Twitter on Monday unleashed the latest in its feature arsenal aimed at attracting more users: The service gave select users access to a News tab, which highlights trending news headlines on the social media company’s apps for iOS and Android.
ON the same day, shares of Twitter Inc. (TWTR) fell to an all-time low, $28.69, before closing at $29.27. The stock drop began last Wednesday after the company announced disappointing figures on user growth even as it reported second-quarter earnings of 7 cents per share that handily beating analyst expectations.
“We’re experimenting with a news experience on iOS and Android as we continue to explore new ways to surface the best content to users,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
BuzzFeed reports that the experiment is live in Japan and being released to a pre-approved list of fewer than 100 publishers.
“Our Q2 results show good progress in monetization, but we are not satisfied with our growth in audience,” said Jack Dorsey, interim CEO of Twitter said in last week’s earnings release. “In order to realize Twitter’s full potential, we must improve in three key areas: ensure more disciplined execution, simplify our service to deliver Twitter’s value faster and better communicate that value.”
On the company’s earnings call later that day, Twitter executives stressed their primary goal of making the platform easier to use. Dorsey said that users should find the product as easy as looking out a window to see what is happening.
“Twitter can’t just be the best window to the world, it needs to be the most powerful microphone in the world. You should expect Twitter to be your biggest reach,” the interim CEO said.
The company doesn’t expect “sustained, meaningful growth” of its user base until the service is adopted by the mass market, which could take some time, Twitter finance chief Anthony Noto said in the call.