A New Way To Discover Tweets
A few weeks ago Twitter announced:
We’re excited to team up with Google to bring Twitter’s unique, real-time content to Google’s search results. Starting today, U.S. users searching in English will see relevant Tweets in their search results within the Google app (iOS and Android) and mobile web.
So for example, if you’re a person interested in hearing more from Taylor Swift (just an example), a quick search on Google will pull up her most recent Tweets.
As of 19th May Tweets have made a return to Google search on mobile devices within the US. So now when you’re searching on a Google app or any browser on your phone or tablet, you can find real-time content from Twitter right in the search results. Whether you are interested in Taylor Swift or another high profile individuals you can now get updates and access to it directly from Google. It’s a great way to read live news and also, it’s another avenue for organisations and people on Twitter to reach a global audience at the most relevant of times.
If you’re lucky enough to be located in the US you may have also noticed that Twitter has had a recent “face lift” or refresh. Many users have seen that when you go to the Twitter homepage, there are new topics just waiting to be explored like Politics, Pop Artists and even, yes, cute animals. Click on any topic you’re interested in and see a timeline of real time tweets and some of the most popular accounts.
Not only has Twitter had a visual refresh, it is also refreshing its search capabilities. For all logged-in users on the web, Twitter has introduced a cleaner look-and-feel and more filter options that allow you to sort results by top tweets, “live” tweets, accounts, photos, videos, news and more. For the other half of the population – those who aren’t logged-in or are new users, Twitter has introduced a series of updates including a “refreshed” landing page, which tracks what is happening across different categories, as well as new features like an “instant timeline” and a “while you were away” feed. The updates, similar to the changes with search, are designed to make the user’s experience easier for those who are new to the service.
So what does that mean? Currently in the US when you search for a keyword or phrase on Twitter.com, the search results return a tweet near the top of the page. Usually something related to your search that has either been favorited or retweeted a number of times. In some cases, the top search result isn’t necessarily the one with the higher metrics but rather one believed by Twitter to be the searcher’s “intent”.
Confirming that these changes will eventually roll out to other countries, a Twitter spokesperson stated: “By deeply integrating Twitter’s real-time content into Google search, we hope you find it easier than ever to explore your interests across both Twitter and Google.”
With Google and Twitter’s relationship on the mend, all these “refreshes” point to one thing – Google’s indexation of tweets. Not only has the interface of Twitter been modified, its search capabilities are improving, with the intention of giving their audience a real-time feel of live news. It would seem Twitter is moving towards becoming a credible source of real time news which would only been strengthened with Google’s search results. Google’s recent announcement also suggest that indexed tweet are more likely to show up in search results for something that is happening in “real time”. This partnership could potentially drive new users to sign up to Twitter and or encourage users to engage more with the service and more frequently.
