On Twitter they have not been shy about going shopping in search of tools or new talents. Therefore, the acquisition of Sphere , a messaging application for group chats, is not surprising . The social network intends to take advantage of it in some way to enhance direct messages, and also the Communities that it recently launched to rival Facebook groups.
According to CNBC, Sphere was born in 2016 with British entrepreneur Nick D'Aloisio as co-founder. It was originally used as a real-time question and answer platform with micropayments; However, over time it evolved to focus on group conversations.
The terms of the purchase by Twitter have not been made official, as well as how many users Sphere has on the present. What the report does mention is that approximately half a million people installed the first version of the app .
In a blog post, the company confirmed the purchase and the final destination of the service. “Like others, we observe and admire Twitter's growing investment in community building with the launch of Communities, Spaces, and features that promote safety. This announcement means that we have the opportunity to take what we have learned in Sphere and take our efforts to a whole new level, “they posted.
Sphere will no longer function as a independent product as of November , and the entire staff —conformed by 20 people— will go to work directly on Twitter. As we mentioned at the beginning, the team will dedicate its efforts to strengthening direct messages, Communities, and creator initiatives.
Sphere is Twitter's latest acquisition
With a new company under its wing, Twitter It intends to drastically expand its reach. Let us remember that only this year it has already bought the Revue newsletter platform, and the Scroll subscription tool. And let's not forget that at the end of 2020 it also got Squad, an app for making group video calls.
It is clear that we are not talking about purchases that are too bright —With the exception of Revue, perhaps—; But Twitter is taking every opportunity to broaden its horizons. Plus, you can add new features without having to design them from scratch , dramatically speeding up your final testing or deployment.
