In February 2016, word leaked to BuzzFeed that Twitter was planning a move that would change everything. The company was introducing what insiders called an “algorithmic timeline.” It meant that tweets would no longer appear in the order they were posted.

In its current state, Twitter is centered around an algorithm that prioritizes engagement in the form of retweets, conversation, and overall follower count. According to Twitter’s self-published guide to their algorithm, they use a deep-learning AI that bases a user’s news feed on a variety of factors.

Twitter algorithm underwent a major overhaul in 2017 with the introduction of the relevance model when it replaced ‘While You Were Away’ with ‘In Case You Missed It’. If you are following hundreds or thousands of users, it becomes quite difficult to catch up on the content that you might have missed.

Twitter uses an algorithm to suggest Topics based on what it thinks someone likes. If you follow a Topic, then related Tweets, events, and ads will appear in your timeline. The Topics you follow are public. You can also tell Twitter you’re not interested in a Topic.

Unless your Tweets are protected, any person on Twitter can see your Tweets. We do not block, limit, or remove content based on an individual’s views or opinions. In some situations, your Tweet may not be seen by everyone, as outlined below: Abusive and spammy behavior.

Trends are determined by an algorithm and, by default, are tailored for you based on who you follow, your interests, and your location. Note: The number of Tweets that are related to the Trends is just one of the factors the algorithm looks at when ranking and determining trends.

You’re not posting as much. Fewer posts means less content is getting out there for people to engage with in the first place. This kind of goes without saying, but you have to actually put stuff out there for people to engage with in order for Twitter to recognize your account as valuable.

The first is that auto-posted tweets rarely have that personal touch that personally crafted tweets have. The second is that you don’t stick around to engage. If you tweet and someone asked a question in a reply 30 seconds later, but you don’t respond, it tells users that you’re not actually there.

8 Simple Tips for Getting Noticed on Twitter

1. Post Consistently.
2. Add a Hashtag to Each Tweet.
3. Share Content From Other Creators.
4. Jump in on Trending Topics.
5. Always Engage With Your Community.
6. Find & Join Twitter Chats for Your Industry.
7. Use Relevant Keywords & Hashtags in Your Bio.
8. Link Your Twitter Profile Whenever Appropriate.

The analyst Ben Thompson wrote recently that an algorithmic timeline has been one of Facebook’s core advantages over Twitter, allowing it continue to grow rapidly as Twitter’s growth slowed.

Yes, you can opt out. The algorithm that will re-order your timeline is based on the one that ranks tweets for the “while you were away” feature that Twitter introduced a year ago. The best way to think of the new timeline is as an expanded version of this feature.

Twitter went into an uproar Friday after a BuzzFeed report that the social network was on the brink introducing an algorithmic, more Facebook-style feed. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tried to calm fears this morning in a series of tweets, but he did not deny the substance of the report.