Twitter has launched a major upgrade that gives users more personalization options on their page. The new look is reminiscent of changes introduced by Facebook when it launched Timeline earlier this year.
The most prominent change is the addition of a cover photo for users’ profile pages. The dimensions differ from Facebook’s Timeline covers. The effect is the same in making photos the first big impression when visiting Twitter profiles. The cover photo appears no matter where users access Twitter accounts, whether online or through a mobile device.
The photo stream on the left side has become much more prominent, encouraging people to browse through photos more easily and perhaps factor tweeted images into whether they choose to follow a user. The change should give brands the opportunity to further reinforce their style and messaging through photos.
Twitter has also redesigned its apps for mobile and tablets to reflect the changes and add new functions, such as the ability to swipe through photo streams. The company calls the new features “our first mobile strategy.”
Speaking on NBC’s Today show, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo described the new version of its iPad app.
“We rebuilt Twitter for iPad from the ground up to make it fast, beautiful and easy to use,” Costolo said.
While the changes were announced nearly two weeks ago, some are estimating that less than ten percent of brands have taken advantage of the new features.
