Twitter has rolled out a new feature today which removes the star icon which indicated a favourite,they say this measure was brought in to make things less confusing especially for new users of the platform,for any Twitter user I do not see how its confusing for a newcomer as all is pretty much self explanatory..This has angered much of the community.
Twitter could do with some real new ideas such as themes and being able to edit your tweet and some more but for now its all about love…You can however install an extension to bring back the star or pick some other icons.
The heart, in contrast, is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones. The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people. And in our tests, we found that people loved it.
Starting today it will roll out across Android,iOS and more..
I have heard the term so many time before that 140 characters is not enough and off we go to another platform to have a waffle,well now that s no longer an issue as Twitter is removing the 140 character limit on Direct Messages,Twitter has been busy of late… So now you can say more and keep it in private too starting in July. Good…
“We’ve done a lot to improve Direct Messages over the past year and have much more exciting work on the horizon. One change coming in July that we want to make you aware of now (and first!) is the removal of the 140 character limit in Direct Messages. In order to make this change as seamless as possible for you we’ve included some recommendations below to ensure all your applications and services can handle these longer format messages before we flip the switch.”
We recommend taking the following actions in preparation:
Review the new API additions below.
Update your GET requests so you will be able to receive the full length of DM text.
Adjust your app UI to accommodate longer DM text.
You may be wondering what this means for the public side of Twitter. Nothing! Tweets will continue to be the 140 characters they are today.
Twitter has been busy of late and now its added a new feature in which you can share the people you don’t like,hate,annoy or trolls/sub-tweeters and this is all well and good because if you block someone they can still see your tweets,so if i have blocked someone for example and i get a re-tweet the blocked person can see it or use another app to see the tweet,so twitter needs to sort the blocking process to begin with and that would be most welcome in my book..
Twitter says in its blog
You can now export and share your block lists with people in your community facing similar issues or import another user’s list into your own account and block multiple accounts all at once, instead of blocking them individually. We also hope these advanced blocking tools will prove useful to the developer community to further improve users’ experience.
To export or import a list of blocked accounts, navigate to your blocked accounts settings on twitter.com. Click on the advanced options drop-down menu and select the action you want to take.To download a list of your blocked accounts, select the export option and confirm the accounts you want to export.
Twitter has introduced a new feature making conversations easier to follow,On the Tweet page, Tweets that are part of a conversation are connected by a line. If you want to see more of the replies to a specific Tweet within a conversation you can click “View other replies”.
On their blog they post the following.
Conversations surrounding a Tweet, particularly if they’ve sparked lots of replies and disparate conversations, can be hard to follow. So, we’re doing a few things to make this much easier: grouping conversations together and highlighting some of the most interesting exchanges surrounding a given Tweet right below that Tweet. To surface some of the most interesting conversations, we’ll take factors into account like whether the original account has replied.
This feature is now beginning to roll out to all logged in and logged out users on twitter.com today and will be rolling out to mobile apps in the future.
Yes just like Dropbox, Ireland is now minding Twitter via the Data Commissioner.So this means in short anyone that has an issue must go by Irish Laws under the ODPC. Like Dropbox there has been many thoughts on this bad and good when it comes to data privacy.
We revised our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective as of 18 May 2015. Please read the updated policies and FAQs below explaining the revisions. By using our services after 18 May 2015, you agree to the revisions.
What has changed in the updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy?
If you live outside the United States, our services are now provided to you by Twitter International Company, our company based in Dublin, Ireland. Twitter International Company will be responsible for handling your account information under Irish privacy and data protection law, which is based on the European Union’s Data Protection Directive.
If you live in the United States, the services will continue to be provided to you by Twitter, Inc., based in San Francisco, California, under United States law.
Twitter have launched a new featured which enables you to receive DMs from ANYONE. This can be a good thing or perhaps a bad thing,as is i often get DMs from people i don’t follow and this is annoying to say the least and its always marketing companies or someone looking for money in one form or another. Personally i think think practice should be banned full stop giving some users more rights over other that are not even celebs,At that point i think everyone should be treated equally regardless,celeb or not you join twitter,you face the real world..
If you have updated twitter you will now see a prominent message box within the persons profile,before this you would need to tap another button to access the DM feature to the person you are following. Twitter thinks this move will gain more users and perhaps create more mobile revenue,also its said to make people connect more. Below is what you will now see on a person’s profile.
If you do not want to be spammed to death with messages you can simply turn off this feature in settings,It is turned off by default but i would still check this and the rest is up to you from there,for me it will be staying off,having had multiple messages already from people i do not follow is annoying and i do not want anymore.
Twitter say the following on their blog..
Direct Messages are the best way to take your public Twitter conversations private. Today, we’re changing how direct messaging works so that it’s even easier for you to communicate one-to-one or with a chosen group of people, anywhere in the world.
Communicating with people you may or may not know in real life just got easier. Previously, if you wanted to send a Direct Message to the ice cream shop down the street about how much you love their salted caramel flavor, you’d have to ask them to follow you first. With today’s changes, the ice cream shop can opt to receive Direct Messages from anyone; so you can privately send your appreciation for the salted caramel without any barriers.
Windows phone users no doubt have been left in the lurch here too with the new change only on Android and iOS.
What do you think of this new feature ? If twitter ever did a favour it would be to ensure the BLOCK button means BLOCK…