Twitter's 'suggested users' get mammoth boost from new feature [UPDATED]

A sampling of Twitter's "suggested users."

Some high-profile Twitter accounts have been seeing astronomical jumps in the number of users subscribing to their profile updates -- tens of thousands of new followers, in some cases.

A feature launched last month, called "suggested users," contributed to the spike, explained Evan Williams, Twitter's co-founder and chief executive.

As part of the sign-up process, new users are now shown a sort of featured personalities list that includes a wide variety of popular people and companies. Included are U.K. newspaper The Guardian's technology page, Web personality Felicia Day, TechCrunch, actor Rainn Wilson, computer maker Dell, grocer Whole Foods, the New York Times and CNN.

Since Twitter began endorsing a handful of personalities in mid-January, The Guardian was among several entities to reap a subscriber windfall. Its account jumped from about 4,000 followers to 66,000 in about a month, according to stat-tracking service Twitter Counter. And within the last two weeks, @GuardianTech added new users at a pace about 300% faster than the previous two weeks.

Day, an Internet video maven, experienced similar results. She has jumped from 20,000 to 83,000 since mid-January. TechCrunch went ...

... from 41,000 to 111,000 in the same period. The New York Times' Twitter account increased its subscriber base by a factor of six -- to 145,000.

Williams said Twitter added the feature because many users fall off from the service quickly after singing up, likely because they're not sure what to do next.

"The reason we created this feature is because lots of people sign up to Twitter but aren't following anyone, so we're trying to help get them started," Williams wrote in a comment on a blog post about the follower phenomenon.

Some bloggers and Twitter micro-bloggers took issue with the approach. Since the service began, they said, many Twitter users have invested time and energy into building their user bases into a valuable resource. They complained that the changes interfere with that kind of organic growth.

"People who see the importance of Twitter start asking these kinds of questions," said Leo Laporte, who runs the TWIT podcasting network and until recently was one of Twitter’s top five users. He is now the 27th-most popular user, according to Twitterholic.com. "Sometimes it’s a little bit concerning. Because Twitter has a lot of power to, with simple changes like that, change the ecology of the system."

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone acknowledged that offering "suggested users" wasn't the ideal solution and suggested that the service might evolve to cater to particular users' interests. "Right now it's sort of like staff picks at your local bookstore," he wrote in an e-mail. "Later, we hope to make this smarter."

But a more dynamic -- and less subjective -- recommendation system may not be coming any time soon. "It's not super-high on the priority list," Stone said.

Fair enough. But your staff picks include two New York Times accounts and not a single one of the LA Times' 80 Twitter feeds? That's a slap in the face, Twitter.

Just kidding. We're still cool.

Updated 11 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said the LA Times has nearly three dozen Twitter feeds. There are actually 80.

-- Mark Milian

Comments

[Steve Wax]

This is a very bad move on Twitter's part. Whether they admit it or not, the number of followers is a key metric for a whole lot of Twitter users. How many you reach is important not just to brands, but also to bloggers, many of whom use Twitter to draw/drive attention to their latest post.

Eventually the issue will be whether a randomly created audience is as valuable as a shared interest community. But first people have to find their own sizable audience. And Twitter just changed the rules without consulting anyone. Smells like Facebook's Beacon disaster.

[Stephen]

So what does an "average Joe" need to do to get to be a suggested user? Actually, I don't want 10k users dm'ing me with "make money off of Google" offers. So if you just want to sell your SEO or CEO-pay at-home services, do NOT follow @FlowingDesert

Got it?

Good!

[jeff turner]

Perhaps the LA Times should just start it's own suggested list. Feel free to start with me. :) @respres

[David Feldt]

What's the big deal? So Twitter is trying to get new users engaged in the conversation. That's a good thing. The fact that they've chosen some Twitter accounts vs others is their perogative.

If you're adding value, people will follow you. If you're not, people wouldn't.

Number of followers isn't such a big deal IMO.

@davidfeldt

[Darren Albert]

Interesting article. I was unaware of this change. Since I only have 500 or so followers, that's probably why - something like this doesn't impact me as far as I can tell.

Even though it has negatively impacted some users, it seems like a good step at least from face value. I remember when I first joined Twitter I had no idea what to do and would have appreciated a 'suggested users to follow' function.

I like the direction of providing suggested twitter accounts by topic, that would be a good evolution. I'm on the fence regarding the selection process as I have no idea of what it entails. Perhaps it's not that important - as the founders have said, it's just a way for people to get started.

