Home Twitter Continues to Friendly Things Up for New Users

Twitter Continues to Friendly Things Up for New Users

Since its redesign last September, Twitter has said time and again that the site is not just for those who Tweet, but for those who consume. To that end, the company has worked to make it easier and easier for new users to find information related to their interests, with features like the “who to follow” page. Today, Twitter announced another feature to help onboard new users – search that makes it easier to find and follow Twitter accounts based on interest.

The improved search comes alongside another new feature – the advanced search page – which takes the various operators that have always been available to Twitter users and makes them easily accessible in a Web form.

“When you search for a topic,” writes Twitter’s Carolyn Penner, “you can now discover accounts that are relevant to that particular subject. […] This new approach helps you find the Twitter users that will best help you follow your interests.”

According to Twitter, searches previously only returned accounts when the specific search term showed up in the user’s name or username.

Why is this important for Twitter’s current direction? As Twitter’s VP for business and corporate development Kevin Thau saidjust before the site’s redesign, Twitter is not a social network. Rather, Twitter is for news, content and information. Twitter, when it comes to mainstream adoption, is for consumption.

In addition to this interest-based search, Twitter now offers an advanced search page, which makes it easier to use the advanced search operators that have always been available. Users can search for tweets from, to or referencing specific people, near a location, or including specific words, phrases or hashtags. While this functionality was always available using search operators, a Twitter spokesperson explained that Twitter “wanted to make it easier for people to search Twitter and find the information they are looking for.”

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