This Friday Twitter launched #newnewTwitter with a pretty makeover. But, it wasn’t just Twitter.com and Twitter mobile that experienced a facelift. Tweetdeck, the once small London-based startup turned Twitter entity has had a major overhaul.

A New, More Twitterized Tweetdeck

Image Source: agbeat.com

Iain Dodsworth, the founder of the acquired Tweetdeck, took the stage at the London Developer Teatime a few months ago and shared a bit about his journey as a third-party developer who was eventually acquired by Twitter. He stressed multiple times that Tweetdeck has always been “all about Twitter” and has mainly served as a Twitter client, with other integrations being more of a “bonus.” He also mentioned that they are collaborating with Twitter on a new version of Tweetdeck. When asked why they shut down Deck.ly, he said that although the team had put in a lot of effort and believed it was a valuable feature, the reality is that Tweetdeck is now a Twitter product, and if parts of Tweetdeck need to align more closely with the Twitter brand, “that’s not a bad thing.”

No More Adobe Air

It was logical for Twitter to launch #newtweetdeck alongside the other updates. NewTweetdeck centers on Twitter, removing most third-party integrations except for Facebook, and completely transitioning away from Adobe Air to Html5. Considering Twitter’s strong ties with Apple and Apple’s tense relationship with Adobe, this is not unexpected.

Mixed Reviews

There have been high accolades for design, but mixed reviews from users. David Bayon of Pcpro.co.uk calls it “More Mainstream and less flexible.” And I think David hits the nail on the head. NewTweetdeck is a fantastic Twitter tool for mainstream tweeters; mainstream volume Tweeters (aka “power users”). What it isn’t, is a business tool.

Goodbye, And Thanks For All The Fish

The announcement about 6 months ago when Ryan Sarver said in a controversial post to developers “don’t make more Twitter clients” finally makes more sense.  Sarver knew Twitter had that covered. It also explains why, in the same controversial post, he pointed out that business apps and data analyzing is the direction developers should be going. Tweetdeck has stopped being a sandbox where multiple networks can play together. Goodbye Linkedin, Goodbye Foursquare, thanks for all the fish. (Read Douglas Adams if you’re left scratching your head at that line.)

Simplicity In A Complex World

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey compared the redesign of all Twitter entities to rivals Facebook and Google+ saying, “We will offer simplicity in a world of complexity.” Time will tell if the new redesign of Twitter is simpler than the Twitter of old that was 140 characters and not a lot else, but perhaps Jack has a point when comparing #newnewTwitter to Facebook and Google Plus.

Key Take Away

I have great respect for Tweetdeck. It’s a great ‘end-user’ app for the consumer, for the Twitter power user who likes to watch what celebrities and news outlets are saying and engage regularly. But it is not a business tool. It never has been. It’s always been about the Twitter power user, and #newtweetdeck proves this. Twitter is evolving. Social Media marketing is evolving. Of course I’d like each and every business reader of this post to give MarketMeSuite a try, but this goes beyond MarketMeSuite, Hootsuite, or any other business app out there. Twitter has made its target clear with Tweetdeck: the mainstream power user. One of the biggest challenges we face as developers is trying to predict and respond to the moves of the apps we integrate. This new level of clarity is going to bring tremendous innovation in the business sector.

What do you think of the changes? I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can comment below our tweet me anytime @tammykfennell.