A world to discover
Let’s be honest. Who enters Twitter for the first time knowing what a Hashtag is or what Trending Topic means or how to upload a photo? Being so different from the other social networks, Twitter not only requires effort to learn how to use the platform itself but also to become familiar with its jargon. Now, its creators promise a conceptual redesign of the whole platform, making it easy to use for those who already know its shortcuts and secrets and for those who don’t. Simple, that is, for those who can to express themselves in 140 characters.
Putting things in order
Even at first glance, you can see that the new design is sensational for its simplicity and practicality. The layout is organized by 5 icons across the navigation bar that make it easy to find what you want to do and lead you precisely where you want to go.
The house: The first icon, the house, represents what you see when you open the application. Here is the latest news and the tweets of those you follow. From now on, a photo, video, or conversation is included with its tweet, so you can see all the content at once. On the left side of the page, you can display your favorite functions for immediate access.
– The arroba: In
the Connect section, accessed with the @ icon, you can see who mentions
you, who chooses you as a favorite, who retweets you, and anything
others might be doing with your participation. This tab is how you
evaluate the impact of your presence on Twitter.
– The number sign: Called
the Discover section and symbolized by the number sign, this is without a
doubt the most innovative aspect of the Twitter redesign. It promises a
selection of useful information created just for you. How does it work?
Content is selected based on your interests; the more you use Twitter,
the more appropriate the results that the Discover tool gives back. No
matter what topics claim your attention, Discover will help you find
information about them: histories and relevant trends, whom to follow,
friends, and interests are some of the options # opens.
– The silhouette: This
opens your profile section, where you record your interests, lists, and
favorites. In addition, you can see here the messages sent to you, your
image gallery, and your video list.
– The feather: The feather
icon represents and opens your main reason for being on
Twitter—tweeting. No matter in which section you find yourself, the
feather is always visible on the navigation bar, available for quickly
saying what you are thinking; creating a hashtag, photo, or video;
starting a conversation; or even “completing the scene” by adding your
geographic location to your Tweets.
To grow, it is necessary to change, innovate, and smooth the path for those who still are not part of the incredible phenomenon of social networking. Of course, some things won’t change. Communication is still Twitter’s purpose, of course, far more important than the look of an icon or how pages are organized. Twitter’s redesign, however, aims at a more complex goal—more users responding to the ever-present question: “What’s up?”