If people think it is more important than I do, perhaps another solution might be a kind user based recommendation system. A button like 'retweet' only 'recommend this twitterer'. The list of suggested users could then be based on a top recommendations list, which might work a little more fair than a manual selection process (sort of like digging a twitterer really isn't it?). Just an initial thought.

[Dave Lamb]

More imporantly - what criteria was used to generate the "golden list" - base on credibility, invite or ? Would be very interesting to find out.

With the amount of fake celebs and unofficial fan accounts using brand names, can we be sure that the recommended list is actually the person / entity they perceive to be?

*ponders for thought"

Regards

@PembrokeDave

[Maistora]

There is nothing wrong with suggested users. The alternative (to claim that all users are equally valuable) is tantamount to Communism. Some users are more worth following than others, get used to it. (And it's not for robots to decide - otherwise Gary's Ponzi scheme would prevail and make the whole ecosystem useless).

For the biblically inclined - remember the vineyard labourers in the Gospel of Matthew, who 'were not treated fairly' - and the message: Looking at your neighbour with jealous eyes blinds you for the path to Heaven.

Away from religion, in today's pragmatic business world: aren't all businesses (well, most of them or the better ones) segmenting their customers by value - and treating the more valuable ones differently from the rest? This may rub the wrong way someone's egalitarian feelings, but justice/fairness is not synonymous with equality. Equal is not fair, fairness means treating people differently.

But - and this is a HUGE 'but': it is imperative to have consistent criteria for such judgement - and make them transparent. No priviledges may resemble Communism, but priviledges without TRANSPARENT criteria is Fascism.

@Maistora

[Rupie Johns]

Wow, Twitt just keeps on gettin better doesnt it?

RT
www.anonymity.eu.tc

[The Unforgiven]

As a fan of Leo's (Laporte) I can understand why Twitter wouldn't be suggesting him. Leo has, repeatedly, on his live.twit.tv video stream complained that Twitter perhaps "got a boost" from his trademark (Twit). Perhaps Twitter did, but had they pushed @leolaporte, would Laporte have complained that they were doing even more to piggyback on his name and his trademark? I don' t know; I would like to think not, but given the number of times he has griped publicly about the trademark, it is understandable why they would not want to be seen as piggybacking on Leo's successes.

[DALE]

I think growing slowly with interesting tweets or conversations makes more sense. I don't think spamming the system is ever wise.

[Billy Zagreb]

One byproduct of this feature is that giving thousands of new followers to accounts like TechCrunch and Mashable, which run all the links to their blog posts on their Twitter accounts, then generates more traffic (and revenue) for those companies.

That's cool if they are selling cereal or toilet cleaner. And having companies pay for extra followers might make a nice revenue machine for Twitter someday soon. But these sites are selling news coverage, including lots about Twitter.

Wouldn't surprise me at all if both sites made tens of thousands of dollars a year from traffic from their Twitter stream, which Twitter Inc. is now augmenting.

This could easily make them more generous in their coverage of Twitter (or warp it one way or another) the same way that giving them exclusive news might.

[Jon Boy]

Yeah, I'd love to get on that....

Want the most interesting news from each day?

Follow me @CuriousReadBlog (http://twitter.com/CuriousReadBlog)

Or visit my blog directly @ http://www.curiousread.com

[Fran and Rowena]

There are a lot of interesting people on Twitter. In addition to the knowledge they share, there's a glimpse into the personal life of the people you follow (how do you spell c-e-l-e-b-r-i-t-y), plus corporations, businesses, politicians and more. There really is something for everyone.

If there's something or someone you're interested in, use the "search" feature to find out what's being "said".

As for us --- feel free to "follow" - @Fran_and_Rowena

[Liz]

All of the regular users' numbers have increased dramatically since right before Christmas. I think there are triple the number of users since I signed up in Spring 2008. Once you get on any recommended Twitter users list #Twitterholic, Top 50 People to Follow, Shorty Awards, Twitterank, etc.#, people's number increase enormously.

Not exactly the way the original users "grew" their accounts (person by person) but maybe celebs are in an abnormally popular category all of their own. Fair? I'm not sure there are rules in online social networking.

[Bill Bennett]

Took a look at the list, no-one even of remote interest to me. Surely with all this technology Twitter could monitor my activity and suggest people I MAY be interested in rather than a simple list of someone else's favourites?

