Twitter is working on a new control option for tweets that
will allow users to choose a specific audience to share tweets with. The option
is named “Flocks,” indicating the chosen audience as a flock, as it can include
up to 150 people, which is a relatively big size for an enclosed group of
audience.
You can choose your tweet flock or audience once you open
the window where you compose your tweet before posting it. Once you share the
tweet with the chosen users, they will be notified that the tweet has been
particularly shared with them, indicated by a marker that appears next to each
flock tweet.
The flock feature is part of Twitter’s reply control option
that was launched in 2020 and lets users control who can see and respond to
each of their tweets.
Twitter had previewed an option similar to Flocks back in
July of last year, called “Trusted Friends.” Perhaps Flocks is an updated
version of the same tool. Regardless, it seems to be a helpful addition, as it
will make it easier for users to have an immediate sharing option within the
tweet composer flow, while also adding more exclusivity and intimacy to users’
Twitter chats.
However, one downside of the feature, when seen collectively
with other control options on Twitter could be that it reduces public
engagement, hence partitioning the Twittersphere, that Twitter was originally
created as.
