Cofounder, Biz Stone wants to make Twitter more user friendly, to appeal to a larger audience and to become a valuable business tool. The whole point of updating the homepage was to give new users the ability to understand the concept. So why is the new design so minimal?



Everyone is baffled by the changes; the new design looks great and suits the brand, but surely a more “new user” friendly approach would have ensured an increased level of user growth? Let’s face it a lot of people just don’t get Twitter, “why would I want to talk about my cat or tell people that I’ve hung out the washing?” The problem is Twitter is so much more than this, it’s a powerful social network and communication tool, a real time information portal.

“Defining a “tweet” for the uninitiated and explaining how to create an account doesn’t resonate with everyone. “Why would I want to do that?” is a common reaction. However, demonstrating the power of Twitter as a discovery engine for what is happening right now through our Search and Trends often awakens a sense of wonder which inevitably leads to a much more compelling question, “How do I get involved?” Biz Stone.

Twitter has approached the new homepage not as a place to share updates about the lives of the users, but as a real-time information and search portal. This I think is a work of genius, yes the concept and use of Twitter is still hard to explain to a new user but the data that is being accrued by Twitter users is priceless. Real time topic and opinion based news and information which can be shared within the community. No wonder Google is looking to broker a deal with Twitter.

I still think it’s a shame that Twitter did not embrace both areas, a more user friendly approach, with user guides etc. Would have been a nice touch. But let’s face it, Twitter can’t really do much wrong at the moment.

Article by Creative SEO – Search Engine Optimisation