Twitter is finally making a long-time fan-favorite request come true! In a recent Tweet, the company hints that it is now in the process of testing new functionality that simplifies switching between profiles that you follow and a timeline of the latest tweets arranged in reverse-chronological order.
Based on the clip featured in their announcement, Twitter now makes it easier to view the latest Tweets by adding a swipeable timeline option. This means that to view the latest Tweets, all users had to do was swipe to the left. Wow, just imagine if we had the same kind of access to real news in real-life.
As far as Twitter’s development goes, and compared to the general refinements the entirety of social media has undergone throughout the years, this isn’t something new. As long-time users might have noticed, also highlighted in the clip was the ‘Feed Star’, a feature Twitter added back in 2018, which allowed users to switch to a listing of the latest Tweets by clicking the icon. The icon itself was added because of conflicting perspectives users had about the platform’s implementation of an algorithmic timeline two years back.
Algorithmic Clash
Viewed from a marketing perspective, Twitter’s decision to switch to a default algorithm feed was effective. Tweet engagement saw a steady rise all around because users were then presented with tweets based on overall engagement while also factoring in personal in-app behavior. In short, Tweet engagement rose because people were now being fed hyper-relevant, tailored Tweets.
However, the algorithmic timeline didn’t catch on with everyone. A lot of Twitter users found the algorithm-defined timeline contradictory to the original goal of Twitter which was to highlight the latest news and updates in real-time. From this point on, calls for the removal of the Twitter algorithm started pouring in. Despite the addition of the ‘Feed Star’, failure to allow the setting of ‘Latest’ as the default only added to the frustration of some users
As you can see here, even Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gave a somewhat “masked critique”. Funny enough, what Jack said is what Twitter now publishes – it’s not something major or history-defining, but is in some way, something more than a mere “band-aid” solution to douse the burning cries of Twitter users for a ‘Latest-First’ default timeline.
The Wrap
Considering what has already transpired in other social media news, this seems like a rather timely move by Twitter, especially if you take into account the recent controversies surrounding Facebook and how FB whistleblower Frances Haugen told a senate committee on how the platform’s adoption of an algorithmic feed was harmful.
Case and point, Twitter is attempting to put more SOCIAL in social media by theoretically allowing its users to have more control over their timelines. From what we have learned thus far, when it comes to feeds and timelines, regulation only to a certain degree plays out better than force-feeding users information based on predefined algorithms.
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