Twitter changes how you switch between algorithmically-driven and chronological feeds
As promised by Elon Musk, Twitter's new swipeable timeline is here. The platform has rolled out an update that makes switching between the algorithm-driven main feed and the chronological one fairly easy. The new feeds are named 'For you' and 'Following,' with the former appearing first by default when you open the app. The update is being rolled out to iOS users first.
Why does this story matter?
One of the chief reasons behind TikTok's success is how it pushes a constant stream of content that you might like toward you. Meta has also been using that as an example to push algorithm-defined content. Now, Twitter has joined the list. The success of this update, however, will depend on the kind of tweets Twitter's algorithm presents to you.
'For you' replaces the 'Home' option
'For you' is similar to the old 'Home' option. It shows tweets from the people you follow along with those tweets that Twitter thinks you may like. Under this tab, tweets won't be arranged in an order. For some reason only known to Twitter, the company has decided to label the tab the same name as TikTok's algorithm-defined feed.
The app opens to 'For you' tab by default
As you can imagine, the 'Following' tab replaces 'Latest Tweets.' Earlier, Twitter allowed you to set 'Latest Tweets' as the default tab when you opened the app. The new update takes away that option. Now, when you open the app, you'll always see the 'For you' tab first. This could be part of Twitter's strategic push to make the algorithm-driven feed the primary option.
Here's Twitter's announcement about the new feature
Twitter introduced a similar swiping option last year
This isn't the first time Twitter made such a move. Last year, the company introduced the ability to swipe between 'Home' and 'Latest Tweets.' However, the feature was rolled back just after four days. Why? Because people didn't like the 'Home' timeline. This time, Musk and Co. have packed the old wine in a new bottle. Maybe the response will be different this time.
