About

Twitter Spaces, now known as X Spaces, is a live-audio conversation feature on Twitter that was first launched for beta testing in mid-December 2020. Going into 2021, the feature slowly rolled out for a wider audience to utilize. The feature allows users to hold a "space" where they can set a title or topic for the group and have up to 10 speakers at a time. The feature was likely inspired by the success of audio-based content in general like podcasts or precursor live-audio apps like Clubhouse.

History

On December 17th, 2020, the verified Twitter^[1] account @TwitterSpaces announced via tweet that Spaces was officially live. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 5,900 likes over the course of 11 months. @TwitterSpaces continued to post a thread beneath the tweet outlining what the "small experiment" was all about. They said they wanted Spaces to feel like a "well-hosted dinner party" and informed the public they were giving it out to a "very small feedback group." They'd be testing features within Spaces such as "reactions similar to hand gestures, a very early version of live transcriptions, reporting & blocking, and sharing Tweets in spaces."

Spaces continued to exist for a small group of exclusively iOS users going into early 2021. On March 11th, 2021, Twitter's verified Twitter^[2] account posted a tweet announcing Spaces in a more official capacity, hinting that it was something, "Still in test mode but rolling out soon." The tweet received roughly 14,500 likes over the course of eight months.

By May 2021, Twitter opened up Spaces to a wider audience. On May 3rd, 2021, @TwitterSpaces^[3] posted a tweet announcing that Spaces was now available to all accounts with 600 or more followers. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 21,800 likes over the course of six months. On the same day, Twitter published a post^[4] to their blog titled, "Spaces is here, let’s chat." Within it, they outlined the feature and the various ways Twitter users could utilize it.

On May 7th, 2021, @TwitterSpaces^[5] tweeted that Spaces were available for all iOS users. On May 26th, @TwitterSpaces^[6] tweeted that Spaces were available on mobile web and desktop web. On June 22nd, @TwitterMedia^[7] tweeted they were introducing two new features to Spaces called, "Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows," which both allowed Twitter users to earn money through hosting Spaces, similar to a Twitch stream.

On October 21st, 2021, @TwitterSpaces^[8] announced that Spaces were available to all iOS and Android users regardless of follower count. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 5,300 likes over the course of one month.

Notable Spaces

CaveSpace

On November 24th, 2021, Twitter^[15] user ESNYRIC3 posted a video of a Twitter Space named "Twitter space but we act like it's 1822 B.C. with cavemen #cavespace." The Space is filled with users grunting, talking and screaming like cavemen and apes (shown below). The cover is an image of Patrick Star as a caveman.

developers: we're going to introduce a feature where users will be able to converse and share ideas and create a discussion twitter: #CaveSpace pic.twitter.com/R5TY2dC6Sh

— ana🤠 (@ESNYRIC3) November 24, 2021

The hashtag trended on Twitter that day as users reacted to CaveSpace, including Twitter^[16] user @DIVEINTOACTlON who noticed a mental health counselor in the room (shown below).

Online Reactions

A common reaction to Spaces when they were first announced in December 2020 and going into early 2021 was the similarity to Clubhouse. For instance, in a reply to the initial announcement tweet in December 2020, Twitter^[9] user @brainlessest tweeted a meme using the Swole Doge vs. Cheems format. The meme (shown below) received 91 likes in roughly one year.

Another common reaction to Spaces that developed in early 2021 was Twitter users joking about wanting an "edit button" instead. For instance, Twitter^[10] user @NYKjake replied to Twitter's announcement of Spaces on March 11th, 2021, saying, "how about an edit button." The tweet received 192 likes in eight months.

Reactions and memes about Spaces became more abundant after the feature was rolled out to all users on October 21st, 2021. Spaces, similar to Twitter Fleets, slowly became a feature that users became familiar with, seeing them happening at the top of their timelines as more and more users began to utilize them. Twitter^[11] user @itscolloo was one of the first users to make a joke about the absurdity of Spaces content. The absurdity of the content was related to any user being able to host one, leading to some off-the-cuff topics and discussions. His tweet (shown below) received 30 likes over one month.

As the feature gained more momentum and usage going into November 2021, memes and tweets about the strange nature of Spaces content, similar to the sentiment of the above example, started to become more prevalent. For instance, on November 16th, 2021, Twitter^[12] user @lledrook tweeted, "they shoulda never gave us twitter spaces." The tweet (shown below) received roughly 3,400 likes over the course of one week.

A common meme-trend that began to emerge about Spaces in November 2021 were screenshots of Spaces at the top of people's timelines. Many of the screenshotted examples had suspect names. On November 19th, 2021, Twitter^[13] user @Tone_gottii posted a tweet including three screenshots of Space names, each with conflicting titles about the discourse between black men and black women. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 42,100 likes over the course of four days.

More Twitter^[14] users posted screenshots of Space names going into the rest of November 2021, many of them having to do with NSFW topics.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References