Unfortunately, these few niceties can’t make up for the fact that Twitter took nearly everything that was original or innovative about the app and threw it out with the bath water. This app used to be a perfect example of what was useful and unique about the iPad and its bigger screen — but now feels like little more than a blown-up iPhone app. To see Twitter crack down on the utility and feasibility of third-party options and simultaneously ruin its showcase app on the most popular tablet in the world is a hard pill to swallow.
Twitter for iPad 5.0 takes one step forward, three steps back (hands-on video) | The Verge. Twitter seems absolutely determined to frustrate and alienate their users. Every one of their recent steps has exacerbated this tendency. My best guess is that the company’s leadership has decided that there is One Right Way to use Twitter and that every possible action must be taken to force all users into that Way. Thus their repeated insistence on creating a “consistent user experience.” But consistency in an experience isn’t good if it’s consistently bad. I understand that Twitter needs to make money; but none of these recent moves is money-making. I fear that we’re watching a company destroy itself, and that by 2017 there’ll be a big feature in Vanity Fair or Esquire about “How Twitter Collapsed.”