Twitter is testing a feature for its alpha Android users to help create custom Timelines called “Fave People.” The feature lets users separate their favorite accounts into a separate Timeline. So it’s basically a List by another, slightly catchier name.
Users with access to the feature will see it prominently placed next to the Home Timeline. The instructions encourage you to create a custom list on the go.
To add accounts to the list, users can tap the star icon on the profiles of their favorite users. They can also get notifications sent whenever the people on their favorite list tweet.
Since it lets you create a custom feed of your selected Twitter favorites, Fave People is similar to the already-in-existence Lists feature. I mean, if I wanted to, I could even create a list called “Fave People” and the user experience would be nearly identical. It’s not clear if this is an effort to rebrand the Lists feature to encourage users to start creating additional custom Timelines, or if this is an effort to create a distinct user experience. The primary new element is the introduction of a notifications for certain accounts, which could be helpful—selecting notifications for accounts that break news, for example, could ensure that you don’t have to constantly monitor Twitter to keep an eye on important stories.
Twitter has shown a desire to bulk up its role in breaking news this past year, with an alliance with Dataminr to help journalists identify stories. It has also played around with that idea of news notifications alerts. So the introduction of this app fits in with other projects the company has introduced. But Fave People is distinct with its alerts because it gives users more control over what they get alerted about.
While Twitter encourages users to add accounts to their Fave People list manually, it appears some accounts may appear automatically: Daily Dot staff member Jason Reed has the alpha version of Twitter Android and discovered the feature had automatically added the Daily Dot’s Twitter account as the sole account on his Fave People list. This may be because he lists @DailyDot as his employer in his Twitter bio, but it’s not clear at this point.
Who will appear on your Fave People list?
H/T TechCrunch | Illustration via Jason Reed
