By Sree Sreenivasan
DNAinfo Contributing Editor
Twitter has been filled over the last few days with the "#NewTwitter" hashtag. It refers to the revamped, updated version of Twitter that's being rolled out to its 145 million users over the next couple of weeks.
The tweets I've seen range from the those demanding the new version - "Still no #NewTwitter for me, @Twitter?" (@peterdedene) - to those excited about the changes - "i can't wait wait to see the #newtwitter but i will miss the #oldtwitter" (@SoSimplySerena) - to those who are more skeptical -"#newtwitter #reallymeans old twitter with new bugs" (@NinjaBunny89).
Here's how Twitter co-founder Evan Williams described the changes in the official Twitter blog last week, followed by my comments:
New design. The site has a cleaner timeline and a rich details pane that instantly adds more impact to individual Tweets while still maintaining the simplicity of the timeline. And, experience infinite scroll -- you no longer have to click “more” to view additional Tweets.
The new design is indeed cleaner and easier to use, once (like all redesigns) you get used to the changes. Among the biggest changes is that the search box has been moved from the right-hand pane to the center and right above the "What's happening" box where users type in their tweets. This is going to result in a lot more searches within Twitter. In a sign of where Twitter is headed, "promoted" tweets, i.e., ads, when available, appear above other results (though they are clearly labeled as such).
Media. Now, it’s easy to see embedded photos and videos directly on Twitter, thanks to partnerships with DailyBooth, deviantART, Etsy, Flickr, Justin.TV, Kickstarter, Kiva, Photozou, Plixi, Twitgoo, TwitPic, TwitVid, USTREAM, Vimeo, yfrog, and YouTube.
This upgrade has major potential, as you don't need to leave your Twitter stream to see a photo or even watch a YouTube video that others tweet, increasing the chances that people will actually see the multimedia items you post.
Related content. When you click a Tweet, the details pane shows additional information related to the author or subject. Depending on the Tweet’s content, you may see: replies, other Tweets by that user, a map of where a geotagged Tweet was sent from, and more.
I like the new design's right-hand "details pane" is much wider than its predecessor, which is causing an unexpected problem for advanced Twitter users who have created a left-hand pane with some background information about themselves. Their left-hand panes need to be redone, so that they fit in the narrower space.
Part of the reason there are so many Twitter skeptics is that the old design wasn't intuitive enough, especially when you were confronted with tweets that consisted of people replying to each other and you weren't able to follow the conversation.
Mini profiles. Click a username to see a mini profile without navigating from the page, which provides quick access to account information, including bio and recent Tweets.
This allows you to discover new Twitter feeds by giving you information about them without leaving the stream. If someone, say, retweets someone you don't know, by clicking on the new person's username, the details pane displays information that can help you decide whether to follow that person or not.
Overall, I think the redesign is effective, timely and useful. Many of these features have been available on third-party Twitter management tools such as TweetDeck and HootSuite for many months now, but are being offered on Twitter.com itself for the first time. As per stats that were released in April, only 25 percent of Twitter activity is on Twitter.com, so the changes are aimed at increasing that percentage.
I believe the changes are also going to help bring more people onto Twitter, or, at the very least, reduce the number of newbies who leave Twitter dazed and confused after signing up.
What do you think? Post your comments below or on Twitter @sreenet.
Related Columns:
- Turning Down the Noise on Twitter
- Twitter Myths and Misconceptions
Every week, DNAinfo contributing editor Sree Sreenivasan shares his observations about the changing media landscape.
