New Delhi: Twitter said Tuesday it will start testing ‘Fleets’ in India. ‘Fleets’ allow its users to post content that disappears after 24 hours. India is the third market globally after Brazil and Italy where Twitter is rolling out this feature to test.
Utility of ‘Fleets’
“Fleets are for people to share their ideas and momentary thoughts. These posts disappear after 24 hours and have no retweets, likes or public comments,” Twitter said in a statement. Followers can reply privately via direct messages to continue the conversation. People can also report a ‘Fleet’,” it added.
‘Fleets’ will be available for everyone in India on Twitter for iOS and Android in the coming days in updated app versions. The offering from Twitter is similar to ‘Stories’ on Facebook and Instagram.
“We learned that people don’t tweet because tweets are public, feel permanent, and display the number of retweets and likes. We hope ‘Fleets’ will empower many more people to express themselves more freely,” Twitter said in the statement.
People can tap on their own ‘avatar’ (profile picture) to start, then add text or media and hit send.
India important for Twitter
“India is important for Twitter since it is one of our largest and fastest-growing audience markets globally. We are excited to bring the Fleets experiment to India. It will be one of the first three countries in the world to experience this new product. It certainly will be a novel experience,” Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari said.
Maheshwari added that the test in India will provide important insights. It will show how the new mode of conversation changes the way Indians engages on Twitter. “It will be interesting to see if it further amplifies the diversity of usage. People will get to share what they’re thinking in a way that is light-touch and light-hearted,” he informed.
How ‘Fleets’ work
Fleets from the accounts one follows would show up on top of their timeline. Twitter said users can see who has seen their ‘Fleet’ by looking ‘underneath’ a post.
Twitter said since starting the test of ‘Fleets’ in Brazil, it has seen people become more comfortable sharing what’s on their minds.
“People who don’t usually tweet are starting more conversations and sending both Fleets and tweets. When people send a ‘Fleet’, they often share a number of thoughts rapidly,” Maheshwari informed.
Agencies
