{"id":14751,"date":"2019-04-11T17:15:49","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T17:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/twitter-updates-twttr-prototype-app-with-engagement-swipes-conversation-tweaks-better-dark-mode-and-more.html"},"modified":"2019-04-11T17:15:49","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T17:15:49","slug":"twitter-updates-twttr-prototype-app-with-engagement-swipes-conversation-tweaks-better-dark-mode-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/twitter-updates-twttr-prototype-app-with-engagement-swipes-conversation-tweaks-better-dark-mode-and-more.html","title":{"rendered":"Twitter updates twttr prototype app with engagement swipes, conversation tweaks, better Dark mode and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twitter\u2019s <\/a> new prototyping app twttr, which it created to test and get feedback<\/a> on\u00a0new features \u2014 and new approaches to old features \u2014 has been out in the wild\u00a0for a month.<\/a> Now, with Twitter taking in the first wave of responses from users<\/a>, twttr is getting an update. The move highlights how Twitter continues to chip away at ongoing criticism that it is too confusing for most people to use, which has impacted overall growth for the social media platform.<\/p>\n

The latest version of twttr \u2014 which is now used by several thousand people, says Twitter \u2014\u00a0 is a decent step ahead in that mission.<\/p>\n

Updates include: the introduction of a swiping gesture, specifically in conversations to like or reply to a Tweet; new labels in threads indicating who is the original poster and who you follow and improved visibility with dark mode. Ironically \u2014 even as Twitter has shifted to putting experimental features into twttr \u2014 the latter app is also getting an import of new features from the main Twitter app, which has been getting updates that had yet to be rolled out to the prototype app.<\/p>\n

These include new versions of the Twitter camera, darker mode<\/a> and profile previews that keep you in your timeline.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: twttr gets the new \u201cLights Out\u201d mode, already in the current Twitter app<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Overall, those who are using twttr say they prefer it to the official Twitter app, says<\/a> Sara Haider, Twitter\u2019s head of product. That likely means certain features are sticking enough in the prototype app that they will be making their way into the permanent Twitter experience.\u00a0But what form that will ultimately take is still in play.<\/p>\n

One of the big areas that is still seeing some changes are engagement buttons \u2014 that is, the options to \u201clike\u201d a Tweet with a heart, to reply to it, or to retweet. These are a cornerstone of how Twitter is used, but they are also potentially distracting and add to the noise in an often chaotic experience, since timelines and potentially conversations are more or less constantly on the move.<\/p>\n

In the new build of twttr, engagements do not appear by default in conversation threads, as before. But now, you can swipe to the left on a Tweet in order to like it. However, replying or retweeting still requires a tap.<\/p>\n

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Above: When you swipe on a tweet, a heart appears over the tweet to indicate you\u2019re liking it. It\u2019s Twitter\u2019s own take on the IG double tap.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is not exactly new: it\u2019s an iteration of what we saw in the first major build of twttr<\/a>. There, the engagement buttons were also<\/em> hidden away completely in conversations, and they only appeared when you tapped on a Tweet to begin engagement.<\/p>\n

But it seems that design decision got very mixed reviews<\/a>, said Haider, who said that while it was easier to focus without the distraction of metrics, it also made it harder to like tweets since that required an extra tap.<\/p>\n

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Hiding engagements in replies resulted in the most mixed reviews: While some found themselves focusing more on the conversation as opposed to the metrics, others felt that the extra step to tap made it harder to Like and Retweet replies. \ud83e\udd17<\/p>\n

\u2014 sara haider (@pandemona) April 8, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

My guess is that it also resulted in less engagement, even among the power users who signed up test twttr in the first place \u2014 which is likely not the end result that Twitter (or its advertisers, or others who measure and rely on engagement metrics) would want.<\/p>\n

Replacing that tap with a swipe brings twttr in line with one of the most popular gestures in app user interfaces today, since the small touchscreens of smartphones are natural surfaces this gesture to make quick responses. My guess is that we will see yet more changes in how gestures are used in Twitter overall, since in the main Twitter app, a swipe to the left currently brings up the Camera, while a swipe to the right gets you to your Profile page.<\/p>\n

