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Why Hasn’t Twitter Launched A TweetDeck-like Interface?

Last week, Twitter launched a redesign for TweetDeck. The biggest change was the color. It switched to a lighter one. They also added a new way to switch themes and the ability to change your font. Tw...
Why Hasn’t Twitter Launched A TweetDeck-like Interface?
Written by Chris Crum
  • Last week, Twitter launched a redesign for TweetDeck. The biggest change was the color. It switched to a lighter one. They also added a new way to switch themes and the ability to change your font.

    Twitter bought TweetDeck last year, leading many to assume that Twitter was about to get a TweetDeck-like interface, or some features from the product, at least. So far, however, Twitter has shown no indication that this will happen. That doesn’t mean it won’t, but Twitter hasn’t stopped the product itself from getting updated from time to time, while making other completely unrelated tweaks to Twitter’s own desktop client and apps.

    We recently had a conversation with Mark Schaefer, author of the book The Tao Of Twitter. When asked what he thought the most significant feature Twitter has launched this year has been, he said he feels the most significant thing is the lack of TweetDeck integration.

    “This is going to be a weird answer but I think the most significant story is what they HAVEN’T launched – a TweetDeck-like interface,” said Schaefer. “Take it from somebody who spends a lot of time coaching people on Twitter … the current interface is difficult and non-intuitive. How do you even find your direct messages unless you really hunt?”

    “Twitter purchased TweetDeck but have not yet integrated it into the core platform and every day I wonder why,” he adds. “Twitter’s adoption levels are suppressed by the strange language of the platform and the difficult interface. The company is limiting itself by not leveraging this acquisition and the huge opportunities it presents. Puzzling!”

    That’s an interesting point, considering that the whole strategy of the company once co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to day-to-day operations seemed to be to make users better understand how to use Twitter (though Dorsey has now assumed a reduced role at the company).

    Why hasn’t Twitter integrated TweetDeck into the regular Twitter experience? Would you want it to?

    TweetDeck said when the acquisition was announced, “The mainstream Twitter user-base is well catered for by twitter.com and the official mobile clients. And by becoming part of the official platform, TweetDeck will now fill that role for brands, influencers, the highly active and anyone that just needs ‘more power’.

    So is that the end of it?

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