Popularity becomes more important than recency with the new Twitter changes just announced. This means the Twitter world as we know it is no longer in existence.  Rather than streaming the most recent tweets first, we will now see tweets based on popularity.

Twitter did announce that followers get to “opt-in” to this feature until it makes a permanent switch in the coming weeks.  Users can go to the timeline section of their settings and choose ‘Show me the best Tweets first.’

So, why is this such big news in the Twitter world?  Well, until now, Twitter has always served up real-time breaking news. So, when you checked your Twitter feed in the very recent past (like, a few days ago), the most current news and tweets streamed at the top.

According to Twitter’s blog post, the social platform is permanently going for a “show us your best tweets first” philosophy, and it is already working.  Mike Jahr (@mjahr), Twitter’s Senior Engineering Manager, says people are sharing and retweeting the most popular posts more in this new format. But, Twitter wants feedback from you to ensure users like the shift.  So, try it out, tweet about it, or tell Twitter directly.