Seconds ReadWriteWeb: "Given that Twitter has always had a hard time converting new users to
regular users, this new homepage is clearly an attempt to better explain the service's features and functionality to new users."
What's more, Twitter Creative Director Doug
Bowman even admits that the microblogging service is having trouble selling itself to many potential users. "People who
internalize the value of Twitter understand the power of this simple medium," he writes on the official Twitter blog. "But it hasn't been easy to make that value transparent or obvious for curious
folks coming to Twitter for the first time."
To illustrate broader issues
with Twitter's user base, PC World cites a recent study by BarracudaLabs, which found that just 21% of Twitter account holders have at least 10 followers, follow at least 10 people and have posted at
least 10 "tweets" -- the parameters BarracudaLabs chose to separate active from inactive users.
Still, "Aside from being simply more aesthetically pleasing than the old one, [the new
homepage] does a much better job of showing new users what the service is
actually about," comments Fast Company. "The redesign should give prospective Twitter users a better pitch for why they should start using the network."
Agrees Digital Beat:
"This latest iteration looks like it may finally fix all of Twitter's past
homepage issues."