It used to ask you, “What are you doing?” Now it suggests you “see what people are saying.”
Twitter, last night, unveiled a completely redesigned home page for the booming social networking site. Admitting that their site has evolved greatly since its inception as a simple status update service, the team at Twitter believes the site’s new front page directly expresses what the site is used for now—a place on the Internet to instantly witness worldwide buzz about everything, from sports to art to politics to just about anything.
Underneath a prominently highlighted search tool and “Sign up now” button rests the most important addition to the home page: “Popular topics by the minute, day, and week.”
Even in this one quick snapshot, we gain a wealth of information. For example, while tweets about “Blue M&Ms” and “William Shatner” may have shot up in the past minute , those could be fleeting trends in the face of “Harry Potter” or, more especially, “#iranelection,” which has been a top trending topic since the heated protests of a controversial presidential election held last month. Clicking any of the trends, of course, instantly loads up real-time results of the chosen topic, with new results every second made available through a refresh.
On the Twitter Blog post announcing the page redesign, co-founder Biz Stone confronts the ever-present question of why anyone in their right mind would waste their time tweeting:
“Defining a ‘tweet’ for the uninitiated and explaining how to create an account doesn’t resonate with everyone. ‘Why would I want to do that?’ is a common reaction. However, demonstrating the power of Twitter as a discovery engine for what is happening right now through our Search and Trends often awakens a sense of wonder which inevitably leads to a much more compelling question, ‘How do I get involved?’”
And he’s right.
Enabling you to read what your sister happens to be eating for lunch is not why Twitter is so popular. Rather, the site’s tracking of the latest industry buzz and efficient trending of the most exciting world news makes this social media site one of the most important to surface in the past couple years.
Twitter is significant because it allows anyone to see what the twitter the world-over is all about. The site’s new front page is a reflection of that significance, a step in the direction towards becoming “the pulse of the planet.”
