DISQUS

MrKhaki · 4 months ago

There's a big problem with the new Twitter homepage, which is the same problem with the previous version:

It's a homepage for those who know what Twitter is and how to use Twitter, which is for the more tech/social savvy of the Internet population. The problem is, there's nothing for the 900+ million other Internet users out there who need to 1) know why Twitter is something they should use and 2) how to use it.

Twitter was smart enough to publish a Biz Guide over the weekend, but there's nothing to entice the "1 billion" non-business users Twitter hopes to gain.

Twitter needs to market and create a homepage/website for absolute newbies who heard of Twitter via Oprah, the news outlets and Entertainment Tonight. Marketing = Fail

Marcelo R. · 4 months ago

I like :-)

and I wonder if this will be the future of search engines? social and real-time....

Randolph Rankin · 4 months ago

I like it, but I think it's inconsistent with the rest of twitter.

Ludwik C. Siadlak · 4 months ago

I think it's just a first step to gather some user comments on if it's the right direction or not.

Bookie · 3 months ago

True, but I imagine that over time this new and more stylish design will be incorporated with the rest of the site and will replace the default simple layout as we see today.

Toon See · 4 months ago

Wait and see

Alex Onsager · 4 months ago

Agreed. Hopefully this means more tools coming our way for managing the firehose.

Ryan Graves · 4 months ago

Nice work Ben, really great analysis.

Naturalherbalz · 4 months ago

It would be great if it they can maintain their simplicity to win people's heart, usually sites mostly being un-userfriendly after their new look! hopes for the best with Twitter!

pruett · 4 months ago

For the self-proclaimed "electricity" of the internet, this is definitely the right strategy. Focusing on trending topics and search is Twitter's bread and butter. Good move Twitter.

Adam Haider · 4 months ago

I think it was a good move.

Finally they got rid of that hideous aqua blue background colour and toned it down a little.
The subtle css elements and updated graphics make the service more appealing to newer users.

It seems to work well in terms of aesthetics and functionality.
Just hope they carry on the design throughout, as the sign-in form and other pages still use the old design.

guooo · 4 months ago

wow, really good ,but i can not see it for its be shielded in china ,huh

@23Kazoos · 4 months ago

I love Twitter! And the new login page is awesome! I do agree they need to change the interior to match.

Tech Nerd · 4 months ago

well people bring their own drinks to their desk. So i guess this can be the potential water-cooler replacement......NOT. People love to chat, but i love the new look thought haha.

http://www.adgirlandtechnerd.com

Rich_Weaver · 4 months ago

Now if Twitter could just stop losing accounts, miscounting followers, absent tweets(iRobot), accidental suspension of, oh about 149, 000 accounts ... throw in the the kitchen sink and call it done!

Wondering if @EV over there would pass that bong my way .... CAUSE I .... LIKE IT!

FunDave · 4 months ago

Much better insight on the story, thanks.

Chris · 4 months ago

So they're turning twitter into a global forum for everything in real time? Sounds pretty awesome. Just wait for the forum styled front ends to appear they should be brilliant.

sean percival · 4 months ago

agree 100%

Mike W · 4 months ago

When trending topics get stupid (Ihadsexwith, or goodpu&&y) I wonder how that will turn new users away. i'm sure the Twitter gods have control of the trends on the home page

Pascale C. · 4 months ago

I use Twitter mainly as a shortcut. I rarely wish to say anything. To me, the strength of Twitter is that it centralizes my news, saving me time. I don't have to go to all over the web anymore. I just read the tweets of the day of the news sources I follow.

Ruud · 4 months ago

Looks like the home page isn't the only thing that changed. We have 'tweets' on our profiles now, instead of 'updates' ;)

Rieza · 4 months ago

twetter is Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface

gsreddy · 4 months ago

I agree with what Mr Khaki says --Twitter should try to entice 1 billion non-business users. Most of my friends, though internet-savvy, are not aware of or not interested in twitter. Twitter, I feel, should target such people. However, I liked the new homepage and its changed approach.

r0cketman22 · 4 months ago

I like it.

