Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Talks About Algorithmic Timeline – Dismisses #RIPTwitter Controversy, But Hints At Change
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey dismissed the #RIPTwitter hashtag that had gone viral after rumors surfaced the micro-blogging network was implementing an algorithmic timeline for tweets. Despite an earnest attempt to pacify his millions of concerned users, Dorsey did hint about impending changes that could have long-term implications.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey attempted to pacify his millions of concerned users after rumors surfaced, that the micro-blogging network was implementing algorithmic timeline for tweets. Through a stream of tweets, Dorsey confirmed the company had no immediate plans to change the timelines.
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
Assuring users that “Twitter is here to stay,” Dorsey assuaged fears of the platform’s users that soon Twitter might not offer the simplicity of tweets appearing in reverse chronological order. He added that Twitter’s real-time heart wouldn’t necessarily be going away. However, Dorsey stopped short of confirming anything about changes that might affect how the tweets would appear in the near future. He did not shed any light about any new timeline algorithm, whether it would be optional or when the changes would start reflecting in timelines, reported The Verge.
After BuzzFeed News indicated that the micro-blogging social media platform was about to introduce an algorithmic, which could be similar to Facebook, an ominous hastag #RIPTwitter started doing the rounds. Essentially, the changes could be harder to detect, but the platform claims would help you to check tweets that you might have missed earlier. The algorithm may have been based on the one that ranks tweets for the “while you were away” feature that Twitter had introduced a year ago.
I *love* real-time. We love the live stream. It's us. And we're going to continue to refine it to make Twitter feel more, not less, live!
— jack (@jack) February 6, 2016
Though this sounds helpful, many Twitter users remained skeptical and were convinced that the platform might be turning into a profit making machine. Facebook openly offers users the chance to “promote” posts for a fee. Such posts are “prioritized”, which essentially means they are placed at prominent locations, irrespective of their timing, to ensure they get viewed and don’t get lost in the barrage of other posts. Facebook doesn’t reveal exactly how it manipulates the posts to garner more eyeballs, but offers a standard tariff which assures a certain number of users will have their timelines manipulated to have your post displayed.
Twitter is live. Twitter is real-time. Twitter is about who & what you follow. And Twitter is here to stay! By becoming more Twitter-y.
— jack (@jack) February 6, 2016
“Twitter is live. Twitter is real-time,” tweeted Dorsey to alleviate the concerns. “We love the live stream. It’s us. And we’re going to continue to refine it to make Twitter feel more, not less, live!” was another tweet that seemed to imply that Tweeter isn’t about to undergo a fundamental change to the way tweets appear in your timeline. However, Dorsey closed off with what could be interpreted as an indirect admission that the platform is being altered:
“Twitter can help make connections in real-time based on dynamic interests and topics, rather than a static social/friend graph.”
Dissected in a reverse order, this could also mean that Twitter can be much more than the simplistic, but much loved, reverse chronological timeline of people you follow. Twitter has traditionally been a platform that put forth the latest tweets first, irrespective of who posted them. As long as you had followed a person on Twitter, his or her tweets would be shown on your timeline as and when they posted it. Twitter had no express control on the way the timeline was arranged.
Look at "while you were away" at the top of your TL. Tweets you missed from people you follow. Pull to refresh to go back to real-time.
— jack (@jack) February 6, 2016
Though Twitter has largely stayed its course, it did test the non-chronological feature with some users last year. Needless to say, many of the users shared that the live feed “isn’t the most relevant experience for a user,” reported New York Daily News.
— jack (@jack) January 5, 2016
Twitter has been testing other modifications, which evoked mixed reactions. Twitter moments, which aggregated tweets about a trending topic, was quickly followed by extending the length of direct messages. Twitter users were also subjected to a rumor that the platform might soon raise the character limit from the signature 140 tweets to a virtually limitless 10,000 characters.
[Photo by Bill Pugliano / Getty Images]
