Is it possible to make an online service based on 140 character messages even simpler? Twitter thinks so. As 2011 draws to a close, Twitter is gifting all of its users with a new look.
The “Let’s Fly” entry in Twitter’s blog summarizes their intent. “We’ve simplified the design to make it easier than ever to follow what you care about, with others and discover something new. You’ll see this new design both on Twitter.com and mobile phones, so that you’ll have a familiar experience anytime, anywhere.” They have created video and clear explanatory text on what’s what and to generate excitement.
At present, I have the new Twitter app on my iPhone. My Twitter.com has not been changed. There’s no opting in or out. Twitter has started a gradual rollout across all accounts over the next few weeks.
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So what’s new? It all starts with a new tabbed navigation. The four tabs are: Home, Connect, Discover and Me.
Home is similar to the newsfeed of yore. Tweets from those you follow roll in constantly. Tap on one and you can reply, retweet, favorite or mail the Tweet to someone else. You can also see who retweeted it. Photo and video content opens readily so there’s more direct access to visual content as well as old school-style text and links.
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Connect is where you find your replies, mentions and retweets. The search options are for @name or full name. The two tabs at the top are Interactions and Mentions. Choose any entry and you receive a “connect” option immediately. This could not be easier.
Discover is search. Enter a hashtag or keyword in the search box and off you go with Top News and Top Tweets. Twitter says that over time your search results will be fine-tuned to your interests, current location and language. Sounds like lots of data analysis. However, they have the content to mine and deliver considering the billions of tweets a day Twitter delivers around the globe.
Me is your profile. There you view or edit your profile. Read the tweets you’ve written. Find those you are following and those who are following you. See your direct messages, drafts, lists, and saved searches. Switch accounts, settings and help reside in the Me tab as well.
Subtle and almost too cute, the little box with the pencil icon for you to write a new tweet has been changed to the same little box with a quill.
Though I haven’t seen one yet, Twitter says brand pages for companies are on the way. The header text will be larger than that of individuals’ accounts and companies can decide how long their headline tweets will remain prominent on their page.
Has your Twitter account been changed yet? If not, download the new iPhone or Android apps to your SmartPhone to ease into the changes. Twitter is also changing TweetDeck to resemble the new Twitter.
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