Twitter is experimenting with relevance-ranked timeline

Twitter is experimenting with displaying tweets in a timeline that is not arranged chronologically, but by relevance. Some users are already seeing the new view. Twitter’s exact plans are unknown.

Motherboard has reported a number of users who saw their timeline on Twitter change. They no longer saw those tweets from accounts they follow in chronological order. A Twitter spokesperson confirms to various American media that they are experimenting with a different ‘timeline’, which would sort tweets by relevance.

During the announcement of the quarterly results, CEO Jack Dorsey already hinted that the service was questioning the current chronological presentation of tweets. Twitter is diligently looking for ways to attract more users, as the number of active Twitter users is barely growing.

It is not clear whether Twitter wants to adjust the ranking for all accounts or whether there will be a choice. Some users who are part of the current experiment are expressing dissatisfaction with the new “relevance” timeline. Facebook already stopped using the chronological timeline in 2012, a decision that is still criticized by many users.