Twitter has officially shut down their old version of Twitter, forcing everyone to the new Twitter. Meanwhile, a new HTML5-based version is rolling out for the iPad, and Promoted Tweets from brands you follow should be appearing in your timeline.
Twitter has officially shut down their old version of Twitter. In the meantime, the current version is receiving a new ad format and an iPad app.
(Old) Twitter is dead. Long live (new) Twitter.
Twitter officially closed down the previous version of Twitter on Aug. 3. While the new version has been out since last September, users still had permission to use the old version if they chose to – until now.
Despite a very loud (and presumably small) group whining about the upgrades, the shut-down choice was obvious. For one, the company is clearly making an effort for consistency in its design.
They just announced a new iPad version that’s built completely in HTML5, which mirrors the new Twitter’s look and functionality. Additionally, the new Twitter has a variety of upgrades, and with Twitter working on the implementation of an ad system, making design choices around two different interfaces just wasn’t logical.
Speaking of advertising….
Twitter has been experimenting with ads almost since it first launched, but nothing has quite stuck yet. This new attempt keeps to the service’s devotion to user experience while creating a better monetization system.
Known simply as “Promoted Tweets,” this system, which we previously reported was in the works, brings promotional Tweets from brands you follow to the top of your feed.
The Twitter post discussing the new ads went through the user-friendly format: You can dismiss these tweets with one click, they scroll down like every other tweet, and they’re only bumped to the top once. Whether that’s actually enough to create a worthwhile ad presence has yet to be seen, but it’s certainly an upgrade. If it works out, it’s likely to become the center of the self-serve ad system expected later this year.
For more on Twitter strategies, check out Jason Cormier’s recent post, “Time to Turbo-Charge Your Twitter Strategy: Why & How.”