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After months of testing (yes, it’s been that long), Twitter is finally ready to begin rolling out hearts across all their services. They’re calling them “likes” and the heart shaped icon is officially replacing Twitter’s long running star or “favorites” button.
Twitter die-hards who’ve been using the service since its inception are the most vocal bunch, with some tweeting that they feel like their beloved social network is slowly becoming more like Facebook (shudder). For some of these people, Twitter was the answer to social networks like MySpace/Facebook. It was an escape. A place where you follow people you were interested in (not add friends), and didn’t have to worry about how many likes you received on a picture or post.
But things have been slowly evolving the past few years. The kids were using favorites — not as a way of saving their “favorite” tweets — but as a gentle nod or acknowledgment to someone who responded to their tweet or as a way of saying, “I saw your tweet and thanks.” The fact that the biggest social networks in the world all have some form of a like button (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) meant that Twitter would have to conform and that they have.
I’m sorry, you just can’t get low light shots like this with any other smartphone. #Nexus6P #HDR+ pic.twitter.com/Y68hm0meM0
— Chris Chavez (@Gamercore) November 2, 2015
Twitter says in a blog post that the decision to swap favs with likes wasn’t one they did without extensive research and user surveys (I’ve been using hearts on iOS for months now). But the change isn’t so much for current users as it is an attempt to attract new ones from sites like Facebook. Twitter is attempting to make their social network feel slightly more familiar and user friendly which could be a great start. You’ll find likes rolling out across Twitter on all platforms (including Vine) starting today.
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