Now that we have Twitter lists is it really worth the hype? I haven’t see anyone lining up to form a petition to remove lists like any new Facebook feature, possibly they could use twitter lists to create the list? /irony. In short – the answer depends on how you use or want to not use the new option. The frenzy (over 27 million results) over the new feature and release method has caused plenty of adulation, but I am more curious what could use improvement?

The fact that twitter users take their personal brand so seriously was exemplified when Chris Brogan mentioned the backlash by excluding individuals from his lists, thus labeling lists “exclusionary by nature“. So besides a thick skin do his users need to grow up? I think this harks back to the follow me – I’ll follow you back mindset on twitter etiquette.

Does the fact that inclusion on a list will add anything to a user as meta-data or perceived relationship by classification? And by taking the control out of the hands of the user on the list does it make this classification more human/real?

What if you feel the classification is wrong or derogatory? I dare refer to those who Chris may have offended by excluding would be happy to not be included on @cspenn’s lists.

So it seems to get on or off lists you have to connect with the creator (which is kind of the point) but what about the ability to collaborate or moderate a list. For example, it seems in my city almost every Twitter user has their own list of local users. The issue being that there is no one with a complete list and this leaves the classification structure fractured.

For me the benefit of being able to list users without following them helps simplify the amount of users in my main feed. I now wonder how this will impact the follow ratio for most accounts – especially business or corporate types. So it might make sense to forget the main feed all together, turn lists private and then build an app that will display only the lists I follow. Thus building a simple taxonomy used to categorize a user based on what I expect them to tweet.

To finish off, lists are a good start at classifying users and simplifying the feed structure but need a lot more work to take a simple classification structure and make it more usable to the whole community. Please share what your recommendations for the obvious next steps for Twitter lists!