Twitter tweaks its follower management tools

By Angela Gunn | Published July 1, 2009, 8:19 AM

Someday, somehow, Twitter or one of the other social-networking services will release a tweak to its interface that every user will love and no user will whine about. We'll all be dead by then, of course, but for now the latest changes to Twitter give as little legitimate reason for complaint as anything we've seen lately.

The Following and Followers sections have been changed to expand the user's options for keeping track of who's following and what people they're following are up to. There are two views for each section -- List, which shows username and real name, and Expanded, which shows all of that plus location and their last tweet. In addition, in the Followers list you can see which people also follow you. (Why isn't that offered in both? We may never know.)

There's a button next to each follower that simplifies four common tasks: mention (eg. @betanews), send a direct message, follow/unfollow, and block. There's also a second button on the Followers page for one-click following. The Following view also works for other folks; that is, you can see who other people are following, though not whether the follow is reciprocated. Notably lacking, though, is a good sort mechanism for those lists; as before, followers and those you're following are listed in reverse-chronological order.

Carping from the cheap seats is just about mandatory in these environs, and though reception overall has been positive, some users note that the new system makes it harder to tell who's reciprocating your follow. (There are third-party applications that sort that out such as Your Twitter Karma, but it would be useful to have the information easily available.) The majority, though, seem happy, with many calling the redesign long overdue. Because even when people are pleased with changes online, if you say something online and don't phrase it in the form of a complaint, does it make a sound?

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

would be nice if it didn't show the followers i have 'blocked' and pile them up in a blocked tab... instead of showing spammers as some of my followers now :P i don't get it

Score: 0

|

Report: Microsoft to randomize Europe's browser screen choices

The fact that "A" is for "Apple" was apparently at the heart of browser vendor objections to Microsoft's alternative to listing IE first.

Acer eclipses Dell for #2 spot in global PC shipments, says iSuppli data

It literally does look like a 360-degree turnaround in Dell's fortunes, as the bells of bad tidings now toll solely for Dell.

Microsoft, don't hang up on Windows Mobile, but do call for help

Only a Manhattan Project can save Microsoft's phone strategy now.

See ya later, WinMo: Microsoft's mobile strategy needs a reboot

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: Hands up if you're considering upgrading to a Windows phone for the holidays...Anybody?

Playing catch-up in 2010: Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Symbian

Microsoft, RIM, and Nokia are each working on improved mobile operating systems. But could these efforts add up to too little, too late?

Will Nokia's plans further alienate American consumers?

A look at Nokia's plans for the coming years does little to shine up the company's increasingly dull image.

Bing bonked by service outage Thursday, Microsoft configured the wrong server

It's always nice to have a backup, but it's even nicer to remember which one is the backup. That's the lesson Bing's admins learned yesterday evening.

Survey reveals there are more women then men, including on social networks

If you think you can market your products and services online as though you're selling car batteries in the middle of halftime, think again. And again.

Android team updates 'Donut' and 'Eclair' SDKs

The Android SDK includes components which optimize app development for each version of the mobile operating system. Today, the 1.6 and 2.0 components got updates.

The Black Screen Syndrome, or, Tech news in search of the apocalypse

Scott Fulton On Point: This is a story about something that should not have been a story, about something that at one time was a story.

Online advertising evolves away from display, toward interactive software

Marketing departments and agencies are increasingly establishing positions for "creative technologists" who can steer designers and developers toward platforms that enable direct connections with consumers.