Micro-blogging site Twitter has announced a new feature Communities as an alternative to Facebook’s popular Groups where people can share discussions on a specific topic.
Twitter Community will have its own moderators who are able to set rules and invite or remove people. Twitter invited a handful of users to create the first Communities and will let anyone apply to create their own on its website.
“Communities are created and self-moderated by people on Twitter maybe even you! Like if you are passionate about birds of the Southern Hemisphere or soup, you could start a Community for that in the future,” the company said in a tweet.
Twitter users can be invited to an initial batch of Communities that include #AstroTwitter, #DogTwitter, #SkincareTwitter, and #SoleFood (a group for sneaker enthusiasts). Once people join a Community, they can tweet directly to other members rather than to just their followers. Only members of a Community can like or reply to tweets sent by other members.
“We are launching with a handful of Communities BUT we expect (and want!) new ones to be created every week. Our plan is to build and update Communities based on your feedback, so tell us how you *really* feel which honestly you’re already very good at doing,” the company added.
Communities is a somewhat obvious move for Twitter, given that its users have long formed niche groups around specific interests, like media and crypto. Twitter is now formalizing that dynamic into a product that it plans to eventually put front and center on the main navigation bar of its mobile app.
Communities can be accessed through the navigation bar on iOS devices and on the web, there’s a Communities option on the sidebar. On Android, you’ll only be able to read Community tweets for now — additional functionality is “coming soon,” Twitter says.