A new Twitter feature called Communities is now being tested on the web and iOS.
The company announced today:
There’s always been a broad, weird and wonderful range of conversations on Twitter, but we haven’t done enough to help connect people who are into the same things. And now, that’s changing. Starting today, we’re testing Communities, a way to easily find and connect with people who want to talk about the same things you do.
Twitter says that Communities are for “people who want to talk about the thing you want to talk about.” You’ll be able to tweet directly to a community group rather than all of your followers, with only members of the community able to reply, keeping the discussions “intimate and relevant”.
Community pages and timelines will be available to read by anyone:
While you can Tweet only to your Community for a focused conversation, Community pages and timelines are publicly available so anyone can read, Quote Tweet, and report Community Tweets. We want to continue to support public conversation and help people find Communities that match their interests, while also creating a more intimate space for conversation.
Communities will have moderators who can pick the focus, and create Community rules.
Twitter says it will test, learn and iterate based on user feedback for the new feature, and that the communities will be available through a separate tab at the bottom of the iOS app on devices like the iPhone 12 on iOS 15 and beyond, and on the sidebar through the web. You can read the full announcement here.