Twitter has begun rolling out a new feature which allows users to see their best tweets first and there has been mixed reactions. As a Social Media enthusiast and a Human Computer Interaction Professional, I am interested in understanding how this feature will affect interaction on my timeline, so I did my own research.
Twitter’s Senior Engineering Manager, Mike Jahr announced a new timeline feature on it’s blog on Wednesday, February 10, 2016. The new timeline feature gives you the option to see the best Tweets on your first. He goes further to explain how it works without altering the reverse chronological ordering of tweets and how to turn on/off the feature. Reports have shown that interaction has increased on timelines of users who already have this feature.
Osarumen Osamuyi writes about the possible reasons why twitter is introducing the new home timeline feature in his post on TechCabal. He discusses Twitter as a platform as well as a business which is important in understanding Twitter’s ever changing look. Users have often reacted negatively to new features being introduced (The like button), however, they ended up adapting to them. He goes on to discuss the benefits of this feature to both Twitter and its users which include monetization and improved interaction respectively.
From my research, and my knowledge on Human Computer Interaction and Social Media, I have identified three (3) key points which will enable you the understand the ‘how and why’ of Twitter’s new Home timeline feature.
- Test the feature – You are not forced to use the Bests tweets feature, so you can test it out and if you do not like it, you can easily opt-out.
- Power Users – If you manage multiple twitter accounts, you may find that it is easier catchup on relevant tweets and increase interaction with your multiple followers.
- Increased Revenue Stream – The new feature will increase monetization opportunities for twitter thereby keeping it alive for users.
So no need to crucify Twitter just yet, explore the new feature and as always, you can easily share your experience with me.
My name is Tayo, I am a Software Engineer with focus in Human Computer Interaction and cocktail lover. Currently completing my Social Marketing Specialization on Cousera. Feel free to tweet at me @tayomadein