With each new Facebook update, there’s a good, loud whining that comes along from people who proclaim they’re fixing something that ain’t broke. It’s not as if Twitter were exempt from that same outcry when they do an overhaul.
Trust us, we hear it firsthand.
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo went on NBC’s Today show to announce the changes: Profile pages on Twitter look different now. Twitter is also throwing its weight behind mobile (which is still Facebook’s weak spot, despite recent changes to its mobile apps). Of course, literally a few seconds later, the first wave of complaints started on social media.
The Twitter Re-Design is More Visual and Fast
Expansion of visuals is the main call of the day with the new Twitter redesign:
- Huge header image (banner) across the top
- User avatars getting pushed to prominence
It’s all part of what the company calls “our mobile-first strategy.” Costolo described the new mobile apps: “We rebuilt Twitter for iPad from the ground up to make it fast, beautiful and easy to use.”
Sizing Hints For Your New Header Image
- Original image size cannot exceed 1252×626 pixels (with a max file size of 5MB)
- Try to keep above 640 px
- Call us to do it for you
Why They Need To Keep Updating, Despite Protests
For all the voices decrying the changes, there is a reality that the social media landscape is changing drastically and rapidly. It’s for the simple fact that technology changes the people who use it, drastically and rapidly. Moore’s Law applies to social media as well, folks.
The smartphones and tablets and getting more powerful and getting into the hands of more and more people, and the apps need to perform. Twitter needs to perform on these devices or they lose relevance (same goes for Facebook and other networks, of course).
And by this logic, more changes are coming. Those who are still moaning about it will, themselves, become irrelevant.