Do you use WhatsApp stories? InstaStories? Dare I say it, YouTube Stories? Imagine there’s a story from KOT (Kenyans on Twitter) that you want people to know about, but you don’t want to post it on your page? Maybe there’s an event you want to showcase but only want it to be there for a short period of time. Well, you’re in luck. Another day and another app adds ‘stories’ to their bandwagon. Twitter stories are coming and they are calling them, Fleets.

Twitter Stories

Fleets are ephemeral tweets, meaning they disappear after 24 hours. They don’t get posted on the feed. Instead, fleets work exactly like IG Stories do. They exist in/on your profile.

You can respond to fleets in the form of a DM or emoji reaction, but you can’t retweet or like fleets. It’s currently being tested in Brazil. So if you’re in South America, check and let me know if you have access.

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So Here’s How It Works

There will be a new interface that looks and works just like Instagram stories. To create one, just tap on your own profile and viola, you can take a picture or write or use a gif to well, tell a story.

It’s basically a tweet, with 280 characters. You can include an image of a gif. It gets posted on your ‘Twitter photo’ and not on your main feed and it only lasts for 24hrs. You cannot like or retweet fleets but you can respond to them via emoji reactions or DM’s. Fleets are viewed on a vertical interface while Instagram stories are viewed horizontally.

Why Is Twitter Doing Stories (Fleets)

Well just like Instagram, Twitter wants to let users post only day-old information. However, the fleets can be shared as tweets once you fleet them. It’s a faster way to get all the information you need from a specific person rather than having to go through heir timeline.

I was sceptical when WhatsApp introduced stories. I don’t use them as much but I do appreciate those that use them. Memes and news updates are shared and received faster when it comes to stories. Most conversations start from stories and that reduces lengthy awkward moments.

Remember this is only a test and we are not sure if and when we will get them but we are ready for it.