Twitter’s making it even easier to view the latest Tweets of those they follow. Twitter’s introducing a new option that allows users to ‘Pin’ a ‘Latest Tweets’ timeline, allowing them to simply swipe across to see an algorithm-free Tweet Feed.

Pin The Tail On The Tweet

Now, users will see a star icon that they can tap to view Tweets in reverse chronological order. We’re now also granted the option to pin our ‘Latest’ timeline, which then adds it as a swipeable, permanent alternate Feed. Neat. It may not be the full algorithm-free Feed that most users have been longing for, but at least it’s similar, albeit significantly downplayed.

To note, Twitter did have a Tweet sorting option available since 2018. It gave users the ability to create a separate, real-time stream of a user’s latest set of Tweets, making it a more accessible consideration, while also providing an easy way to avoid algorithm sorting. Interestingly enough, former CEO Jack Dorsey essentially proposed something similar last August.

At the time, the move appeared a bit odd, but maybe because it was still Jack that headed everything? I mean, if he really saw value in the option, why didn’t he just opt to make it a regular on the Tweet composer, as opposed to using a third-party app. Twitter has since corrected this and is now introducing the said app, which it has already begun launching to some users back in October, though in a slightly different form.

Now, all users have the option to create a swipeable ‘Latest’ Feed, should they choose to do so, as opposed to having it automatically added. If users don’t mind the current Feed, then it’s fine, but for those who want to check out the latest Tweets in real-time, they need only swipe.

How popular the new Pin option will get is still no one’s guess at this point, but the option to switch to an algorithm feed has been effective. Since release, Tweet engagement has been observed to have increased. It presented Tweets based on overall engagement, as well as in-app personal behavior.

The Wrap

The ironic thing here is that Twitter users actually view an algorithm-defined Feed as being contrary to what Twitter is all about, which should be more on supplying real-time news and updates. This resulted in the persistent call to remove Twitter’s Feed algorithms, despite granting users the ability to instead switch over to an algorithm–free timeline, even if only temporarily.

Twitter has provided access to a ‘Latest’ Tweets timeline for the last three years, with the main gripe of users being that they can’t set that timeline as their default. So while users technically do have an option to get rid of Twitter’s algorithms, it’s mostly just a band-aid solution instead of a complete one. Either way, this simplification or ‘expansion, if you will, should help quell some of the angst towards algorithm-defined Feeds. After all, anything is always better than nothing.

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Sources

https://bit.ly/3J4zHTC