Twitter got a Facelift (maybe even a tummy-tuck)

(Originally posted in Isobar's blog)

Twitter recently went through a little work, a nip a tuck, and a new design. The “New Twitter”, unveiled to select users, keeps users on the same page, provides streamed media and images, and also provides mini snapshots of the users submitting the tweets. The addition of the streamed media is thought to be an extension of Twitter Media released earlier this summer. Twitter has partnered with with DailyBooth, DeviantART, Etsy, Flickr, Justin.TV, Kickstarter, Kiva, Photozou, Plixi, Twitgoo, TwitPic, TwitVid, USTREAM, Vimeo, yfrog, and YouTube.

Mashable refers to this huge change as the “Facebookification of Twtter” since it seems to be moving to the Facebook model. Allowing users to view media on the site, Twitter is no longer the information broadcaster, but now another time waster. Could Twitter be jealous of all the time Facebook users are spending stalking old boyfriends?

The redesign offers many key advantages since it keeps users on the page and promotes scannability, and increases time on site. But, The Post’s Rob Pegoraro points out that the redesign still fails to show what pages are behind the shortened hyperlinks. A better solution would have been for Twitter to add a hover state with a thumbnail of the website or the original URL so users are not thrown aimlessly off the site to a mystery site.

The new Twitter streamlines the design and interactions of the Twitter iPad app, making it more of unified experienced throughout all Twitter’s mediums. The new model could also open the door to advertising opportunities on the site, perhaps within the video players, captions, and the additional side panel real-estate. With the new and sexy Twitter, the external sites including Tweetdeck could see a decrease in usage.

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Amazon-Facebook (Dis)Connect

(Originally posted in Isobar's blog)

The current use of Facebook integration with Amazon seems like a half-baked idea . The integration, as it currently stands, is an isolated page on Amazon, and not integrated into the heart of the site, the product pages (or at least from what I could see looking at the example Elf, which was popular with my Facebook friends). It would be most relevant to show the info as the user is viewing the product.

Razorfish first introduced the idea of a Facebook Connect/Amazon in 2008. They suggested that Facebook should use the data from the user’s profile to offer relevant products based on what is already known about the user. They also suggested polling friends and getting feedback at the point of sale to gauge friend’s opinions on the products.

The integration has the potential to be a very positive for the Amazon customers. In March and April, 2009 for part of my graduate coursework, I performed qualitative usability studies using a beta music evaluation tool developed by Sun Microsystems, Music Explaura. We evaluated user’s levels of satisfaction with the system’s recommendations versus its competitors (iTunes, Pandora, Last.fm), the trustworthiness of the system, and the “steerability of the recommendations”.

The study’s conclusions could have implications for Amazon and Facebook recommendations:

The user’s ratings of the site corresponded to how much they agreed with the recommendations presented to them.
If they agreed with the relevance of the selection, they had a more positive view of the site. If Amazon gets it right and can offer user’s suggestions based on the Facebook content in a relevant manner, they could boost the user’s views of the site and opinion that it is trustworthy. Or, it could negatively impact the opinion if done poorly.

Users tended to rate the source as more trustworthy if they know other users they view as “similar”, that is with the same taste in music or same level of enthusiasm, also liked a recommendation. For Amazon and Facebook, users that belong to the same Facebook group, even if they do not know each other, could offer persuasive influences over buying behaviors.

Adding a few more elements to this process could dramatically improve the user’s experience. In order for this to be truly successful, recommendations need to be relevant and provided in the right context. If not, it could be more burdensome than helpful. Hopefully this integration is an evolution and Amazon will continue to improve the integration as users provide more feedback.

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Twitter’s @earlybird Campaign Is Taking Flight

(Originally posted on Isobar's blog)

Twitter is following the “online deal bandwagon” with the recent account creation of @earlybird. Similar to Groupon and Buy with Me, @earlybird broadcasts time-sensitive promotions. Unlike programs like Groupon, @earlybird is not currently targeting specific regions, but hopes to in the future.

@earlybird, along with its fellow online deal sites, appeals to our innate hardwired behaviors. These sites provide social validation to users with the buying power through the community. When users see deals shared via Facebook and Twitter, they may feel more apt to make the purchase since other people they may know and trust are involved. Another way deal sites appeal to buyers is it encourages a sense of loss aversion. Since we are scared of the negative impacts of not getting the deal, we may be more impulsive when purchasing. Also, we are more attracted to items we think are in limited quantity. “If there is limited availability of something, we assume it’s more valuable” (Weinscheck, S. Neuro Web Design). Many of these online sites have limited quantity or duration, thus heightening our sense of urgency to act and buy. If the deal did not expire in 24 hours, would we feel that same sense of urgency? Lastly, @earlybird, Groupon, and other online deal sites are effective because they offer users limited choices. As humans, we think we want more choices, but when we have fewer choices, decisions are made much quicker.

The @earlybird concept is similar to other daily deal sites, but offers a few key advantages. First, using Twitter as an outlet for special time-bound deals helps decrease inbox clutter. Of all those deals, only a fraction actually appeals to you. Twitter users are already used to scanning their feeds and bypassing info that does not appeal to them. Second Twitter users are used to seeing corporate accounts and existing corporate blasts of deals. Third, Twitter is meant to be timely, so users have a better chance of seeing the deals and responding to them before the deal expires.

Pete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, believes this could be a “win for Twitter”, its users, and its advertisers. Cashmore believes this could be a very powerful marketing platform. Even if this is a failure, according to Cashmore, it would probably have little impact for Twitter. Some are critical since they don’t believe Twitter has a true business model.

I am with Pete – I don’t see how this could hurt Twitter. If anything, I think it will follow the success of other deal sites l have proven to be highly trafficked. As a Groupon member, I am really excited about the idea of getting even more deals in one easy swipe. What are your thoughts? Fail or Flight?

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