Twitter Changes

John Gruber, responding to an article by Nick Bilton about the new Twitter UI:

Maybe today’s new Twitter UI is better for new Twitter users. But even if that’s true, it’s not because it hides @ and # symbols the way that the Mac did away with the code-driven command line. And frankly, I don’t buy that’s simpler at all. In the old Twitter, you saw only what you asked to be shown (by following people). Now, they’re showing you all sorts of things you never asked for and can’t control.

As I’ve alluded to before, the beauty of Twitter is its simplicity. There is no forced artificial friendship. You’re either following someone, or you’re not. The changes to Twitter.com and the official iPhone app are disheartening, to say the least.

I don’t use Twitter.com very often, but when I do, I have Chris Masterson’s Feather extension installed, which cleans up the UI quite nicely. Likewise, I don’t use the official Twitter for iPhone app because I prefer Twitterrific’s simplicity and unified timeline.

I realize that Twitter needs to monetize their service, but I hope they remain true to their values in the process. Unlike Facebook, which I only tolerate, and Google+, which is still pretty nerd-oriented, I genuinely enjoy Twitter. It’s by far my favorite social network, and I’d hate to see it go downhill.