Haider also\u00a0said<\/a> that early feedback, from those using twttr in English and Japanese, included a clear endorsement of the new threaded layout for conversations. This made them \u201ceasier to follow\u201d and let readers see more replies.<\/p>\n

The old layout had also collapsed side-conversations that branch out from the main Tweet, giving you the option either of expanding them to see more replies by way of a \u201cShow more\u201d button, or continuing to scroll to see more replies to the main Tweet without confusing the two.<\/p>\n

Above: The old twttr app included too many \u201cShow more\u201d buttons<\/em><\/p>\n

But\u00a0some had complained<\/a> that in an especially noisy conversation, the \u201cshow more\u201d buttons appeared too much, serving the exact opposite of their intention: they ended up distracting from the flow of conversation. And if you were using the \u201cdark mode\u201d that was running in twttr, it was hard to follow the shading on replies (something we also highlighted<\/a> in our initial review of the new app).<\/p>\n

These issues are now getting addressed with more nuanced shading on replies that appears more clearly in dark mode, and it also seems that Twitter will be playing with the number of \u201cShow more\u201d buttons in threads \u2013 which have now been relabeled as \u201cShow Replies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: the new build of twttr includes more compact replies, lines between conversations, and \u201cShow replies\u201d buttons, which are justified along with the conversion; previously, the \u201cShow more\u201d buttons had been centered.<\/em><\/p>\n

Another interesting addition brings to light something that Twitter had already been experimenting with in its original app: the appearance of labels for the original tweeter<\/a> and those that indicate who you follow, to better organize what you might want to see or know as the reader. (Twitter more recently switched its \u201coriginal tweeter\u201d labels to read \u201cAuthor.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The original twttr app rolled out without these labels<\/a>. Now that\u2019s changing.<\/p>\n

In the new twttr build, \u201cAuthor\u201d is now included \u2013 but instead of a big, gray label, it\u2019s just small, red text.<\/p>\n

This still doesn\u2019t look quite right as the text appears underneath the Twitter user\u2019s name. It makes more sense to have labels appear off to the side of a name, instead of interrupting the conversation \u2013 as on Reddit, for example.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: the red \u201cAuthor\u201d label in the new twttr build<\/em><\/p>\n

Similarly, the new twttr app also has \u201cFollowing\u201d labels to indicate which people in conversation threads are people you follow on Twitter. These labels, however, are in blue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: blue \u201cFollowing\u201d labels and red \u201cAuthor\u201d labels identify tweeters you need to know<\/em><\/p>\n

Parity between Twitter and twttr is something of a theme here, since Twitter has also made some other changes to bring features in the latter up to date with newer changes in the main app.<\/p>\n

As noted above, that includes adding in updated, Snapchat-like camera features<\/a>; and more nuanced Dark Mode<\/a> that includes a darker, battery-saving black and other customizations. You are now also able to see profile previews in twttr without navigating away from the flow of conversation (something Twitter has\u00a0been testing in the main iOS app<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above: profile previews in the new twttr app<\/em><\/p>\n

All in all, the picture that this paints for Twitter (and twttr) is that the app and wider platform still remain very much in flux. The company says that it will be \u201cmany months\u201d before anything goes from test to full launch, which is not a bad thing when you\u2019re on a mission not just to grow usage, but to keep people around for longer.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still waiting (but not holding our breath) to see how and if twttr gets used for other kinds of changes that transcend user interface \u2014 such as as changing the mechanics around how to report abuse and manage your overall content experience on the app.<\/p>\n

As more people flock to Twitter to get their opinions heard, and Twitter continues to sign up third parties to bring in a wider range of media into the app, transforming not just the application of its mechanics, but the whole reason you may be using Twitter in the first place, there is a lot of work to do in both.<\/p>\n

Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/jYrnaxyOsnI\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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