Twitter Spaces Coming to Web - Accessibility Included

Twitter Spaces Expands to the Web

On Wednesday evening, Twitter communicated the impending rollout of Spaces – its live audio platform, designed to rival Clubhouse – for web-based access. Earlier in the month, Twitter Spaces became accessible to all users possessing over 600 followers on both iOS and Android applications.

Concurrently, Clubhouse released its much-anticipated Android application. However, Clubhouse has not yet introduced a web version, representing a competitive advantage for Twitter in the pursuit of dominance within the live social audio landscape.

Competition in the Live Audio Space

Instagram is also actively positioning itself as a competitor to Clubhouse, enabling users to initiate “live” broadcasts with the option to silence their audio and video feeds. The question arises: how will each platform establish a unique identity?

Twitter’s CFO, Ned Segal, addressed this during JP Morgan’s 49th Annual Technology, Media, & Communications conference this week.

Segal stated, “Twitter serves as the primary destination for discovering current events and trending discussions.” He continued, “Consequently, when users visit Twitter and encounter a Space within their Home Timeline, it will likely feature individuals they may not know, yet who are engaged in a conversation directly pertinent to their interests.”

Examples include discussions on Bitcoin, reactions to the Grammys, or analysis of the NFL Draft.

Key Features of the Web Version

Twitter’s development priorities for the web iteration of Spaces encompass a user interface that dynamically adjusts to varying screen dimensions and the implementation of reminders for scheduled Spaces.

Prior to joining a Space, Twitter will present a preview displaying the participants and a summary of the discussion topic. Users will also have the capability to maintain a Space open on the side of their screen while simultaneously browsing their Timeline.

Accessibility and transcriptions are listed as crucial areas of focus in this update.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

For an audio-exclusive platform, real-time transcriptions are essential to ensure participation from individuals who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. Twitter has shared screenshots illustrating the appearance of live captions within Spaces.

The accuracy of these transcriptions remains to be evaluated.

Twitter previously faced justified criticism for omitting captioning from its audio tweet functionality. In a public apology, Twitter Support acknowledged that “Accessibility should not be an afterthought.” Subsequently, Twitter established two accessibility teams by September.

Despite this, accessibility has frequently been overlooked during the growth of live audio platforms. Currently, Clubhouse does not offer live captioning support.