Dive Brief:
- In a blog post, Twitter announced it is opening up its Moments feature to a wider group of creators.
- Up until now, the section has been curated by Twitter’s internal curation team, but it will soon include tweets curate by brands, influencers and partners.
- Twitter eventually plans to open the feature to all Twitter users.
Dive Insight:
Twitter Moments never really took off — and the company now hopes that crowdsourcing Moments could help them out.
“By extending this creative format to more people, and eventually to everyone on Twitter, we are giving people a new and dynamic way to tell their stories,” Twitter product manager, Gaby Peña, wrote in the post. Users can find Moments by clicking on the Moments tab as well as following @TwitterMoments. Twitter said it will not currently share ad revenue with Moments creators on the platform, but kept the door open to the possibility in the future, according to TechCrunch.
Twitter Moments were first launched in October 2015, a day after Jack Dorsey was reappointed to the CEO position after his initial departure from the position in 2008. Moments, which showcase curated content around real-time events, was intended to help Twitter market itself to non-users and grow its user base. Moments represented a major attempt by Twitter to innovate its core product and turn around its fortunes, but the feature never really landed with users or advertisers.
Twitter has been actively expanding the features it offers users and marketers alike. Recent moves include: An upgrade to its Ads Manager measurement tools to give marketers more control over the metrics reported back to them, and an expansion of its conversational ad format “Instant Unlock Card," which lets marketers incentivize users to engage with brand posts by offering them the ability to "unlock" exclusive content.
Last month, Twitter announced a disappointing Q2 earnings report that didn't meet Wall Street expectations. This fall may be a make-or-break period for the micro-blogging platform: Its ambitious lineup of live streaming video deals come into play, headlined by a partnership to stream 10 NFL Thursday Night Football games.
