In fact, the company reported that excluding SMS fast followers, MAUs were 305 million for Q4, compared to 307 in the last quarter and mobile MAUs represent about 80% of total MAUs. Twitter says it has 320 million active users this quarter, which is the exact same number the company reported in Q3 2015.
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Unfortunately for Twitter the shift to an algorithmic timeline comes as the company reports a decline in the number of monthly active users. Still, revenue was up 48 percent year-over-year despite stalled user growth, the report added.
The microblogging service forecast first-quarter revenue of between US$595 million (S$827.2 million) and US$610 million, well below the average analyst estimate of US$627.1 million according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
In a letter Twitter sought to reassure shareholders. It will be turned on in settings, and if users don’t do so then it will never appear in the timeline, Twitter said.
Dorsey also wants to make Twitter less confusing to people who are not well versed in the platform’s “weird rules”, like how to respond to another’s tweet. After being away for some time, Twitter will display the tweets you are most likely interested in based on the popularity of the message or of the people you follow. That’s bad news, and if you look closer, it’s actually worse. When the feature is enabled, the site will use an algorithm to pick out what it thinks are the best tweets and show them in the timeline.
Can Twitter not only retain users, but grow them at a rate that appeases investors?
Although Twitter has built one of the Internet’s best-known communication networks, it has been struggling to attract new users and those who have signed up haven’t stuck around for long because they found it too hard to find content they like.
CEO Jack Dorsey told analysts in a call that he’s determined to improve the results, including making Twitter “a leader in live streaming video” through its Periscope service.
The tweaks on the timeline have been a controversial topic ever since the company announced the change, where the hashtag #RIPTwitter quickly made rounds on the Internet in light of it.
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Twitter also expressed a willingness to tamper with other parts of the service that have been in place for years. For now, Twitter will only be testing the feature, so your entire Twitter experience won’t change overnight.
