Twitter opens up Moments to a larger audience

Twitter announced that they will be launching Moments, their real time news and trend showcase, to all the users on their platform in the next few months.

Moments was first introduced a year ago but was exclusive to Twitter itself and a list of companies and publishers they had tie-ups with. It is now being tested with influencers and other companies such as Budweiser and activist DeRay Mckesson.

Signified by the ‘lightning bolt’ symbol, it showcases a collection of real time news, events and other significant activities on the platform in the form of a slideshow of tweets, pictures, and videos.

Much like Snapchat and the recently unveiled Instagram Stories, it would be fair to say that Twitter is planning on competing in the race for real time engagement on their platform.

If and when the new update is rolled out, Twitter users will be able to create and share Moments of their own.

On Twitter’s official blog, the company said they wish to provide people with a new and dynamic way to tell their story and DeRay Mckesson quote reaffirmed the same, “Moments allows us to collect and curate Tweets to tell stories in new ways. It’s a powerful Twitter feature, continuing to help build community as we engage specific topics and events.”

The idea behind Moments was to boost Twitter’s profile as the platform for current news and updates around the world; while the micro-blogging platform reiterates they had plans to roll out Moments to regular users eventually.

Opinion is divided regarding this reform as some view it as another attempt to salvage Twitter’s nearly stagnant growth, we will only know more once the feature is launched.