Twitter unveiled a new Connect tab on its app Tuesday that it hopes will make it easier for you to find people you’re interested in on the social networking service.
A new icon of a person with a plus sign is now visible on the left side of the app’s home page. The icon takes users to the Connect page where you see lists of people and accounts that Twitter thinks you might want to follow.
Find the best people to follow. With the new Connect tab, there's no place like home: https://t.co/gWTtAmgizw pic.twitter.com/mu8pXlKPF0
— Twitter (@Twitter) May 3, 2016
A blog post at Twitter.com spelled out the changes:
To give you the best recommendations — which we’ll continue to refine over time — we look at who you already follow, Tweets you like, popular accounts in your local area, what’s happening in the world right now, and more. We’ll also let you know exactly why we’re showing you each recommendation.
The Connect tab also makes it easier to connect with your friends and family by giving you the option to automatically sync your address book. And if someone in your address book joins Twitter, we’ll let you know so you can give them a warm welcome.
Based on my own activity — liking or retweeting — Connect recommended that I add a number different tech news sites to my follow list. It worked. You’re welcome @usatodaytech, @reuterstech, @Recode. Many of the same types of accounts showed up in a list that was determined by who I follow.
As for “people I know,” all five that were visible without showing “more” were ex co-workers. I didn’t add them. But expanding the option showed me some people followed by the people I follow. The app also named some accounts “near me” that it considered popular, including @BillGates, @SoundersFC and @UWAthletics.
Twitter said the experience was reimagined because finding new accounts to follow “used to require jumping through a few hoops and a dash of luck.” The company said the update is available to everyone on Twitter for iOS and Android.
You may have to update your app to see the prompt to connect to Connect.
The relatively small change is part of a broader wave of tweaks at Twitter that have included everything from highlighting “important” tweets to shaking up the entire executive team. The company’s push to retain users and attract new ones failed to impress Wall Street as company shares fell 10 percent last week following a quarterly revenue miss.
