Nigerians with 600 or more followers can now access Twitter Spaces, the feature that enables users to join virtual rooms where they can engage in real-time, audio conversations with others.
It is Twitter’s response to Clubhouse which gained popularity last year, attracting many Nigerian tech players.
Twitter, Facebook, and Spotify have been forced to respond to the Clubhouse threat in different ways. While Facebook announced plans to create a similar feature, Spotify acquired Betty Labs the creators of Locker Room, a live audio social app that focuses on sports. Twitter, on the other hand, has been building and testing with a limited number of users.
“Since we’ve been building this, the ability to create a Space has become available to millions of people, and we’ve continued to make improvements based on your feedback,” Twitter said in a statement.
The company says limiting Twitter Spaces to only users with 600 or more followers is because their existing audience is likely to guarantee a good experience hosting live conversations. It plans to make the service available to all users possible after it has learnt enough from the current users.
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While there are obvious similarities between Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, both also have distinct features that separate them. Twitter Spaces is available to Android and iOS users and the rooms can be accessed by followers of the hosts whereas Clubhouse is only on iOS and it is invite-only.
When someone a user follows starts or speaks in a Space, it’ll appear at the top of the user’s timeline as a purple bubble for as long as it’s live. When the user joins a Space as a listener, he or she can react to what is being said with emojis, check out any pinned Tweets, follow along with captions, Tweet or DM Space, or request to speak.
Twitter Spaces allows a total of 11 speakers including the host while Clubhouse makes room for as many as 20-30 speakers at one time. Also, Clubhouse allows a co-host, Twitter Spaces does not.
“Spaces are for small and intimate conversations with just a few others, or for big discussions about what’s unfolding right now with thousands of listeners. From connecting to your favorite musician to a post-show about the game or a recap of news that just dropped, dig into the topics and conversions you care about with people you know and people you want to know,” Twitter said.
