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Twitter Launches Fleets, Tweets That Disappear In 24 Hours

Twitter Launches Fleets, Tweets That Disappear In 24 Hours

Fleets
Twitter Launches Fleets, Tweets That Disappear In 24 Hours, Image: MMG

Twitter has launched a new product named Fleets — tweets that last 24 hours and then disappear — triggering jokes by social media users who made fun of the name and compared it to the famous enema brand of the same name. Many said they hate the idea.

The Fleets format is familiar for Snapchat users and Instagrammers. Twitter users can post text messages, share tweets or load photos and videos directly from their Twitter feed and view Fleets from those they follow.

Joshua Harris, a Twitter design director and Sam Haveson, a product manager, blogged about the product on Tuesday, saying Fleets is the result of the company listening to its users.

“Fleets are for sharing momentary thoughts – they help start conversations and only stick around for 24 hours,” they wrote. “Some of you tell us that Tweeting is uncomfortable because it feels so public, so permanent, and like there’s so much pressure to rack up Retweets and Likes. That’s why, unfortunately, there are so many Tweets left in drafts! To help people feel more comfortable, we’ve been working on a lower pressure way for people to talk about what’s happening. Today, we’re launching Fleets so everyone can easily join the conversation in a new way – with their fleeting thoughts.”

Users couldn’t believe Twitter had purposely chosen the name Fleets and poo-poo jokes abounded on Twitter.

“Were the people who work at Twitter too young to know Fleets is an enema?” Shannon Watts tweeted.

“If they didn’t know, now they know,” Black Uhuru replied.

“This really is the absolutely most unfortunate name for this product,” Tempest tweeted.

“I went through that entire thread thinking it was parody,” Soro Soke Werey replied.

The company announced the Fleets venture in March and tested it in Brazil, India, Italy, South Korea and Japan.

Fleets launched Tuesday on Android and iOS in the U.S. and should be available for everyone globally in the coming days.

Users compared Twitter’s Stories to Snapchat and complained that Twitter built the Stories feature instead of an edit button.

“Can we just have an edit button?” asked @DevinCow.

One user tweeted, “this aint snapchat.” Another posted, “Thanks I hate it.”

But apparently many tried it, and some were confused.

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User demand and curiosity about the new addition seemed to be impacting the product’s performance. “Many Twitter users are reporting Fleets are lagging and moving slowly. Some even say the feature is crashing their Twitter app,” Techcrunch reported.

At its most basic level, Fleets is a Stories clone, borrowing all of the best ideas implemented by Instagram and Snapchat, The Verge reported. 

Read more: Juneteenth Is Now A Company Holiday At Twitter And Square: Jack Dorsey

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