Twitter has a new timeline for you -- if you want it - CNET

Enlarge Image

Your Twitter timeline is definitely getting a new look. It's up to you what to make of it.

The social network on Wednesday unveiled a feature that gives users the option of modifying their timelines to highlight tweets. Like Twitter's "while you were away" recap launched a year ago, the new timeline will present key tweets at the top of people's feeds, followed by the normal stream of messages in reverse chronological order.

"You follow hundreds of people on Twitter -- maybe thousands -- and when you open Twitter, you may feel like you've missed their most important tweets," Mike Jahr, senior engineering manager at Twitter, said in a blog post Wednesday. "Today, we're excited to share a new timeline feature that helps you catch up on the best tweets from people you follow."

San Francisco-based Twitter needs to renew interest in its service, which at one time was the epitome of trendy and up-to-the-minute. But consumers now have many options for keeping up with friends, celebrities and the news, from an ever-expansive Facebook to hot alteatives such as Instagram and Snapchat.

Twitter's troubles are reflected in the numbers: Its user growth has ground almost to a halt. In the third quarter, the company had 320 million monthly active users, a 1.2 percent increase from the preceding quarter.