Twitter tweaks video again, adding view counts for some users

Like Facebook, Twitter is obsessed with video, and it's not done tweaking how it delivers those little motion picture clips to your timeline.

As spotted by BuzzFeed's Dorsey Shaw, some people are now seeing video view counts in their feed next to the usual timer.

A Twitter spokesperson in Australia confirmed the test to Mashable. "As video consumption continues to increase on Twitter, we are constantly experimenting with ways to provide a rich video experience," he said in an email. "View counts provide helpful context on the popularity of a video, and we are exploring this feature to help surface the best content."

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The test suggests Twitter may be looking at ways to rank and display popular content -- potentially in its new "explore" section.

The company has been experimenting with how it presents video as part of a significant push into the format, especially live video. The company has secured streaming with the NFL, as well as the 2016 Melbourne Cup horse race in Australia -- its first live stream partnership outside the U.S.

Of course, the matter of what counts as "a video view" remains contentious.

In the past, Twitter has been said to measure a video view for advertisers as something watched for at least two or three seconds. Though as Facebook's trouble with inflated metrics in 2016 proves, advertisers will want to know exactly what they're paying for.

In this test's case, views will be counted as "[Media Rating Council] Views," the Twitter spokesperson explained. That's an industry standard of "2 seconds consecutively in view at 50% visibility."