100k+ followers on Twitter? Google+ may put you on its new suggested user list

If you have 100k followers or more on Twitter, Google+ may be putting you on their new suggested user list, reports TechCrunch. Google’s Bradley Horowitz recently tweeted the news, as seems to be the case for Google+’s continued routine of quietly releasing updates.

Horowitz is encouraging Twitter users with over 100k followers to shoot him a direct message in order to privately chat about the testing process. Could this be Google+’s attempt to call attention to branded or “verified” profiles on the service?

In a followup tweet, Horowitz hints at the new suggested user list revolving around context-specific content, in response to users worrying over the new feature only being able to suggest the same set of Google+ profiles to all users across the platform. There is no word, of course, on finalized concepts or ideas, meaning many of us will remain in the dark until this new feature rolls out.

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The idea of a suggested user list already appears to be a bit controversial. Twitter applied the same concept in the past, only to receive negative feedback from the community. With Google+ users chiming in to say that they feel this is only encouraging the “beauty contest” or “cool crowd”, it will be interesting to see how they tweak their selection process.

Horowitz assures us that these new features won’t simply be based on follower count, then cements the idea that Twitter’s more well-known users might simply have a say in the completed concept.

With Google+ still in private beta, it seems that you really need to be following the right people to keep abreast on hints at potential news for the platform. Previously, Google+ squeaked out their YouTube Hangouts feature, allowing the update to spread organically through their community rather than through what we typically see in large press releases.

We’d love to get in touch with those of you chatting with Horowitz or Google about the new suggested user feature to gain a bit more insight on what’s going on behind the scenes. If you happen to be a reader on The Next Web, do drop us a line.