Meh: Twitter Rolls Out New-Look Profiles
Twitter rolls out new profiles for the Web and iOS and Android platforms which now feature a Facebook-like header photo.
Twitter on Tuesday proved that social networks' aesthetics continue to become carbon copies of each other with the introduction of a new header photo feature for user profiles.
Now available on Twitter's Web, iOS and Android mobile platforms, the new-look profile is reminiscent of page designs on rival social networks like Facebook and Google+. Twitter also said it had revamped its iPad app.
"You can make your presence on Twitter more meaningful. You can upload your header photo, which appears above your Tweets, to express yourself instantly, anywhere," the microblogging service said in an announcement on its official blog.
Twitter tweaked its layout by compacting the rectangular block at the top of a user page and moving it into the right column above the stream of tweets. A header photo now sits behind the user's icon, name, Twitter handle, and profile details.
Meanwhile, your inventory of tweets, followers, followees, favorites, and lists got bumped to the top, above larger photo thumbnails, and the "Similar to you" box.
To add a header photo, visit the design tab in the Settings menu, then upload your new photo, place it on your page, and save your changes.
Facebook and Google+ have had similar-looking designs for some time. The micro-blogging site appears to be pursuing the cleaner, more user-centric and visually oriented ethos of those services, building out new profile options to help users get to know people better through their pictures, Twitter product manager Sachin Agarwal wrote on the blog.
For those who already express their individuality via a background photo on twitter.com, the header photo will only be an addition, not a replacement. You can still wallpaper your page with photos of One Direction or your cat.
There is no word on whether, like Facebook, Twitter will eventually force the header photo layout on all users, or allow people to choose whether or not they want additional images crowding their profile page. For now, the original Twitter layout is still intact.
The mobile version of Twitter also got a facelift, adding the header photo to users' profile layout, and incorporating a stream of uploaded photos, viewable as thumbnails or full-screen images.
Twitter introduced the new profiles on the Today Show this morning, highlighting the accounts of the show's anchors, including Matt Lauer's and Al Roker's, as well as guest anchor Ryan Seacrest's and the NBC news account.
A redesigned Twitter for iPad app was also rolled out Tuesday. It adds new features to the home screen, as well as to the Connect and Discover tabs.
The new profile and header photo options are available to all users now, via the Web or any mobile iOS or Android device.