So twitter has changed. The micro-blogging site has gradually been rolling out the update to its users over the last couple of weeks, and when I logged in the other morning I saw that little blue link at the top of the page…
…and of course I clicked on it straight away!
I’ve heard good and bad comments about the new twitter layout. Some people I know hate it – find it difficult to use. Others have said they really like it and find it much better. Having seen the video introducing it a couple of weeks ago I had been waiting to see that little link at the top of the page and was looking forward to giving it a go.
Most of you know what “old” twitter looks like:
Basically it’s a two-column design in the centre of the screen – one large column on the left for your twitter feed, one smaller column on the right with all the useful links you need plus trending topics etc.
The new twitter on the other hand…
…is based on two large and almost equal in size columns – the one on the left for the twitter feed, the one of the right for the other information that is useful when you are tweeting.
My first experience of new twitter was when I was at a computer as a user. Unfortunately this meant I had no rights to update anything and it seemed things weren’t up to date enough to use it. I could see the twitter feed but when hovering over a tweet no reply/retweet options appeared. I was informed this was probably due to the Java version and of course made it useless – it was really quite annoying. So I’ve now got a Hootsuite account to use when in that situation.
However, when I tried the new twitter at home it did work properly and I had a chance to try it out. I like the wider view as it makes better use of the space on my screen, but it does ruin my background – will have to get a new one of those maybe I should design my own?
I did wonder at first how useful that second large column would be, but I like that when you click on a username you get that person’s twitter feed over on the right without it navigating to a different page – you still have your own twitter feed on the left.
Or, if you click on the tweet on the right you get the conversation, which is also useful, especially if someone replies to a tweet from a few hours ago and you can’t remember what you asked!
Apart from the compatibility issues I encountered which could have so easily put me off for good, I like the new twitter; it may even become my weapon of choice when I’m at home rather than TweetDeck which I normally use – I guess it’ll depend what mood I’m in!
As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts on this subject by commenting below. Do you like the new twitter? Have you even tried it yet? What would you ask twitter to change to make it better?