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X Is Considering Removing Time Markers on Posts in the Main Feed - adtechsolutions

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X Is Considering Removing Time Markers on Posts in the Main Feed


I’m not really sure why Elon Musk is so annoyed by the clutter in the main X feed, but for some reason, he wants to cut out as much as possible, to make it a “cleaner”, simpler user interface.

Which could be more appealing, I suppose, but…

Musk’s latest proposal in this direction is to remove the date/time stamps from the main X feed, so that you only have a clear, scrolling row of posts, with the main post itself being the focus.

As reported Wealth:

The proposal to remove date stamps would be limited to the timeline of posts on X, according to the source. If the user clicks on the post, then the date when the post was created will be visible. Musk told staff he believes the change will improve the user interface of the X.”

Which is in the same direction as Musk’s attempt remove all function keys and counting engagement in the streamwhich would make the posts look like this:

X without engagement counts

iOS users can now enable this screen so that disabling engagement buttons and performance data on postsas an optional setting, while they can also include X’s side scrolling functions to interact with posts, as opposed to tapping the manual buttons.

At one stage, X wanted to implement this for all users, at Elon’s request, but now seems to have caved to that pressure, making it an optional UI.

However, under this new proposal, the X would also seek to remove the time/date indicator, along with the function buttons and performance counters.

Which would make the main feed look something like this:

X feed post example

This would actually make regular X posts look very similar to X ads, which also don’t include a time/date stamp.

X example ad

And honestly, I think it would increase engagement, because people wouldn’t have the context of time to know how fresh the posts are in the main feed. So X could show you a post from a few days ago, and your instinctive reaction would be to the content itself, not the date of the post, which could increase your propensity to respond. Because you might feel less inclined to respond to an older, less timely update, feeling like you missed the boat or a trend.

But as Fortune points outit could also lead to more misinformation being shared in the app:

Some X staff believe that removing the date will make the platform unnecessarily “confusing”, and it probably will issues of disinformation on the platform above. Historically, most Twitter users, and now X, only scroll through the platform occasionally, rarely clicking on individual posts. The lack of date on the timeline would likely leave most users without vital context about the information they are seeing.”

So you could see a post from days or weeks ago and react to it as if it were recent news, while older updates could be more easily re-shared and viewed in a different context, based on current events.

In essence, as source X notes, this would add a level of confusion to the application. But then again, if it elicits more responses, maybe it’s worth a try?

This instinctively seems like a step backwards, but as noted, Elon is reportedly “obsessed” with revamping the app’s user interface. In this context, it is also worth noting that Twitter has long been criticized for its lack of innovation and reluctance to try new things.

Musk has shown that he has no such doubts and perhaps a simpler X feed, even without timestamps on the main timeline, could generate more interest.

It’s hard to say without experience, and no one will do it unless X does it.



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