Dot.column: What's with the new Twitter?

October 7, 2010

Dot.column: What's with the new Twitter?

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What do you think about the new Twitter?  Will it replace desktop apps?

Shawn Plew
@hoosierplew, co-founder of BlogINDIANA
With “new” Twitter, typical users will be exposed to the full potential of Twitter for the first time — something avid users of desktop apps have long understood. NEW Twitter shows me an entire conversation in a fancy sidebar! I can actually see what the heck people are talking about in the context of a conversation! NEW Twitter gives me easy access to information about every user mentioned in a tweet.

Casey Mullins
@mooshinindy, blogger, www.mooshinindy.com
“New” Twitter? When I first signed up for Twitter, I waited for six months for it to ask me what I was doing so I could reply. I’m not really the person to ask about newfangled Twitter. It took me way too long to figure out oldfangled Twitter.

Andy Huston
@hust0058
, co-founder of 4sqIndy
The update provides much-needed features that should make the site easier to use. Now media files are embedded into the timeline rather than having to click over to another website or application. The website also dishes out more information related to the tweets you are viewing. All good things.

Desktop and third-party applications play an important role in Twitter’s ecosystem. Casual Twitter users tend to not use these. Twitter reports that 78 percent of users have been using the old Twitter. The most popular desktop program is Tweetdeck, according to a report from Twitter.

Chantelle Flannery
@chantellef, co-author of “Corporate Blogging for Dummies”
Personally, I skip around on platforms to see who has the latest and best functionality. I actually enjoy using Twitter.com. I like to see how people brand themselves. As Twitter.com evolves, I am sure TweetDeck, HootSuite and others will also change their offerings. Bottom line, everyone will have their own personal preference, so Twitter.com may be the new standard for some ... but most hardcore techies will stick to one of their preferred platforms. It’s like saying Chrome is better than Firefox.

Kyle Lacy
@kyleplacy, CEO of Brandswag
There is no way it will replace all the stand-alone applications associated with Twitter like Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and CoTweet. It will, however, completely change the way Twitter is used by the layman. I’m looking forward to it!

Sean “SeanieMic” Ireton
@SeanieMic, social media specialist at BLASTmedia PR, part-time parody rapper
I think the new Twitter is a step in the right direction. So many people never use the website, and these improvements will make the Smartphone tweeters take notice.  If you don’t like the change, I’m sure you can create a Facebook group proclaiming your hatred for the new layout. (How about “The New Twitter Sucks Just Like Saved By The Bell: The New Class”?)

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