Twitter Introduces New Timeline That Places 'Best' Tweets First The announcement comes days after CEO Jack Dorsey softly debunked the possible change.
By Carly Okyle
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
The hashtag #RIPTwitter was trending last week after rumors of a change in the way Tweets were presented hit the Twitterverse. This prompted Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey to respond with this post:
Hello Twitter! Regarding #RIPTwitter: I want you all to know we're always listening. We never planned to reorder timelines next week.
— Jack (@jack) February 6, 2016
Today, however, the micro-blogging network announced a new opt-in feature that would prioritize "tweets you're most likely to care about," according to a post on the company's blog. These posts, the ones from people users follow that they interact with most, will be at the top of the timeline in reverse chronological order. The regular timeline -- also in reverse chronological order -- will appear underneath.
Related: Amid Freak Out, Dorsey Debunks Idea that Twitter Will Become More Like Facebook
"We've already seen that people who use this new feature tend to Retweet and Tweet more, creating more live commentary and conversations, which is great for everyone," says a Twitter blog post.
Twitter says this change is not a dramatic reworking of the news feed and does not signal a shift toward an algorithmic approach, according to CNBC. The new feature would be similar to the "while you were away" component that already exists, which gives users an update of what they've missed in their feeds.
To try out the new feature, select the timeline section in the settings menu and click on "Show me the best Tweets first."
Related: Twitterverse Pounces on Tim Cook's Blurry Super Bowl Photo
