Hello All: This past week, I have been giving Twitter Spaces a test drive and I am so excited to recommend it to all iOS VoiceOver users.
First, I am going to paste in some text from a 9 to 5 Mac article, written last year, that summarizes the Twitter Spaces feature: Begin Article fragment: Twitter now lets users join Spaces via desktop and mobile web browsers By Filipe Espósito, 9 to 5 Mac. Spaces is a live audio chat platform developed by Twitter, which was officially introduced earlier this year as an alternative to Clubhouse. As Spaces is now available to most users of the social network, Twitter is finally expanding the feature to desktop and mobile web browsers. Twitter confirmed in April this year that it was working on bringing Spaces to web browsers, as the platform was only available on Twitter’s official iOS and Android apps. Starting today, users will also be able to join Spaces using a web browser, whether on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. According to the company, the feature is still considered beta, which means that it has some limitations when compared to Spaces in the Twitter app. Right now, the focus areas are infrastructure, user interface, scheduled Spaces, and accessibility features. End Article Fragment. As I write this, I feel almost overwhelmed because I am finding it difficult to introduce you to a new feature that is, at first glance, not intuitive or VoiceOver accessible. So what should I do? I’ll try to express my thoughts in a numbered list: 1. Twitter is absolutely dedicated to making Spaces VoiceOver accessible. While I am not at liberty to expand on this, please trust me when I say that all Apple VoiceOver user feedback is being considered on a daily basis. This is truly one of the most exciting moments for us, as VoiceOver users in terms of having Twitter’s full attention. So, please try the new feature and send feedback to Twitter. 2. For those who may not know, in its simplest form, a live audio chat feature means that anyone can open a audio channel, and talk about anything and, while the chat is live, others can listen-in and join the conversation. For example, if I just wanted to express myself, on Twitter, using my voice, I could open a Space, type in a brief description of the subject, and begin talking. As my audio streams, others on Twitter will be alerted to the fact that there is a live Space, currently active, and they could listen in and ask me for permission to speak. Just a few minutes ago, I opened the Spaces tab in my Twitter app, and discovered that one live Space has people discussing how to get money back from friends who do not want to repay the loan. Another Space is discussing the best Elvis Presley performances of all time. Yet another space is talking about the best episodes of Start Trek. I see one, right now, talking about the Crimean war. 3. Currently, the Twitter Spaces full-feature set is Available for iOS, only; not iPad OS. 4. In the Twitter app, select the Spaces tab. VoiceOver users must use the swiping gesture in order to scroll down the list of live Spaces. 5. As you swipe through the list, you will hear VoiceOver say, Button” several times. You will also hear, “Posted by”. Listen for the posted by phrase because immediately following that will be a description of the Space. Understand that Twitter has no control over how someone writes their description so if they cannot spell correctly or use a bad description, that will be reflected in VoiceOver’s output. 6. Entering a Space is easy and launching your own live Space is easy, also. I suggest that you search the web for the various features of Spaces for more detail. 7. Twitter Spaces is free for both listening and hosting. 8. Twitter Spaces can be scheduled for future broadcasts. 9. Twitter Spaces can be recorded so that people can listen at a later time. 10. Any Twitter user can host a Space. 11. I intend to host a great number of Spaces in which we can discuss technology, screen readers, Braille, etc. 12. My twitter handle is @MarkMarcus. If you want to be alerted when I host a Space, follow me on Twitter. Also, if you have more questions about this new feature, you are welcome to send me a direct message on Twitter. 13. A great deal of companies are beginning to host lives spaces so I think this feature is here to stay. 14. Finally, I know that this is a great deal of information to assimilate but it is so important, to me, that we, as blind and low vision members of society, make our voices heard in this new forum that is expanding across the globe. If I have mistakenly represented a feature of Twitter Spaces, please reply, on-list, with the correct information so that we may all benefit from the updated info. I look so very forward to seeing / hearing, (big smile), all of you on Twitter Spaces, soon. 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