Twitter launches custom timelines to organize content

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- In the wake of last week's IPO frenzy, Twitter launched "custom timelines" Tuesday to control and organize selected tweets for users to follow.

Users will be able to create custom timelines by selecting tweets themselves, or program timelines defined by specific parameters such as an event or hashtag. The timelines will not be limited to chronological order, unlike ordinary timelines.

As breaking news has been often attributed to Twitter, the new service now helps aggregate content.

The application is in beta and only available to a select group of users. News sites have already begun using the service.

Politico is using the application to organize tweets from policy industry experts into a Tweet Hub. The Guardian his hosting a Q&A to discuss NSA surveillance with readers and journalists.

News isn't the only use for the tool. As an aggregator, it brings together trending topics. Twitter #music is developing music playlists through the tool, and The Voice host Carson Daily is using it to aggregate top moments from tonight's show. Bleacher Report is using it to cover college basketball's Champions Classic.

This usage predicts how the service might become an actively used tool for events as it rolls out to the general public.

The service is similar to Storify, a third-party service which strings together tweets to create an overall picture of an event. A Storify representative said the new Twitter service will provide easier ways to bring together and provide context for Storified tweets, and that both companies work well together.