In a TED talk this week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey suggested changing the way Twitter works in a big way.
The executive, who has faced criticism over the issue of harassment on the platform, suggested turning Twitter into an “interest-based network” where users see content relevant to their interests posted by anyone, not just individual accounts they follow.
He said that while Twitter could “do a bunch of superficial things” to curb abuse and tackle other user complaints, cutting to the core of the problem will require going deeper.
“We want the changes to last, and that means going really, really deep,” Dorsey said. "It may be best if it becomes an interest-based network."
Twitter users wasted no time in expressing their disapproval of the idea.
“What’s beyond scary here is that Jack Dorsey has no idea what his users want. We don’t want to shift to following topics, we’ve just spent YEARS curating our feed of individuals. I spend an extraordinary amount of time on here. I’ve never been more concerned with its leadership,” wrote sports business reporter Darren Rovell.
“Jack Dorsey you are wrong,” wrote another Twitter user. “I hate the topics of interest you push on my feed. I follow individuals because I want to see what they are saying and what their thoughts are.”
Twitter health update
Dorsey’s TED talk was given the same day Twitter published a blog post outlining the ways it’s trying to make a “healthier” Twitter. The company said that 38 percent of abusive content that Twitter takes action against is found proactively, not reported by users.
“People who don’t feel safe on Twitter shouldn’t be burdened to report abuse to us. Previously, we only reviewed potentially abusive Tweets if they were reported to us,” the company said. “We know that’s not acceptable, so earlier this year we made it a priority to take a proactive approach to abuse in addition to relying on people’s reports.”
Twitter also said it will be adding an option that allows users to hide replies to their tweets beginning in June.