✨ Twitter’s Sparkle Decision ✨
When the social networks moved from having Flat Feeds in order of what’s new to algorithmically filtered feeds, it mainstreamed the experience, and the personalization fit the targeted advertising model. But Filtered Feeds have negative direct and second order effects that at scale have changed the world for the worst.
Twitter recently made perhaps the most remarkable product decision of any social platform.
The Filtered Feed Problem
Filter Feeds fit the targeted advertising model. I’d bet that Twitter had to sacrifice advertising revenue — in the short term.
Filtered Feeds promote more viral content to drive engagement. And are more prone to manipulation, through paid or earned means. Shock value content that reinforces biases and prompts outrage bubbles up to the top. I blogged about how sacrificing virality might be a necessary check against misinformation, including flattening the feed as a nuclear option.
Filtered Feeds are also more addictive.
Filtered Feeds have increased entertainment value, discovery, engagement and monetization, and they aren’t going away.
A First-Class Decision
I’m not writing this because I long for the days of yore (Twitter in 2006). Flat feeds by contrast don’t have these issues. Just a reverse chronological order for what’s new. They put the control back in the hands of the user to curate the feed. It encourages people to contribute more, and then get more back (instead of just being in a passive consumption mode). And it’s better for breaking or live events.
What the Twitter product team did is an an amazing decision, making a first class feature to toggle between filtered or flat. Filtered feeds are better for the prompting question “What’s Happening?” and Flat feeds are better for the question “What are you doing?”
They say it increases user satisfaction and contribution. I’d bet it is better for engagement and monetization over time. It involved sacrificing part of what has proven to work and changing a core experience.
I’d love to read the inside scoop some day about how product meetings went with stakeholders to come to this decision. Other social networks will have to give up on what has worked and make hard decisions to regain trust and sustainably grow. Twitter should be commended, and this should be a case study for others.
