This morning (Nov. 3) Twitter announced that it would switch from ”favorites” (stars that users can award to tweets they appreciate) to “likes” (same action, but with hearts). Now users who want to express their pleasure in another’s tweet have no choice but to ”like” it.
Twitter users are not taking the change lying down:
In a statement, Twitter said it hoped the change would be more intuitive and less confusing for new users.
With only 320 million monthly active users, Twitter has been looking for ways to expand its user base. “Liking” with a heart just happens to combine actions native to two far larger social networks: Facebook and Instagram. Facebook’s 1.49 billion monthly active users have the option to “like” posts, while members of Instagram’s 400 million-strong community tap images to apply little heart icons of approval.
But while Twitter’s change may ease new users’ transition from other social networks, it has not been well-received among established Twitterati. Cue tears, t-shirts, and tweet storm:
Twitter blowback has been swift:
But not without its charms…
…and a much-needed dash of irony.
Image by Steven Kay on Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0.