Twitter has existed since 2006 and has made many upgrades to its interface and services. With more than 300 million active users, it seems like they could use some crowdsourcing for their next updates. Or they could just ask me. Here are a few suggestions for improvements. If you’re interested in its history, here is Twitter’s wiki.
*And by “we,” I mean “I.”
Blocking
You can already easily block users who annoy you on Twitter with just a few clicks. I’m talking about bothersome messages, like people who only tweet about chihuahuas during #ChihuahuaChat. Maybe, as Adam Khan points out (see below), a better chat option could help keep users’ feeds clear. Adam has some great other ideas as well.
How Twitter gets to 1 billion users @lipmanb @Jason @ev @sacca pic.twitter.com/DrmGKWFaQW
— Adam Khan (@Khanoisseur) June 15, 2015
Opt-in DMs
Recently, Twitter decided in its infinite wisdom that LONGER direct messages would be a good idea. Excuse me, did anyone ask me? No. How about this: if I like you, I can turn on direct messages? This would save us all the trouble of unfollowing those who decide that within 10 seconds of following you I’d want to follow you on Facebook, LinkedIn, plus buy your friendship bracelets on Etsy. Because come on! DMs are horrible enough already without making them longer. By the way, if you’re a newbie, here are my Twitter: Top Ten Terms and Power Tips.
"Tweets with #images receive 18% more clicks, 89% more favorites and 150% more retweets."http://t.co/4RiCJwiL2O pic.twitter.com/uJ5cbad9Od
— HubSpot (@HubSpot) June 10, 2015
Easier Image Sharing
Do you know how long it took to figure out how to share an image on Twitter? And then to schedule those tweets with images? Not so straightforward. Of course, tweets with images or video get shared much more, so everyone has to learn how to do this.
Fix the Number One Mistake Everyone Makes on Twitter
Yes, we all feel special because we know that we have to put a “.” or a quotation mark in front of that “@” for it to be seen. But now that we feel special, how about fixing it, Twitter? Wouldn’t that make Twitter a tiny bit more accessible? Because people really don’t get this! Even seasoned users are surprised by this, as Gary Vee explains in his Slideshare, above.
#Discover tab finally goes from @twitter for iPad too. Perhaps, the biggest loss to content discovery for me after Google Reader was killed.
— Prem Piyush Goyal (@prempiyush) May 6, 2015
The Discover Tab
Bring it back, Twitter. It was a great way to discover content! The replacements (recaps and MagicRecs) are dumb.
Take a Cue from Pinterest
In general, how about taking a cue from Pinterest? Here’s a look behind the scenes at Pinterest, by the way. Nearly every day I log into Pinterest and there’s something cool, such as what’s trending on search (see above), promoted pins, or the new “buy it now” button. And although I love Twitter, I’d like to see more innovation, or at the very least something that makes me laugh out loud.
Got an Upgrade for Twitter?
I’m a huge fan of twitter. And I hope that you are, too. If you have an improvement or upgrade, I’d love to hear from you! Leave me a comment.