Twitter announced yesterday that they have started testing a new feature for the popular micro-blogging service. The new “List” feature will allow users to organise their tweets by assigning them to various sub-categories.
According to a blog post by project leader Nick Kallen, “The idea is to allow people to create lists of Twitter accounts. For example, you could create a list of the funniest Twitter accounts of all time, athletes, local businesses, friends, or any compilation that makes sense.”
Private or Public
Users will have the option to make their lists either private or public, with public lists allowing other users to see which accounts you’re following.
“Other Twitter users can then subscribe to your lists,” Kallen said. “This means lists have the potential to be an important new discovery mechanism for great tweets and accounts.”
User Feedback
According to Kallen, Twitter is implementing the feature in response to user feedback that highlighted the need for the ability to organise tweets, which are streamed, real-time torrents comprised of short messages that are now forming a cornerstone of online social media.
He also said that Twitter would be releasing the code for the list feature to developers, allowing them to adapt applications to the new feature.
Still In Limited Testing
The feature is still in limited testing at the moment, which means that very few people have the ability to actually do this kind of organising, but Kaller assures users that once it’s been tested a bit more, the feature will be launched for all accounts.