So the rumours have come to fruition, a big change has begun arriving to our Twitter timelines, where we are shown an algorithm-driven stream of tweets as opposed to the current live feed unsullied by machines. The ‘best tweets first’ view is starting to appear as an option for web viewers, although users need to enable it under Settings for now – this will most likely change to the default at some point, with app updates no doubt incoming.
I’m unsure as to what the outcome will be in terms of use of the service, but #RIPTwitter was/is probably a bit premature.
From a Mashable post on the change:
The company pushed out an update Wednesday that makes its much-talked-about timeline redesign official. The new feature, which is live on Twitter’s app and website now, will show tweets that are sorted based on relevancy, rather than chronology, at the top of your timeline.
For journalists and marketers, there are other ways to view Twitter in a more focused or unfiltered fashion, Twitter lists and Tweetdeck being two solid options, see more here from FirstDraft: 10 ways local journalists can better cover their patch.
It is an inevitable conclusion to the problem of Twitter not drawing enough new users, alongside changes including the Favourites signified by stars morphing into hearts, meaning people were now ‘liking’ updates Facebook-style.
This was much to the annoyance of some (myself included) at the perception and way people had originally been using the favourite option, myself regularly as a means of bookmarking tweets to come back and view later. But we got over it and moved on, we may well do the same regarding the timeline rebirth.
Facebook users still use the service despite being delivered an artificially molded stream of updates based on various parameters. Although, via Mathew Ingram on Fortune.com:
A survey by researchers from the University of Illinois showed that 60% of users didn’t even know that Facebook filters their feed at all.
But as Mathew Ingram points out aboutalgorithms being helpful for some,they come with risks:
By definition, algorithmic filtering means that you are not the one who is choosing what to see and not see… And while this may be helpful—because of the sheer volume of content out there—it comes with biases and risks
It’s never perfect, content of real interest fails to appear high up in people’s timelines, but we survive, and there is the option to view by ‘Most Recent’ under the Settings options.
But more widely what happens if this doesn’t work? A sale on the cards surely, and then a more uncertain future… the danger is, will it kill what makes Twitter ‘fun’ – more from Mashable?:
Twitter’s struggle, though, is that most people are not like me; they never got over platform’s messy nature. I’ve always believed that hashtags, which arrived after Twitter’s launch, were an excellent organizing principle. When Twitter figured out how to display trending hashtags, I thought it was a godsend. But it wasn’t enough for regular people who, perhaps, still associated the hashtag with telephones.
Twitter has been trying for years to make the service more obvious and accessible, right up to the new Moments, a feature they’ve force fed to existing users and one that has failed to inspire new ones.
In theory at least, the timeline change helps authenticated blue-ticked profiles which should benefit from being more prominently displayed (presuming they are tweeting interesting/topical content in the right way, nudge nudge!)
Blue pill or red pill: Which timeline is for you?
I just hope that switching between the algorithm and live timeline view is relatively easy.
Timeline control details from Twitter.com support:
On twitter.com:
- Log in to your account on twitter.com and go to your Account settings page.
- Under Content, look for Timeline and toggle the box next to Show me the best Tweets first to change the setting.
Twitter for iOS:
- On your profile, tap the gear icon
and select Settings.
- Tap the account whose settings you’d like to adjust.
- Under Timeline, tap Timeline personalization.
- Next to Show me the best Tweets first, tap to turn it off.
Twitter for Android:
- Tap the overflow icon
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Timeline.
- Next to Show me the best Tweets first, uncheck the box to turn it off.
Further reading: 5 facts you need to know, from Heavy.com
