Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is testing a new feature under which the tweets are shown to the users from the site followed by their friends, but not by them. One of the users (@aleefbaypay) pointed the new feature on Monday. The user does not follow the Buzzfeed, but someone whom he follows does.
WTF @twitter, why am I seeing tweets from accounts that I don't follow but are followed by someone whom I follow?
— aleefbaypay (@aleefbaypay) August 3, 2014
Is this also for newbies?
Twitter might get into hot water if it releases this feature because following an account on the social network is a contract. “You’re allowing that person’s tweets and retweets to enter your feed. You’re not expecting a random tweet to appear that wasn’t retweeted by that person,” says a report from The Next Web.
Anything that shows in the feed apart from the tweets of the one’s user is following, it is known as ad. However, these tweets do not look like ads, but more like an endorsement from the person that user follows.
The new feature could be of use for new users, who generally are confused with many things including “who to follow” question. In recent times, Twitter has been working to simplify its service for newbies.
Twitter simplifying services
In another such experiment to simplify services for users, Twitter launched a new feature that explains the hashtag so that those new to Twitter save embarrassment of misunderstanding the trending hashtag and commenting something odd. Ever since the company has launched Hashtag feature, it is being used increasingly.
According to the Wall Street Journal #lol was explained by Twitter as League of Legends and not “laugh out loud” whereas #smh was identified as “shaking my head” and not like The Sydney Morning Herald.
As of now, Twitter has launched the feature only for iPhone, and supposedly it is still in its experimenting phase. According to the latest financial statement, the company has a user base of 271 active million users with revenues of $312 million.
All these experiments conducted by twitter from time to time are an attempt towards simplify the experience for the users and retain them. The micro-blogging site is known for running such tests, and some of which are never released for their users.
