laughing during a Space, so Twitter added an 😂 emoji. Here’s more of what’s coming, based on your feedback:
- Ticketed Spaces. Hosts put time and effort into creating space for conversation, connection and fun. Now, we’re working on a way for hosts to be rewarded for the experiences they create by getting monetary support, while providing listeners with exclusive access to the conversations they care about most. Hosts can set ticket prices and how many are available to sell. A limited group will be able to host Ticketed Spaces in the coming months. Hosts earn the majority of the revenue from ticket sales and Twitter will keep a small amount as well.
- Schedule and set reminders. To make it easy to track what’s happening and when, you’ll also be able to schedule and set reminders for upcoming Spaces in the coming weeks. This way, people don’t miss hearing from their faves.
- Host with others. Co-hosting with other people to help manage speakers, participants, and if you need to leave, to pass hosting to one of your co-hosts.
- Better accessibility. Improvements to live captions so they can be paused, customized, and are more accurate.
- More ways to find Spaces. More ways to find and drop into Spaces across Twitter – join a Space from a purple bubble around someone’s profile picture in your Home timeline when they’re live. We’re testing this now.
Tap the purple bubble around someone’s profile picture to join the Space they’re in
Spaces is where live audio conversations happen. And it’s just getting started. Listen up, stay tuned @TwitterSpaces. There is much more to come.
https://twitter.com/TwitterPH/status/1389391512820084736
