Twitter has announced that it is testing a new conversation thread button that will be available for its Spaces live audio conversations platform – in short, introducing what is effectively live text chat.
The new feature will make it easier for users to talk about what they’re listening to on Twitter Spaces, without the need to even turn their mic on. It will be a text-based feature enabling people to tweet about a given Space from within its interface.
The official Spaces profile on Twitter has explained that the feature will work as follows; as soon as a host opens a room, a Spaces card will be automatically generated as a tweet. Other users will then have the ability to send tweets directly from that Space.
we’re testing a feature you’ve been asking for
when some Hosts start a Space, a Space card will be sent as a Tweet so listeners can reply, engage, and share…straight from the Space! we hope it makes it easier to see and participate in the convo. now testing on iOS and Android! pic.twitter.com/ioB6xpSwZA
— Spaces (@TwitterSpaces) May 5, 2022
It will be possible to access a given conversation thread via a new chat button located right next to the reactions button within a Space, and the number of interactions within that thread will also be shown.
Users will simply need to tap this new button, in order to see only the tweets sent as replies to that Space, thereby allowing them to rapidly interact with others as the audio conversation continues.
Although this isn’t the way Twitter is characterizing it, this new feature effectively gives people a live text-based way to chat about the Space to which they are presently listening, so that they can help fuel the conversation without becoming too deeply involved themselves.
It is also expected that the aforementioned Spaces ‘card’ will make Twitter Spaces easier to share. Furthermore, it’s worth pointing out that as tweets shared within a Space will still be public, it will be possible for them to be shared and retweeted on the standard Twitter timeline.
The microblogging platform has said that the test is now available for iOS and Android users, but hasn’t stated how many people are participating in it, or indicated how likely it is that you will even encounter the new feature as you listen to Spaces on your typical day.
Unfortunately, this new conversation thread feature is only currently accessible on the official Twitter app on devices such as the iPhone or iPad, which means you won’t be able to try it out if you use a third-party app for Twitter. If, then, you want to experience the feature on your iDevice, you will have no choice right now other than downloading the official app.