Twitter is trying again to make a pre-filtered – i.e. algorithmically created – timeline of tweets palatable to its users. iPhone users serve as guinea pigs. the latest version 9.40 of the iOS and iPadOS app of the short message service, which appeared earlier this week, makes the “For you” view the standard again. This contains tweets in the order that Twitter’s algorithms consider appropriate for the respective user. The service is actually known (and popular) for focusing on a purely chronological timeline, in contrast to other social networks such as Facebook.
Another experiment
This is implemented in practice by the fact that the timeline of the tweets no longer forms the start page when the app is opened, but rather the “For you” view. The chronological order hasn’t disappeared completely, but you have to select it via tab first. Also, all of the app’s features (like tweet views) always return you to the “For you” page, so it’s constantly being served up again, so you could mistake it for the main view of the service. The app currently lacks the ability to change this, so the behavior is enforced.
It’s not the first time Twitter has made this change. At the beginning of 2022 – before Elon Musk took over the service – the app had already been redesigned for a short time. After some massive user protests, however, this was reversed. The “For you” view not only showcases tweets from users you follow, but messages from anyone that Twitter thinks are interesting. It also helps the company collect more data about users’ interests (and thereby sell more targeted advertising).
Less power for the user
The chronological timeline, on the other hand, is determined by the user himself: only tweets from those who are followed appear here – and that as soon as they tweet. With algorithmically generated timelines, there is always the danger that the user will be “sorted” incorrectly and will receive strange tweets that do not interest him – not to mention a possible fixation in (not self-determined) filter bubbles.
Currently, the change to the “For you” home page is only implemented on the iPhone. The Android version of the app remains the same. A second current problem with the Twitter app on iOS concerns the image preview. The recordings have recently been cropped (again), they must be opened for full view. Complaints about it seem to have reached the Twitter management, even Elon Musk likes the presentation according to their own statements Not.
(bsc)
