Social media feeds used to be chronological, but most platforms moved away from that model over the years, instead opting for a timeline that was organized via a series of algorithms. These algorithms were ostensibly meant to make it so that users end up seeing posts that are most relevant to them. However, the chronological timelines were definitely sorely missed, and it seems like Twitter has taken that seriously. The social media platform was seen testing a button in the top right corner of the app that would allow you to see a chronological timeline instead of the one decided by algorithms.
While this is a test and nothing more, it seems like Twitter has decided to move forward with the feature and make it a permanent addition to the app. Now, both the iOS as well as the Android Twitter app will have a button that will allow you to see tweets from people you are following in chronological order. This is definitely going to give users a lot more control over their timeline. One thing social media platforms need to understand is that users like the feeling of control that they sometimes get when they have options to customize their user experiences.
Algorithmic feeds are problematic because of the fact that they tried to fix something that wasn’t broken in the first place. Tweeting is by nature a chronological activity. Hence, an algorithm selected tweet that seems relevant to a user might be meaningless without the context of the tweets that came before it chronologically. This is part of a series of updates that Twitter has been making to the platform, including doubling the maximum tweet size last year and also placing less emphasis on quantity in followers and a greater emphasis on the quality of said followers.
While this is a test and nothing more, it seems like Twitter has decided to move forward with the feature and make it a permanent addition to the app. Now, both the iOS as well as the Android Twitter app will have a button that will allow you to see tweets from people you are following in chronological order. This is definitely going to give users a lot more control over their timeline. One thing social media platforms need to understand is that users like the feeling of control that they sometimes get when they have options to customize their user experiences.
Algorithmic feeds are problematic because of the fact that they tried to fix something that wasn’t broken in the first place. Tweeting is by nature a chronological activity. Hence, an algorithm selected tweet that seems relevant to a user might be meaningless without the context of the tweets that came before it chronologically. This is part of a series of updates that Twitter has been making to the platform, including doubling the maximum tweet size last year and also placing less emphasis on quantity in followers and a greater emphasis on the quality of said followers.
