March 27, 2009

An improved Twitter UI?

Part of what makes Twitter so enjoyable is how simple it seems. Let’s face it–Twitter is a single text field where you type in your allowance of 140 characters. That’s it. But under the covers is a set of commands, some sanctioned and some not. In the periphery are other sites and applications that layer on features which tie into Twitter’s API. The Twitter platform itself is quite rich in terms of features.

Just for fun, I thought I’d see what Twitter might look like if it exposed some of the more commonly used features directly in the interface. Things like:

• messaging users both public and private
• providing a URL minification service
• allowing image attachments
• retweeting
• scheduling future tweets
• specifying hashtags

While I was at it, I figured that I’d throw in some more flair. So I:

• Abandoned the 140 character limit
• Let people favorite tweets
• Threw in a social bookmarking widget for good luck.

So, I present to you, the Extra Happy Twitterlicious Bonanza 2.0. It’s designed to make Twittering as much fun as doing your taxes. Enjoy!

Note: the redesign is a parody. I’m quite aware there are obvious IxD problems.