[digitalchina]

The Drive to Commercialize
This move by twitter could be a step closer to commercializing their platform, which may be at the forefront of their minds. We could see new commercial channels or "tweetstreams" being introduced, or maybe a model similar to SEM, or possibly a hybrid of both. I suspect the twittersphere is due for a commercial revamp sooner rather than later.

Welcome to follow me on twitter @digitalchina - for digital China related tweets
Digital China Blog: http://www.digitalchinaguide.com

[Carol]

Darren Albert--Check out #followfriday. Every Friday, users post their favorites to follow.

@ridgeley

[Pat Kitano]

Here's a suggestion LA Times, instead of having everybody here posting comments on a Twitter article, put in a Twitter #hashtag for this article and then have the Twitter feed for that #hashtag being presented as a timeline to complement these comments.

[alan]

The suggestions twitter gave me with this feature were completely lame. I actually found some interesting people using http://whoshouldifollow.com, though. I think it takes into account all the people I already follow.

[Douglas Cootey]

Leo likes to complain from what I've seen. Anyone remember the push to rename podcasts? And now Scoble is complaining about this as well, going so far as to suggest one of these featured Tweeps actually paid to be on the list (http://www.thetechnewsblog.com/2009/02/22/veronica-belmont-accused-by-scoble-of-paying-twitter-for-their-recommendation/). Petty stuff.

I agree with Even that the list needs to be smarter, but they are completely correct that many people don't get Twitter immediately after opening an account. Suggesting interesting people to follow is a great idea. Do I agree with the list? No, but then it's not my company, nor is it Laporte's or Scoble's.

Tempest in a teapot or sour grapes? You decide.

The best way to find people to follow is to visit http://search.twitter.com and search for topics that interest you. Then you might find interesting tweeps to follow in the results. Good luck!

Douglas Cootey
☆ @SplinteredMind on Twitter

[apg]

I wish they recommended users according to what you have put on your profile, not whoever they think is "cool"...

[Richard]

I don't see this as being a bad idea, in principle. I can see the argument for having such a list, even if I'm not 100% convinced it's the *only* reason, and I'm afraid I don't get the 'competition' angle some people appear to have adopted. Sorry. I don't mind having that explained to me, in idiots' terms.

Yes, this could be more targeted, and should, ideally, feature *anyone* that might fit a user's interests (just so you don't misunderstand me, I'm interested in seeing suggestions of real interest, and am *not* concerned with how many followers x has, or what proportion compared to y). Other than that, I don't see the 'problem', really.

@RichardBooth

[monetizationbook]

Recently helping someone set up a Twitter account, the suggested follow list helped in many ways. Not the least in explaining what "following" and "follower" means, since in about a minute one of the celebrity tweeters followed the new account back. Bingo - instant lesson in reciprocation!

As Twitter seeks ways to monetize their service, one could imagine a sponsored list of "additional suggested tweeters to follow" that could be people, companies, upcoming movies & games, or other promotable entities. There are a lot of purists who don't think twitter should be for anything other than real people writing about their lives, but it's hard to imagine such a limitation being imposed.

[Steve Nesich]

I alternate between being a Twitter Enthusiast and a Twitter Skeptic; undoubtedly more the former since I've started to follow several people who clearly have insightful things to share. But more than that, Twitter appears to have real value for client-vendor-team communications.

Is it the instantaneous nature of Twitter that makes it so appealing to so many? Is it a truly valuable source of real time information from trusted sources? Or is Twitter just "the latest" as we begin 2009 and the Obama Era? Is it all about "newness" as opposed to lasting real value?

We don't know any of this yet. But things will sort themselves out. It appears that Twitter, like the cellphone or email, will have a vast range of uses, from teens who must connect ASAP to share their musings and doings, to team members engaged in critical projects who need to communicate with several parties at once, in various locations.

Some of my clients have expressed interest in using Twitter for upcoming conferences, seminar road shows and similar events where quick communication is vital. My team is taking an increasingly pro-active approach here, trying to maximize every benefit Twitter appears to offer.

[Robert Scoble]

Hah, @noah (the guy who helped start Twitter) is not on the list. Neither is Blaine, who was the CTO for a long time. But Biz, Ev, and Jack are on the list, and are benefiting from the huge increases in follower counts. Maybe this is just a way for them to punish people who have not been nice to Twitter, are pushing other services (both Leo and me push friendfeed) or is a way to write out of Twitter's history old employees who aren't in favor anymore with the current administration there. And people are calling ME petty? Hah!