Sigh. This was the expression I made after using Twitter Spaces, the new audio chat room feature by Twitter that crashed on me recently. I planned to host a chat room where people could join and learn about the wonders of cryptocurrency but, mid-way through it suddenly disconnected forcing me to reschedule.
This wasn’t the first time this had happened. It happened just a week earlier in a similar space I hosted, about tackling mental health and homelessness. We managed to finish the event, but Lord was it difficult having to say “can you hear me” every 5 minutes. For a first-time user of Twitter spaces, my experience has been horrible.
I believe twitter spaces has the potential to dethrone clubhouse — the invite-only, online chat room app. Clubhouse has had an over 60% decline in downloads from April 2021 and the market is ripe for a similar innovation to swoop in. Despite my woeful experiences, I still have a lot of faith in Twitter spaces.. why? Well, allow me to explain the reasons for that by sharing the good and bad things about the feature.
No invite, no problem — The Good
Exclusivity is something that influencers love. Even everyday folk, love the idea of being welcomed to invite-only events for the “privileged”. Even I do at times. The problem here is, applications aren’t Hollywood movie premieres, their the opposite. Apps need users, and a lot of them to ensure they survive in the social media monopoly world. Taking an invite-only approach means you can filter who joins the club. However, for an app trying to build a reputation, this can be a hindrance rather than a cool feature.
Clubhouse initially launched for iOS users only. Before opening up to Andriod users in mid-2021. Twitter spaces on the other hand, do not require any special invite links. Neither does it discriminate against operating systems. It is available to all regardless of what platform you’re on, which is something I adore about the feature.
Not enough followers, then we have a problem — The Bad
One of the first social media platforms I downloaded at the start of the 2010 decade was Twitter. I enjoyed interacting with people across the world, free from trolls and the infamous clout chasers. Early day twitter was the best! Like anything, of course, things change over time.
The biggest issue I probably have with Twitter spaces, is their exclusivity when it comes to getting access to the host a chat room. Similar to clubhouse which is invite-only, for Twitter spaces your number of followers is your membership pass to access the feature.
To host a chat room, Twitter says you must have 600 or more followers.
The reason for this? They state, is for “a good experience”. What’s the problem with that? Well, there are accounts with less than 600 followers who have just as much engagement as an account twice its size. Like mine. There are even verified accounts with less than 600 followers. A new account, therefore won’t have access to the feature without building a 600+ audience first.
The technical Issues — The Bad
Click on the link #spacebugs and, you will find a plethora of tweets complaining about bugs whilst using twitter spaces. I resonate a lot with these issues, especially the part where it just freezes and kicks you out randomly.
Screenshot from my twitter space with problems
The first space I hosted was bad, but the second one I held yesterday, had more bugs than an Australian house. Honestly, it was awful. The host had issues where they couldn’t add speakers, and I had issues that I couldn’t hear my audience. It was a shame because I had invited some cool start-ups and crypto influencers to chat but the app failed us once again, within ten minutes of joining.
Cool features — The Good
One aspect of twitter spaces I like is the feature for accepting payments and providing tickets for scheduled rooms. These are features I haven’t used yet, nevertheless the potential for growth is unlimited. Imagine hosting a chat room where users can pay the hosts & speakers in-app and receive digital tickets.
Being able to schedule an event beforehand and allow users to share the link so they could easily join is also a great feature.
Potential fixes and features
Like any new feature, it takes time for users to test and identify what needs fixing and what can perhaps be added. Here are my list of potential fixes and nice to have features.
** Allow the ability for multiple hosts, in case the main host is unable to connect initially or gets disconnected mid-way through, the show can still go on. — Feature
**Connectivity problems need to be seriously sorted out— Fix
** Add more emoji features in chat rooms — Feature
** Allow more than 10 speakers in a room — Feature
** The lag and heating issues while using the app, need addressing— Fix
** Allow users with less than 600 followers to host a space — a super important feature.
I believe if Twitter can address these issues and others, then potentially, they can make twitter spaces a source of creativity for all to flourish and produce amazing content.
