Twitter’s New Activity Tab and Username Streams – Much Needed or Unwanted Mess?

by    |   9th Nov 11 11:57 am   |   12
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home4 300x173 Twitters New Activity Tab and Username Streams Much Needed or Unwanted Mess?I’ve to admit that I’ve been focused mainly on Facebook and Google+ off-late. For me, it’s a fascinating proposition that Google and Facebook have locked horns in an intense battle of supremacy in the social media world. None the less, while the whole world has been keenly observing each move made by Facebook and Google+, other social networks have gone about their business silently.

When I logged into my Twitter account yesterday morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of new changes – real-time activity and username streams. Though Twitter showcased these streams in August, nobody knew when they’ll actually be available. Anyway, it’s a significant change for all Twitter users and as we’ve seen in the past, changes aren’t always welcome in the social media world.

So, what exactly are the activity and username streams? Is Twitter merely imitating other social networks in order to play catch up? Or is there some added value in Twitter’s activity and username streams? Let’s find out.

Activity and Username Streams

In the past, critics have often questioned the content discovery capabilities of Twitter. The newly introduced @Username tab (your username) lets users see which of your tweets have been marked as favorite, retweeted, or aimed at you and your followers. It’s essentially a replacement for the erstwhile @Mentions tab and the Retweet tabs. You can also use this feature to track new followers. I’ve already leveraged it to follow back some interesting new Twitter users who recently became my followers.

Though it looks pretty nice as of now, I’m sure this section (at least on my profile) will get cluttered with tons of mentions, retweets and followers. As long as it helps boost my Twitter presence, I don’t mind it either.

The other new addition – activity tab, meanwhile, contains the latest favorites, retweets, and follows from the folks you follow at Twitter. It’s very similar to Facebook’s newsfeed and neatly organizes all real-time streams in one place. Those who use Twitter clients will need to wait as these features are only available via the Twitter website for now.

Change is good

I’ve always believed that to change is difficult but not to change can prove fatal. I believe Twitter’s recent changes further strengthen my belief in the ‘Change is good’ philosophy. Facebook fans have often mocked fun at Twitter’s limited content discovery capabilities and I’m sure the real-time activity tab and username stream will change that perception to an extent.

What do you think of Twitter’s newly introduced Activity tab and username streams? Please share your opinion by leaving a comment.

Douglas Idugboe, Digital and New Media Marketing Strategist. Founder and Chief Editor of Smedio! A Canadian Bestselling Author, Marketing Strategist, Speaker and Trainer, Who Loves Technology
  • http://www.wonderoftech.com Carolyn Nicander Mohr

    I like the changes to Twitter. The activity tab is very useful for a quick peek into what has happened since I last checked Twitter.  You’re right, many people are resistant to change on social media sites but they wouldn’t appreciate a site that was stagnant either. 

    You also make a good point about the Activities Tab being clean now but cluttered later. Right now I’m appreciating its streamlined nature, but if it gets cluttered, it will be a tab I ignore.

    • http://smedio.com Douglas Idugboe

      I believe the need to spice up and evolve with the changes in the industry called for the updates. I wouldn’t blame Twitter much either as both Facebbok and Google+ are obviously encroaching into Twitters founding features, hence the fight to stay even more relevant. 

      Nothing is ever useless, I find these new updates useful. It all depend on the user to find the most relevant application of these features. 

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  • http://wearesocialpeople.com Tammy Kahn Fennell

    It’s not bad. I guess for the end user it’s helpful. But as Carolyn says, people are resistent to change. Facebook recently had to roll back newsfeed changes.

    ~Tammy, CEO @MarketMeSuite:twitter 

  • Alan McGinn

    I found the old retweet and mentions tab much better to use and I miss having them.  Cluttered, untidy and  the activity for me is pointless – I have no interest in it. I don’t mind the activity tab being there – I can ignore it. While I take the point that change is good – not if it’s just change for the sake of change – this does not improve my twitter use;  for me it’s now a little less user-friendly.

    • http://smedio.com Douglas Idugboe

      Remember guys that we also resisted the migration to “New Twitter” when they started rolling it out as well. Change is go in this case and we’re definitely going to get use to it. 

    • http://twitter.com/bazblackadder Barry Evans

      Pretty much my sentiments on this change as well, Alan. 

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    Well that’s a good change. Twitter should do such changes and should compete facebook and Google +

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  • guni

    So now, how do I see retweets without having to scroll through a bunch of activity? Is there a place that shows just retweets?

  • timelinetweets

    old retweets tab was great. I have created http://timelinetweets.com because I still want to use this feature. It’s free for all of you to use it too. Thanks.

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