Twitter considers filtering message feeds by ‘relevance’

Following Facebook, Twitter seems to have plans to filter its users’ Twitter feeds through algorithms. For example, the user should see more ‘relevant’ tweets, but such filters may encounter resistance from users.

According to GigaOM, Anthony Noto, chief financial officer at Twitter, has hinted that the social networking service is considering using algorithms to filter users’ Twitter feeds. Currently, users receive tweets in reverse chronological order, but such a filter would change that. According to the CFO, users would be presented with more relevant tweets that they may have missed before. Facebook has been using such filters on its users’ newsfeeds for some time now.

Should Twitter actually switch to introducing such filters, there is a considerable chance that fanatical Twitter users in particular will revolt. They see unfiltered streams as one of the strengths of the social networking service. A recent investigation into the popular uprising in the American suburb of Ferguson also revealed that hardly any messages appeared on Facebook about the riots, while the unfiltered Twitter was busy tweeting about the riots. According to the researchers, applying ‘relevance filters’ to postings from social networks can therefore have demonstrable social consequences.

Twitter would consider switching to filters under pressure from shareholders. The American company thinks it can generate more income and also attract more users. Last month, Twitter decided to start showing users tweets from accounts they don’t follow. The company is also experimenting with ‘buy now’ buttons and showing advertising tweets.