Dhanuj De Costa · 4 months ago

I saw this coming the day I joined Twitter. Its good that Twitter understood its potential. There's no reason why it should compete with social network sites like FB.

Dennis Jernberg · 4 months ago

At last, Twitter has found its true niche. Now if only they would use the same approach on the rest of the site that they now use on the homepage...

himynameisniel · 4 months ago

Twitter's plan for world wide domination is here!

http://himynameisniel.blogspot.com

Twitte_r Skins · 4 months ago

It was Time for a change, methinks. Was mucking about with the way back machine and it's quite interesting to see the evolution of Twitter from a design perspective. I prefer the newer login and the home page was a bit of a shock earlier for me. Now all they need to do is to change the profile page to be more in keeping with the new login/home page.

June Yasol · 4 months ago

Oh my, this is overwhelming!

Seika · 4 months ago

Microblogging like blog. Unless you’re some big celebrity news maker, nobody’s really interested in story of your daily life.
So… this means they encourage those peoples without interesting original ideas (thus become consumer only) to gather and comment around topics made by authorities they follow and the trends ?

dyegov · 4 months ago

Most of the people I know could not even define twitter. They said they could not understand what it really was and that it was useless. Now they're going to realize the real potential. Nice move.

Bhupal Sapkota · 4 months ago

i was shocked to see the changed homepage, in accordance was wishing to see some changes in the profile page too. but all my expectations were dead and twitter gets my thumbs down! (for the first time in my twitter experience) if you are killing/enjoying all of your time tweeting in, there should be a proper and managed way to keep up with your friends. Who you following are not only the business personal, some marketing professional, funny bots only but the real persons with real thinking behind and WE NEED SOME COOL WAY OUT to get in touch...

it's a good explanation - Twitter’s no longer about updating your friends, but about being THE place for global events. but yeah... i am loosing some sort of personal connection i had with Twitter now.

JAVAJ9 · 4 months ago

You can still make Twitter as personal as you like, can't you? ... I suppose it's all in who you follow and who you choose to let follow you. If I'm wrong, please explain.

Steve_Dodd · 4 months ago

Finally, a focus! Perfect. Twitter doesn't need to be yet another Social Network (ie: Facebook etc.) This is something it can do and win with. But, I do agree that the next challenge is to change the market perception and lose the "people think Twitter’s just about telling people about what cereal you ate" to "Twitter is the one place where you are plugged in to the collective world". And, I think if you look at how most predominant Twitter users have adopted the platform, they are already there. This make perfect sense.

Chris Horton · 4 months ago

I love the new page. Looks better and explains the site better.

livemercial · 4 months ago

One day, all conversations will be 140 characters or less.

Mark · 4 months ago

Twitter puts a search box and people think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, sheesh!

mohan · 4 months ago

i love twiter , and it's new look,

Jennifer · 4 months ago

Great article...I wonder if this will hurt Twitter? They do something so well now, hopefully they will just be adding to the success.

JAVAJ9 · 4 months ago

I like the new homepage with its more accurate description and focus! I wonder, however, if they'll edit the Trending Topics for posting on the homepage (certain ones *cough* [insert your thought here] would not be great for PR).

paramendra · 4 months ago

Good move. This is Twitter catching up with the users.

Shin-Howe Chen · 4 months ago

I do wish Twitter would increase their features so it will give us even more of addictive attittude towards using this social media outlet. Though it was hilarious how they deleted a lot of accounts the past week...

Belinda · 4 months ago

Well, it's true that the old homepage was hideous, so I'm glad it looks prettier. Before I wasn't so sure about the singular focus on search, but now I see what they're going for with taking things in a new direction. So I think I like it now. One small tweak I would like to see, though, is a little more emphasis on what the potential new user can contribute rather than what they can find other people saying.

~Berry Latte~ · 4 months ago

Twitter function has altered from social network into social network and news media. And I think it's not an obligation for the users to utilize twitter for the former function only.

Twitter should follow the utilization trends (as it does) without changing its description or losing its main idea/mission (as it does).