Twitter Logo is Seen Behind Silhouettes of People Using Smartphones (Photo : Reuters)
Twitter (NASDAQ: TWTR) has become the number one "News" application in the iTunes App Store which is a new strategy for the microblogging site amidst the slow increase of their users.
The "Social Networking" category is already dominated by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), the Messenger app, WhatsApp, Pinterest and Instagram. Twitter was not the top one app in that category, but it has stayed within the top 10 apps.
Now, Twitter has moved their app into the "News" category where they are now at the top spot. One advantage of this is that Twitter's app will have better visibility in Apple's App Store.
With better visibility, it could be expected that the number of users downloading the app will also increase. One reason for this is users who are setting up their iPhones for the first time will most likely consider downloading a ranked application compared to others, according to TechCrunch.
Another benefit that Twitter has from being number one in a category is that it will impact their "Overall" ranking in the App Store. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) also shows the top free iPhone Apps on a page where users tend to choose their apps.
Twitter's current ranking in the "Free" apps chart is at number 28. The added visibility from the top one category under "News" will hopefully affect its ranking on the chart as well.
The microblogging site's move to switch categories will also net them a wider range of audiences. Besides people who are looking for social networking apps, Twitter will also be open to those who want to keep updated with news on their devices.
Twitter has not yet given an official statement or announcement regarding their move. It is also not known whether they will do the same with their Android app on the Google Play Store.
The move is one of the many actions Twitter is taking to try and resolve their sluggish user growth. Twitter currently has about 310 million active users, according to The Verge
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has said in the company's recent earnings call that the microblogging site is focusing on what's happening "live." Their move to switch to the "News" category does make sense as news evolves every hour or so as chain of events continue to happen in real time.
Fenix, the third-party Twitter client, has been brought back to Google Play after it was thought to be dead because of reaching the token limit. It is unclear whether Twitter has removed the limit for Fenix or if they have added more tokens for the app.
The app apparently reached the limit which meant that it can't really be used by more users. At first, it was thought to be dead as there would be no more room to grow. However, the developer said that the app is now back on the Play Store after Twitter helped fixed the issue.
Twitter would hopefully gain more users with their move to switch to the "News" category from "Social Networking" in the iTunes App Store. The third-party Fenix app could also help in garnering more Android users.
