It looks like Circles could be the next thing in Elon Musk’s crosshairs. With the Chief Twit endorsing the suggestion that it should do away with the enclosed group Tweeting option entirely.

Circles, which Twitter launched a year ago, was one of Twitter’s various projects that aligned with the broader shift of social interactions to more intimate groups, as opposed to public posting. Given that an increasing amount of users are now interacting this way, Twitter added Circles, Communities, and audience control options on Tweets in the hopes of sparking more discussion in the app.

Vanishing Circles

Even at launch, there didn’t seem to be a lot of practical value to the Circles process. As written by Social Media Today’s Andrew Hutchinson at the time:

“Part of the problem with Circles, as I see it at least, is that most users likely conduct the discussions that would fit into this offering within their DMs already, maintaining group chats with their close friends in a more private space. That privacy enables people to feel more comfortable sharing, and there doesn’t seem like much reason for them to switch those conversations to the potentially more exposed Circles option instead.”

Amid the various sharing options already available, it’s not difficult to agree with the sentiment in the Tweet Elon’s responding above, there’s just no need for it – although Twitter was, at one time, experimenting with a related option that would be much more useful.

Back in 2021, Twitter showed off an in-development feature called ‘Facets’, which would allow each user/profile based on different topic interests. It’s somewhat similar to Circles but topically aligned. And while it would require users to also specify a topic focus whenever they Tweet, it could provide a more practical option for those looking to stay aligned with more niche discussions.

The Wrap

Given Twitter 2.0’s propensity for rehashing old projects, it seems likely to resurface again at some point, which could provide a more beneficial replacement for Circles, if Musk does indeed follow through and shuts down the option. Although there’s nothing definitive to go on, it’s safe to assume that it’ll likely happen. If it wasn’t doing much for Twitter anyway, then Musk will likely not have any qualms about scrapping what would otherwise be a feature that’s considered ‘ineffective’ and ‘obsolete’.

Sources

https://bit.ly/3MFElKX