By now everyone has had the new Twitter rolled out to them. If not, you’ll get it really soon. Right away you probably noticed how different it looks and how much less real estate there is to show off you or your company’s brand. While this is true, Twitter actually just got way more functional. Let’s dissect it some more.
The search bar is on top. I always thought the old search bar needed to be more visible. Now it’s far more prevalent at the very top. If you’ve never used the search feature, I encourage you to do so. It’s a great tool and the search queries are fast.
It’s wider. Fundamentally it’s still divided the same way: in two columns. You have your timeline of those who you follow on the left and you have information on who is following you and who you follow on the right. The “What’s happening?” tweet bar is still right where it was at the top.
Left_column. The left column still shows all of your follower’s tweets, but there are now tabs just below your tweet bar: Timeline, @Mentions, Retweets, Searches and Lists. Each of these is clickable and when clicked on, their respective function populates in the column below.
Right column. Your Twitter avatar, number of tweets, and numbers of those you are following and those following you are still in the upper right. The only difference, there are avatars which show at random under the following/followers section. Your “listed” total is there as well and it includes lists of people that you were recently added to. Trends and suggestions on other profiles to check out are further down the right column as well.
Hot new feature alert. The coolest thing about the new design is that it allows for profile browsing without leaving the Twitter timeline. Before, if you were browsing tweets and wanted to look at a profile, you’d click on the avatar and it would take you away from your dashboard and directly to that user’s profile. Now you can easily click on a user’s avatar in the timeline on the left and the profile will display on the right.
Pros. It utilizes more space and allows you to multitask way more than before.
Cons. Background space to promote self or brand has all but disappeared. Read more here on how to redesign your background for the new Twitter.
In short? The new design rocks. I give it an 8 out of 10.
Editor’s Note: Eric Burgess is an MCDM student, Cohort 9. He currently works as a social media strategist for Projectline Inc. where this article was originally posted on their blog.
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I also like the new Twitter, but I’m never going to use it. I was introduced to this tool via TweetDeck, like many others before me, and that loyalty is going to be hard to break going forward. TweetDeck’s probably going to have to go belly up for me to switch over. It’s like buying a Sony Playstation in the late 1990s and sticking with the platform through all of its ups and downs. I will never be an Xbox man because of my early experiences with Sony.
Even now, with a sleek new interface and deeper user experience, I have absolutely zero interest in switching to the new Twitter site. I will admit, however, that the changes will likely make a big difference for the new adopters who may have been turned off by the old Twitter’s lack of features. I could just see it on their faces: THIS is what all the talk is about?! Well, now those folks have a better product to enjoy at the outset. And good for them, seriously.
For some of us, however, it’s the tried and true applications that make Twitter the force that it is in our lives. Name me another tool that opened itself up to third-party applications as easily (and early) as Twitter has. Some argue that doing so helped the social network gain a larger audience. Some argue the opposite. But whatever your stance may be, there really is only one thing to note…
Twitter is getting stronger and more dynamic, no matter which application you use.
The beauty of Twitter is the API.
In 2000 when Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey started sending email using a BlackBerry, he was unaware that his idea would be revolutionary.
Today the technology has become a foundation for others to build on in a creative way. Twitter creators and users have supported the evolution of the platform.
In a tweet @Jack wrote, “Every day I learn something new about Twitter from the people who use it.” #fortunate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yY_dJ10fyA&feature=player_embedded#!
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