What is Project Lightning?

Recently there has been a lot of talk about Twitter’s supposedly secret upcoming feature, Project Lightning, and it’s easy to see why.

What we do know is that it will curate and display events-based content in rich feeds which will be visible whether the user is logged into Twitter or not. The feature will be available on both the desktop version and the apps, while the feeds will be embedded into other websites and apps.

Essentially, users will be able to swipe through a feed of full-screen photos and instant-play videos (including Vines and Periscopes) in a chronologically ordered feed which will be curated by a team of content editors.

Let’s look at how that might work:

LigntningInfographicArtists impression

Full screen images and videos with a timeline tracking across the bottom shows you where you are in an event as it progresses.

Imagine Snapchat‘s Stories feature, but on Twitter. Suddenly users no longer have to trawl for content in a feed or a hashtag but can see all the relevant content from an event in one place.

The ability to display this content to people whether they are logged in or not, and embed that feed on other websites or apps means that Twitter can engage with a much larger audience and gain some new users eyes on real-time content.

This could potentially be a game changer for live events, adding yet more real, measurable value to live event social.

Project Lightning is being headed up by Kevin Weil, SVP of Product at Twitter, who has said “It’s a brand new way to look at tweets, this is a bold change, not evolutionary. It’s around anything that’s interesting. It could be current events, it could be breaking news, it could be awards shows or sports. But also cultural events and moments — things around your location and where you are. There’s amazing content, for example, posted to Throwback Thursday every single Thursday. But it’s hard to discover it; you have to work as a user to go and find the best stuff, but [we] can do it easily and can package it richly.”

We can expect Project Lighting at some point this year. Stay tuned for more information.

Latest Posts

this post unpacks why b2b isn’t boring and how it’s moved from nice-to-have to mission-critical. it argues for trust as a working system (clear claims, named sources, human voices), puts short, sourced answers where people and ai look (linkedin, youtube, communities), and shows why people beat logos for credibility. it backs hybrid buying journeys that give control and timely human support, and it tracks intent signals like saves, sends and branded search. if b2b is your world, join us at socialday b2b forum 2025 at bounce, shoreditch on 12 november to go deeper.
Read More
If you’re a B2B marketer, you can probably see your buyer is changing. Your meetings seem to have more and more senior-positioned folk who are younger, digitally native, and social pioneers. It’s time to adapt accordingly. They research on their phones, trust creators more than brands, and expect to feel…
Read More
Social schedulers vs native: what actually works You’re managing a posting plan that never quits. Copy, links, tags, alt text, approvals, and the “can we move this to Thursday?” Loop. You’re holding social strategy in one hand and a calendar in the other, trying to keep both upright. At immediate…
Read More