As user growth slows and engagement in specific communities declines, social media platform X (formerly Twitter) today announced the launch of a new feature called "Starterpacks," allowing new users to easily follow representative accounts in specific interest areas. This move aims to address the long-standing issue of newcomers struggling to integrate into the platform and is seen as an important step for X in reorganizing content distribution and community structure following a complete algorithm overhaul.
What are X's Starterpacks? One-click access to areas of interest.
Starterpacks is a bootstrapping tool designed by X for new users. It organizes accounts on specific topics into a "directly trackable list." When registering and starting to use the app, users select categories based on their interests, such as cryptocurrency, news, technology, business, and fashion. The system then helps users track multiple related accounts at once, allowing them to quickly enter their areas of interest.
Nikita Bier, product manager for X, said the team has spent several months organizing and screening accounts and has now created more than 1,000 pre-made categories, with the goal of lowering the barrier to entry for new users who "don't know who to follow".
From meme enthusiast to economist: More detailed content categorization
Based on the released promotional videos, Starterpacks doesn't seem to focus solely on mainstream categories like "politics, cooking, or sports," but rather on more specific interests. Examples include prominent public figures with distinct styles such as meme traders, software developers, economics professors, and gamblers.
Bier pointed out that when selecting accounts, the team not only focuses on the number of followers, but also includes small but influential creators, hoping to allow new users to quickly access real, active, and representative voices in various communities.
Crypto Twitter (CT) engagement is declining; can Starterpacks save the day?
Recently, there have been rumors of a decline in overall engagement within the crypto community (CT). Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp cited analysis indicating that the number of posts containing the word "Bitcoin" is expected to decrease by about 30% annually by 2025, suggesting that discussion is cooling down.
Against this backdrop, Starterpacks are expected to bring new blood into the crypto community and revive the activity of cryptocurrency topics on X.
AI algorithms are being implemented, and Starterpacks are becoming a supporting measure.
The launch of Starterpacks is also closely related to the recent update to Phoenix's recommendation algorithm. The Phoenix system, which will be launched in early 2026, has completely rewritten its content distribution logic, no longer relying primarily on likes or retweets, but instead using user dwell time, clicks, and interactions to infer their personal interest profile.
Under this architecture, if new users fail to quickly establish clear interest signals, their content experience may become even more fragmented than before. Starterpacks are seen as a tool to fill this gap, helping the system understand user attributes more quickly and allowing users to enter information circles that align with their interests earlier.
The starter kit isn't new, but it can complete a crucial puzzle.
In fact, Starterpacks are not a new concept. The decentralized community platform Bluesky launched a similar feature in 2024, and Meta's Threads also tested a related mechanism. X's move is more like filling a long-standing gap in basic functionality.
For X, Starterpacks represents a strategic shift focused on user growth, content distribution efficiency, and community structure stability. In an AI-driven platform environment, the ability to quickly place users in the right positions will become a key competitive factor for community platforms.
This article, "X Launches Starterpacks: From Meme Coin Enthusiasts to Economists, Track Interest Accounts with One Click," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
