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Twitter tests replacing Moments with a new ‘Explore’ tab on mobile

Twitter tests replacing Moments with a new ‘Explore’ tab on mobile

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Twitter is experimenting yet again with the structure of its mobile app. This time around, the company is thinking about replacing its Moments tab, first introduced last fall to let users better track breaking news and other prominent events, with a new "Explore" tab, according to Mashable. This change, which is just in the testing phase for some iOS and Android users, appears to be a mixing of old and new Twitter features. The Explore tab is said to include both discovery features — such as new accounts to follow — as well as the standard collections of daily Moments.

Before the introduction of Moments, Twitter had a Discover option in the middle of its bottom home navigation row. Discover was mainly for finding new accounts to follow and to see algorithmically generated list of tweets that were receiving a lot of attention. Twitter has since folded some of that functionality into its search option. Now, it appears the company wants to break out those features to get users exploring more of Twitter outside the standard timeline. "As part of our continued efforts to make it easier to find what’s happening on Twitter, we’re testing a new tab for content discovery," the company said in a statement obtained by Mashable.

Twitter wants to be a live events company, which means improving its discovery tools

Whether this helps Twitter in the long run is unclear. The company's future remains on shaky ground as CEO Jack Dorsey and Twitter's board of directors explore a possible sale, with cloud computing giant Salesforce.com showing the most interest. Twitter's new mission appears to be focused on live events and commentary about those events, with a deal to stream NFL games now underway and recent successes live streaming the first two US presidential debates. In that vein, a new Explore option for its mobile apps could be used to steer users toward popular streams on its Periscope video platform and other high-profile live event coverage taking place on Twitter.