Twitter Moments launches in the UK to ease engagement problem

Twitter has rolled out its Moments feature to the UK, a few months after launching in the US.

The new feature, which will appear both in the browser and app versions of Twitter, aims to put a spotlight on the big stories that people around the world are talking about.

To pull the content together, Twitter has assembled a supergroup of journalists and subject specialists. "The aim will be for us to represent that conversation in as diverse way as possible," said Jo Geary, EMEA Moments Lead, at the unveiling.

Users will be able to scroll through a number of categories, including 'News', 'Sports', 'Entertainment' and a general roundup called 'Today', each of which will offer up a list of the big-hitting stories, as well as relevant tweets from around the world.

Twitter wants to provide a breadth of conversation, and Moments will be updated as the conversation expands or more information becomes available.

Creating buzz

In an earnings call earlier this year, Twitter CFO Anthony Noto admitted the company had "only reached early adopters and techies" and still had a way to go to reach the "mass market".

Twitter's 'While you were away' feature was part of the answer to this problem. Twitter needs to improve engagement, and it's clear that Moments is the next step.

At the UK launch of Moments, Geary emphasised that Twitter sees this as a tool for helping those who are using Twitter but not following the accounts that are talking about the big stories.

Alongside the in-team specialists, Twitter is working with a number of launch partners to help it find its "diversity of voice". Examples include Sky News, VICE, Buzzfeed UK, and the Met Office.

Moments goes live in the UK today - expect to see it on your account in the coming hours.