Twitter announced it is testing a new feature called Communities that will allow users to talk about specific topics with others who share the same interest.

According to Twitter, “Communities is a new way to easily connect with people that want to talk about the same things you do. People can therefore expect to see Communities, such as Dogs, Astrology + Skincare, right away. Communities exist on Twitter app as a place to Tweet about interests separate from the public timeline.”

When you send a Tweet in a Community, only people in your Community are able to reply but the Tweets will be publicly visible.

Only those in the Community can engage in the conversation. They can Tweet, Reply, Like, or Retweet.

New members must be invited by the moderator or another member in the Community in order to join.

Communities will have Moderators who can make internal Community rules and set the tone for future conversations.

Some of the first Communities will be moderated by leading Creators in each space:

• 💫#AstroTwitter: @ijaadee, @shawtyastrology, @milkstrology
• 🐶#DogTwitter: @dog_rates, @dogfather, @briancanterbury
• 🧖‍♀️#SkincareTwitter: @labeautyologist, @makeupforwoc, @caveofbeaut
• 👟#SoleFood: @jazzyrae, @sneakerphetish, @_talkswithtj

While there are limited initial Communities at launch, there are many more to come as Twitter will open Communities creation to more people in the coming months.

Twitter will test and learn from the initial Communities, plus anyone can let Twitter know if they are interested in creating a community.

Find more about communities here