After the backlash regarding reports of Twitter introducing an “out-of-order” timeline, our beloved Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has came forward to clarify the matter. In a series of tweets, Jack has assured that Twitter never planned to reorder timelines “next week.” Bringing more relief, Jack also said that Twitter is live and real-time it is here to stay, by becoming more Twitter-y.
This all started when BuzzFeed reported that Twitter will implement “algorithmic timeline” as soon as by next week. The report, which has now been updated, went viral and #RIPTwitter stayed as top trending topic during the last 24 hours worldwide. The worldwide angst against Twitter’s timeline changes forced CEO Jack to finally clear their stand.
By directly addressing the Twitter community, Jack tried to cool down the whole matter. He said he too, “loves” real time and this is what makes Twitter what it is. At the same time, Jack did not clearly indicate that Twitter NEVER planned such change. Jack did not deny the feature ever existed and said “they never planned to reorder timelines next week” which means Twitter has indeed some plans to make changes in future.
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
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
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
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
Twitter can help make connections in real-time based on dynamic interests and topics, rather than a static social/friend graph. We get it.
— Jack (@jack) February 6, 2016
Thank you all for your passion and trust. We will continue to work to earn it, and we will continue to listen, and talk!
— Jack (@jack) February 6, 2016
While Twitter never confirmed or denied the possibility of bringing algorithmic timeline as soon as next week, many believed that Twitter’s change might be an opt-in and not forced. Josh Sternberg of NBC News tweeted that the algorithmic timeline feature will be “strictly opt-in”, without citing any sources. However, such claims did not stop the uproar against Twitter, leading the #RIPTwitter hashtag to trend worldwide for a very long period.
Sources at Twitter tell me algorithms are strictly opt in.
— Josh Sternberg (@joshsternberg) February 6, 2016
Jack’s response does not clear the confusion over another feature which Twitter is testing out since a few months. The “while you were away” feature brings a number of previous Tweets in-between of the regular timeline, breaking the conversation order. I have been one of the users who have seen this feature and I’ve found it to be inconvenient while going through a number of tweets.
It is said that the tweets under “while you were away” label are best and popular tweets. What I fail to understand is what makes the tweet “popular” or “best”? Twitter itself, other users or me?
Along with the tweets under “while you were away” label, a close button is displayed. Upon closing the tweet, it asks whether you liked this or not.
Anyways, Jack has calmed the storm down, for now. It will be interesting to see which changes make their way to Twitter.
In the meantime, you can share your thoughts regarding the new timeline, While you were away feature and whether Twitter should bring such changes or not.
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