By Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer
Twitter is disappearing its disappearing tweets, called fleets, after they didn't catch on.
The company began testing tweets that vanish after 24 hours last March in Brazil. Fleets were designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by the public and permanent nature of normal tweets.
"However, we haven't seen an increase in the amount of new people joining the conversation with Fleets like we hoped," Twitter said in a statement Wednesday. "So as of August 3, Fleets will no longer be available on Twitter."
Kayvon Beykpour, head of consumer product at Twitter, stressed that this is part of how the company works.
"(Big) bets are risky and speculative, so by definition a number of them won't work," he tweeted. "If we're not having to wind down features every once in a while, then it would be a sign that we're not taking big enough swings."
Fleets are reminiscent of Instagram and Facebook "stories" and Snapchat's snaps, which let users post short-lived photos and messages. Such features are increasingly popular with social media users looking for smaller groups and and more private chats. But people use Twitter differently than Facebook, Instagram or messaging apps — it's more of a public conversation and a way to stay up to date with what's going on. Fleets, it turns out, did not make sense.
There was also a matter of the name. Called fleets because they were fleeting, the word is also a brand name for an enema — something many people pointed out on Twitter when the feature launched.
In a tweet announcing the decision, Twitter wrote "we're sorry or you're welcome," tacitly acknowledging mixed user reactions to the feature.
NFL averaged 21 million viewers per game for opening week, its highest on record
LOS ANGELES (AP)--The NFL averaged 21.0 million viewers per game during the league's opening week, making it the most-watched Week 1 on record. The league and Nielsen said Wednesday morning that the per-game average on TV and digital platforms was a 12% increase over last year. All told, 123 million people saw at least part of one game, its highest total for an opening week since 2019. "A great start with the viewership. It was great to be back and a lot to be excited about," said Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media. NBC had the most-watched game, with defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City's 27-20 victory over Baltimore in last Thursday's opener averaging 29.2 million on TV and digital. It was NBC's second-largest regular season game since 2006, when it acquired the "Sunday Night Football" package. The Sunday night game between Detroit and the Los Angeles Rams, which the Lions won 26-20 in overtime, averaged 22.7 million, a 3% jump from last year. Tom Brady's first game as Fox's top analyst — Dallas' 33-17 win over Cleveland — averaged 23.93 million. The six games that were part of Fox's doubleheader (four early, two late) averaged 18.64 million, making it the network's best start since 2020. This was the first time since 2020 that Fox solely had the Sunday afternoon doubleheader in Week 1. Both CBS and Fox carried two games apiece on the opening Sunday the past three seasons. CBS averaged 17.79 million for its six games, its most watched Week 1 singleheader since it reacquired NFL rights in 1998. Most of CBS' affiliates had games in the 1 p.m. EDT window, but New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Pittsburgh got Jim Harbaugh's first game as coach of the Los Angeles Chargers against the Las Vegas Raiders at... Read More