What if you can control the Tweets you’re shown every time you log into the app? What if you were given variable options to control how Twitter’s algorithm works? What would you say if you could essentially order the way in which relevant Tweets are presented, based on personal preferences?
Fortunately for you and anyone else asking these questions, that may well be in the cards, according to a new discovery by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong.
Tide Control
Third-party tools will be providing custom timelines? Now that’s interesting. The process would seemingly enable non-Twitter platforms to build additional algorithms, invariance to Twitter’s own, enabling new ways to experience the latest Tweets. Wong further notes that this could essentially enable users to ‘pick their own algorithm’, not just Twitter’s Home Timeline Algorithm.
That concept has been floated in various forms in the past, while more algorithmic transparency has also been a key element in Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. More recently, Musk has taken to criticizing Twitter’s current algorithm sorting, which he claims manipulate users’ experiences. The solution? Musk intends to crack the algorithm open, enabling users to better understand the internal workings of the platform’s systems so as to arrive at more informed decisions.
Twitter has been exploring similar approaches for a while now through its ‘Blusesky’ initiative, though its core idea may not be as simple in practice; it requires a level of code knowledge to fully grasp the complexities of such when laid out bare. An alternative could lie in open sourcing Twitter’s algorithmic parameters, enabling developers to build new, custom algorithms that users can choose when personalizing their Tweet experience.
“For example, I’d want to try an algorithm that attempts to prioritize nuanced conversations about important topics. Maybe someone else would want algorithms to find mind-expanding threads, savage dunks, or thirst traps of hot new snax.”
This might be what Twitter is working towards with this new update, which, as Wong notes, points to other providers building a marketplace of sorts for algorithms within the app.
The Wrap
It can potentially alter the broader Twitter experience entirely, along with general Twitter marketing approaches. When asked about Wong’s statements, Twitter, of course, gave us a completely generic response, which could signify that such change is indeed coming. Speculation or not, with Elon already behind it (should the takeover succeed and push through), there would certainly be a lot to consider. Just imagine – a totally different Twitter Feed for each and every user. Astounding!
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