Earlier this month, Twitter launched a new feature called Moments, which offers a curated and frequently updated collection of tweets that the company describes as the “best of what’s happening on Twitter.”
Under the headings “Today,” “News,” “Sports,” “Entertainment” and “Fun,” Moments showcases a series of text, video and photo tweets on topics ranging from the latest developments in the US presidential race to cute pets.
Moments has attracted a great deal of attention, both for the fact that it represents a major effort by Twitter to reverse sluggish user growth, and for the fact that it relies on human curators. This reliance on human expertise raises important questions over the value of people in tech-driven information services and the limits of today’s cutting-edge software.
Why Does Twitter Need Moments Now?
The main driver behind the development of Moments is Twitter’s stagnating user growth.
Twitter, which launched in 2006, has struggled to achieve mass penetration of the US market. According to data from the Pew Research Center, only 20% of the US adult population uses Twitter, compared to 62% who use Facebook, 26% who use Pinterest, 24% who use Instagram and 22% who use LinkedIn.
