Twitter rolls out Moments in Britain

Twitter rolls out Moments in Britain
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Highlights

Twitter placed itself in more direct competition with the BBC and other broadcast news media as it launched its picture-led “Twitter Moments” service in the UK. The service, curated by a team of British-based journalists, collates the biggest stories of the moment into packages of video, photography and eye-witness tweeting under categories including news, sports and entertainment.

London: Twitter placed itself in more direct competition with the BBC and other broadcast news media as it launched its picture-led “Twitter Moments” service in the UK. The service, curated by a team of British-based journalists, collates the biggest stories of the moment into packages of video, photography and eye-witness tweeting under categories including news, sports and entertainment.

Joanna Geary, head of Twitter Moments in Europe, said Moments would help new Twitter users in navigating the avalanche of content on the site. “It’s actually built around tweets but they look and feel very different to your average Twitter timeline, not least because the content is really showing up picture and video first, “ she said.

Curators will group together interesting tweets on single subjects - which you can then read, even if you don't follow the people tweeting them. Moments will appear in a special "lightning" tab next to notifications rather than on your timeline. It's hoped it'll appeal to people who find Twitter confusing to start with.

The Moments tab will be divided into sections including news, sports and entertainment and was initially launched in October for US users. To open Moments, you have to click on a lightning bolt icon. You'll then see a list of stories "that matter right now". When you click into an individual Moment, you can then start swiping through a collection of tweets, videos, GIFs, photos and Vines - all on the same subject. These moments will last about a day. Here's an example that Twitter put together. You can tap into individual tweets and then do all the normal things like favouriting or re-tweeting. It's hoped it'll be especially popular for breaking news and live sport.

In a blog post on the subject Twitter says Moments will be constantly updated with new information and you can "follow" a moment. "For stories that update very frequently - like live sporting events or awards shows where it's critical to know what's happening minute by minute - you'll see an option to follow the Moment, which blends the Tweets directly into your timeline. That way you can keep track of the latest updates in real time without having to tap back and forth between tabs. When that story ends, so do the Tweets, leaving your timeline just as it was before." But like tweets, Moments can be shared anywhere.

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