Twitter Moments, previously referred to as Project Lightning, is here, and it brings with it an understandable level of excitement. It is a feature that lives within the Twitter mobile app, which is made up of curated videos, photos and tweets related to stories and events being discussed on Twitter. An editorial team at Twitter curates the content.

Moments is really compelling. It is Twitter doubling down on what makes it unique from any other platform out there, serving as the default source for what is happening in the world right now.

Twitter’s challenge has been growing its user base, which has been hindered by the fact that really getting value out of Twitter relies on users taking the time to discover and follow the right accounts. Moments removes all of that by curating the most relevant content around a topic without relying on users to filter everything for themselves.

Moments is something people can “get” the instant they try it. It doesn’t require explanation, unlike the core Twitter platform. It’s clear to new users that they are seeing the best content and commentary from people related to a specific event or topic. And because Moments is for everyone, there’s an opportunity for more users to try out the platform, get exposed to what Twitter is all about and then convert into full-time users.

Twitter’s Next Best Chance

The most exciting prospect for brands is Moments' potential to get Twitter in front of more people. More people means more opportunities for them to become users and more opportunities to reach the right ones through Promoted Tweets or even Promoted Moments of their own.

Promoted Moments will be best for advertisers looking to activate around a specific event, sponsorship or product launch. They’ll need enough content related to a specific topic to share over the course of 24 hours. Something like an Apple announcement that invites conversation and can be shared over an extended period of time is ideal. Success will come from the story and the quality of content used to tell that story, but advertises who excel here will be able to capture users’ attention for an extended period of time—something advertisers haven’t had to use Twitter for in the past.

Moments is About Proliferation of Twitter

The big opportunity for Moments to succeed isn’t on Twitter or even with brands. Moments is about proliferating Twitter across the Web.

This week, Twitter is opening up two tools for developers called Publisher and Curator. The tools allow developers and publishers to find tweets and then change the way those tweets look on their websites. They can create collections around themes either automatically or by curating themselves. The collections can then be embedded on their sites. Publishers can essentially create and embed their own Twitter Moments.

That creates potential for Moments to be everywhere and in front of more eyes. If Twitter can do that successfully and find a way to integrate advertising, it won’t matter if viewers become users because Twitter will become part of the fabric of media consumption. That’s a bold vision for Moments, but just maybe… that will be the future.