Is Twitter Planning More Changes to Make America Freak Out?

Why does anything have to change? It is going to happen, and usually when you least expect it -- change. Things begin to sag. Batteries run out. You have to move. The job doesn't have the "new car" smell anymore. Whatever it takes, things will change. It's the circle of life, and in technology, that circle is typically your PC buffering. Most changes are accepted, some more than others. However, when Twitter thought they could sneak one past America, social media imploded and warned whoever would listen that there better not be any more slick changes. Yeah, there's more... Most hipsters can remember the day what coffee shop they were in when news broke that Twitter changed its font. It was like a national disaster, or worse, skinny jeans were no longer fashionable. Look at the gross negligence on display pictured here. Clearly, the jump from Helvetica Nue to Gotham Narrow was malevolent and gratuitous. Like that change was necessary. I know, right? It was as if Twitter was made for the modish and swanky. Helvetica was so comfortable, and then, someone with a degree in Feng-Shui and who wanted an homage to Batman decided this newfangled "Gotham" font was the way to go. Apparently, that was the beginning of the end as everyone who planned to name their child "Twitter" quickly began considering "Zuckerberg" as a replacement. And they aren't even close to being done. Aside from the new Facebook-esque profile page, there are more things that have happened and other tinkering about to take place. Happened: 1. Followers/Following has a particular Pinterest feel to it. Have you noticed that. You get pictures and profiles in a nice slated threesome selection with each scroll. Remember when you actually had to click on a profile to seem? Yeah, the good ol' days. 2. Pin the Tweet on the Donkey. More like a certain few other networks, your favorite tweet -- be it a snarky reply or some fake breaking news from ESPN -- can be pinned to the top of your timeline. 3. Size Matters. Have you seen the big and small tweets on your timeline. That is Twitter's way of telling you what works and what sucks. Comforting being called out publicly for your intellectual property, huh? Happening: (And social meltdown happening in 3... 2... 1...) 1. Raw feed. It has been public knowledge that the timeline is sacrosanct to Twitter, but since people can't be steadfast with minor dips in user growth, it's time to buck the system. Dick Costolo, Major Domo of Twitter, shared at the Code Conference in SoCal last month that " Twitter was working on ways to help new users quickly find and organize compelling tweets without going through the painstaking process of following dozens of people first." Gulp! 2. No more @. Yeah, the symbol is about as synonymous with "the Twitter" as a verified check or that stupid whale, but it's true. Evidently, Twitter is testing this -- a reply with an @. No RT or MT, just a T? Posts could feature text that will reveal that you are disturbing a real-time conversation. Watch your timeline for "in reply to" verbiage. Yeah, that just happened. 3. BuzzFeed Twitter Style. GIFs are great, except if you are on Twitter where they are links only. No images. No movement. Nothing. There was a time -- albeit about 48 seconds -- when Twitter allowed GIFs. Today? Not so much. However, this could change quickly. This is why they call it a BETA test, because ALPHA changes are coming.

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Is Twitter Planning More Changes to Make America Freak Out?

Shawn Paul Wood

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Shawn Paul Wood