Apparently NewTwitter has been gradually rolled out since September 14 but I only get to play with it a few days ago. The improvement or upgrade is much welcome, considering that there were not many (major) innovations coming from the microblogging giant since day 1 of its launch.
Honestly, the upgrade is not revolutionary. Twitter just added features which have long been demanded by its loyal users or are pretty standard on other social networking sites. Nevertheless, I believe this represents the first step for it to bring many more innovations to the table to improve users' experience in the near future.
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| The new interface of #NewTwitter | | | | |
New features
- New design with multiple tabs (@mentions, retweets, searches, etc.) in the timeline, recent and suggested activities and actions on the right.
- Embedded content such as pictures and videos can be previewed and viewed directly on Twitter.
- Users are able to discover related content of a Tweet such as additional information about the author and subject.
- Mini profiles allow previewing of users that you come across without leaving the page (their account information, bio, recent Tweets, etc.).
Major concerns by users and developers alike
- Old Twitter background will not be displayed correctly in the new design.
- Twitter desktop client softwares such as TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop are rendered less useful and relevant now that some of their features have been incorporated in #NewTwitter.
Same old same old (things we are glad did not change)
- Tweet still consists of 140 characters or less. Duh!
- #NewTwitter seems more like an interface upgrade and functionality addition rather than a complete revamp. Hence existing applications using Twitter API should still function perfectly.
What are the responses to #NewTwitter?
At this initial stage, we can only conclude that there are mixed reactions to #NewTwitter. Some hate it, some adore it, others are indifferent.
Of course, there are also thousands of Twitter users who plead to be given access to the new Twitter. Here are some Tweets in response to this upgrade.
Nobody is forced to have the #newtwitter at this point, it's only a preview.
Yes but won't all of us need to switch to #newtwitter, eventually?
#newtwitter so far very cool, but still missing some nice #Tweetdeck features
Tweeted by @BizTechMBA
Really? I'm not sure what are those missing features. But being able to view embedded medias on #newtwitter is pretty cool!
I don't like the #newtwitter! And it thinks I'm in #Poland :D Ok, that's kinda cool:D:D
Tweeted by @Natalie_C_Sweet
I think you have to embrace #newtwitter, better sooner than later :D
To see more conversations about #NewTwitter, you could search for the hashtag or follow this link here:
Twitter.com Search Results for #NewTwitter
Finally, here are some resources for you to find out more about #NewTwitter:
Introducing new Twitter.com Video Hosted on Youtube
10 things missing in the new Twitter interface
The New Twitter Is an Attack on All Desktop Apps
The Best Subtle Things About New Twitter (highly recommended, contains many useful tips for using new Twitter)
Hope you like this post and if you do, kindly retweet or share it with your Facebook friends. Have a nice day!
P.S. How do you find #NewTwitter? Do you like it or not? Why? What other features you would like to see in Twitter?