Twitter changed their user-interface and some of their functionality not long ago. I wanted to share with you some of the changes I like a lot (or maybe love)! I like the more simple design/layout. So thanks, Twitter. Clean and simple.
Here’s What’s New On Twitter
@Connect
This appears on the top menu bar and when you click on it you see INTERACTIONS. The Interactions timeline shows you how others have been interacting with you on Twitter.
This shows all interactions including:
- Retweets of your tweets
- Someone favorited your tweet
- Follows you
- Mentions your name
How I use this:
This is a super way to monitor what is being said about your on Twitter! I like the fact that it is all in one spot.
- Acknowledge people who have shared my tweets or mentioned me
- I can chose to follow back people who have followed me
I do find this a bit overwhelming sometimes so I prefer to go to the MENTIONS right under the INTERACTIONS option to thank people for their retweets. Just my personal preference.
#Discover
Visually appealing, Twitter is using the #Discover page to show top news stories and Trending Topics on Twitter. Stories are personalized for you based on recent popularity and your connections, location, and language.
There is so much information being shared on Twitter and this can be a good place to go to find a digest of top stories relevant to you.
How I use this:
Keep current on trends and news that might be important to me.
Skimming
You don’t have to read every tweet sent by everyone. You don’t read every single article in the news paper, do you? I have found that creating lists is one of the best ways to filter what is important to me. Each time I follow someone, I categorize them based on what they are talking about.
Tweetdeck
My belief is that those that don’t really like Twitter aren’t using Tweetdeck (or Hootesuite or the like). Here’s why I LOVE Tweetdeck;
It allows me to better see what people are saying because I can create multiple columns.
I can schedule tweets for the future so I don’t overwhelm followers with too many tweets sent at one time.
I can share content on LinkedIn, Facebook and other platforms without leaving Tweetdeck.
If you want to learn more about the Twitter, their Help Center has great information
Twitter Tour: Let’s Take You Around (videos, tutorials and easy to follow help!)
Twitter Basics (everything you wanted to know about setting up and using Twitter)
What do you love about the new Twitter? What do you miss?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
TweetDeck is the only reason I continue to use Twitter – I personally cannot stand the online site (mostly because I cannot have the multiple columns).
The fact that it ties into other social networks is a major plus too and I’ve found it outperforms all other competitors too (cannot stand HootSuite or Seismic…)
Laneth,
Funny how people have a strong preference of either HootSuite or Tweetdeck. Multiple columns are key, I agree!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I appreciate it!
Great article Hannah! This is very, very helpful. I am quite new to Twitter and know I am not using it efficiently. Thanks for the tips.
Trish,
Glad to hear you liked it! If you haven’t started using either Tweetdeck or HootSuite, I recommend either. It makes using Twitter much easier!
I’m with you, Hannah. I don’t know what I’d do without Tweet Deck. It allows me to manage my own account as well as the one for the company I work for and follow #topics that are of interest.
Carol,
Thanks. There is a large population of people who are equally dedicated to Hootesuite…
Using either makes Twitter a better user-experience!
Happy Tweeting in 2012!
Great article, Hannah!
I’m fortunate to have one account that hasn’t migrated from the old platform yet. I find the new interface is a bit slower, but overall agree with your assessment of its advantages. It is certainly sleek.
As for the new Tweetdeck, I find it frustrating to have to click a separate link to have to see previous conversations and find it easier to manage these in Twitter itself.
I love this post – thanks for writing it!
Jim,
I am surprised to hear you (and others) still don’t have the NEW Twitter…not sure why that is, do you know how Twitter is rolling it out?
There are functions of the regular Twitter update I like better than Tweetdeck too, but I still haven’t found an easy way to add content/comment to a retweet. I don’t spend enough time there to figure it out, but if you know how (without copying and pasting) let me know!
Thanks for loving my post!