Twitter changed one of its settings this week. It was a tiny change, some might not have even noticed it, but for dedicated users of the microblogging platform it was a huge change to the way Twitter works, what it does, and how they use it.
It also had the astounding side effect of proving not even Twitter’s inventors fully understand how to squeeze the best from their brainchild.
The change was a simple one. Twitter stopped showing users replies from their friends if they were directly aimed at someone they didn’t also know. The idea was to stop you seeing “one-sided fragments via replies sent to folks you don’t follow.”
Seems simple enough. An innocent attempt to clean up feeds all over the world (and probably ease the load on Twitter’s servers too). But it sent a flurry of indignation through the Twitterverse. See, those little “fragments” were relied on by many to make new friends. The might not have been intended for a wider audience, but that doesn’t mean they’re not interesting, and nosy Twitter users mooching through them found they’d quickly track down others discussing interesting things. They’d then follow them, and widen their net of daily tweets. Simple, really, but it’s something the boffins at Twitter should have forseen.
In fairness to the Twitter team, they’ve responded with the speed and succinct clarity you’d expect from microblogging mavens, bringing back public updates beginning with an @username to restore the service’s “serendipity and discovery.” They’re also working on a more advanced setting which can be tweaked on a per-follower basis.
However, I fear that’s getting a bit granular. The whole point of Twitter is its blanket approach to broadcasting news, thoughts, feelings or straight-forward rants. The Twitter team’s changes, and eagerness in backing down, serve simply to underline one of the continuing peculiarities of microblogging: nobody really understands it in full. Except maybe the hive-mind of its users. And one thing’s for sure: they don’t like change!
P.s. For one of the most jaw-dropping uses of Twitter yet, have a peep at the updates of @Astro_Mike, the first man to twitter from space.