Twitter may soon look like Facebook as users of the social networking giant report that they are seeing a new layout which observers note look like a mix of Facebook and other social networking stars.
One of those users is the Twitter account used by Full Sail University’s Electronic Dance Music Organization (@FSEDMOurWay) which took to Twitter to post the screenshot embedded below.
The new layout looks like a hybrid Facebook Timeline and Google+ stream at first glance.
(Image from @FSEDMOurWay)
A report from Mashable says that their assistant features editor, Matt Petronzio, also had the new layout on Tuesday. The report says that there is now more space for the header photo with a timeline that is not strictly vertical (think of pins on a Pinterest page).
(Image from Mashable)
The Mashable report notes that Twitter often tests new features by rolling them out to a small number of random users.
It also notes that users who are already part of the “new look” group can see what other accounts look like when the new look is applied regardless of if those accounts are already also seeing the new Twitter layout.
Other details that come from the report is that the new header photo is recommended to be 1,500 by 500 pixels which explains the larger appearance of the header in the photos above.
Nonetheless, the change, though a substantial deviation from Twitter’s now iconic look, is not too much of a shock if you’ve listened to Twitter’s first earnings call.
CEO Dick Costolo hinted then that the social network will be undergoing a few changes in the near future. Twitter reported a company-first quarterly profit but what got investors worried was a slowing growth rate. This worried investors so much that TWTR tanked as much as 23 percent.
A new design may be one of the things the social network is looking at to drive growth.
Costolo also said in the earnings call that the Twitter team is looking at a better way to organize data. That means the linear timeline (chronological order) Twitter has now may be gone in the future in lieu of a system that makes searching easier. The redesign that is currently limited to a few users of the site now is indicative of that.
When it comes down to it, a richer media experience may indeed rekindle Twitter’s growth. It’s just that this departure from the now familiar Twitter look may be disconcerting to some users.
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