One of the most talked-about new social platforms is finally opening up to the public.
Branch, a website that lets users create discussions around social content, launched out of beta on Monday and will now let anyone with a Twitter account sign up.
Social networks such as Twitter already let users post conversation starters online, of course. But Branch hopes to take this a step further by providing a space for these conversations to continue and grow -- or as the company puts it, to provide a "home for dialogues online."
Branch users can create conversations around tweets and articles by linking to the original URL. They can also flesh out any part of an exchange in a Branch thread, turning it into its own discussion.
The startup was founded in 2011 by two college students and an Etsy designer. After several months of bootstrapping the company, initially called Roundtable, the trio joined the Obvious Corporation, an incubator launched by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone.
Branch went on to raise a $2 million round of funding in early 2012, and emerged out of private beta in August.
In addition to launching publicly, Branch announced a couple new features that are common on other social networks, including giving users the ability to offer feedback on posts through likes, favorites and upvotes, and to view an activity feed of people listening in to their Branch conversations.
The service has also integrated SoundCloud and Spotify, so users can easily share music into their discussion threads.
Have you tried out Branch yet? What do you make of it? Share in the comments.