Twitter Expands Its Tiktok-Like Display Format

Twitter appears to be the next site to go 'full TikTok,' as it is now rolling out a new format for its Explore tab that looks just like TikTok, complete with a 'For You' page to showcase the top content matched to you, based on its popularity and your specific interests, as seen in this sample tweeted by social media analyst Matt Navarra.

The new design features two elements: on the main 'Trending' page, users can choose between 'Personalized' and 'Top Trends,' which are the most popular material on the network at the time. When you flip to the For You feed, you'll get a full-screen, vertically scrolling, TikTok-like display of tweet content, which appears to be primarily centered on video tweets but also includes text tweets, all presented in this more immersive presentation style.

According to Twitter:

“We’re continuing to test a revamped, more personalized Explore page to make it easier for you to unwind, find new interests, and see what’s happening.”

This could be a wise strategy since it allows Twitter to gain more particular information about each user's interests and usage behaviors while also catering to changing consumption habits.

TikTok's algorithm is the secret to its success, and TikTok has been able to fine-tune so precisely because the full-screen display style for each clip ensures that it receives immediate reaction feedback on each upload, with each action indicative of your relative interest in that specific video. Because there are numerous tweets on screen at any given time, Twitter can't receive the same data, but dividing them into a single tweet per frame showcase could help Twitter better understand each user's interests and enhance its suggestions.

This test began in December of last year and is now being offered to additional people in a slightly revised layout, according to Twitter. Twitter claims that while this is still a test, it expects to gain more insight into what each user is interested in by using the new style.

It might be an intriguing experiment, and the fact that more people are seeing the choice now indicates that Twitter's early testing was successful, leading to the next round of expansion. But, once the specifics of Elon Musk's buyout are finalized, will it fly with Elon Musk, who is slated to become Twitter CEO very soon?

It appears to be a natural step, and Twitter has been attempting to improve its presenting structure to keep up with changing user patterns. Although fleets didn't work out, this could be a less intrusive, more straightforward technique to start changing tweet discovery in a different direction.