Is Twitter About To Get Facebooked?

Late last night, UK time, twitter announced the latest updates for its website, which it claims 78% of its users choose as their main twitter access point.  That doesn't really add up to the way I see twitter being used, with most of us either on a phone app or using something like Tweetdeck on a PC or a Mac.

However, I imagine they know what they're talking about and there are some fairly big updates currently being rolled out.  This is bigger than 'lists' kids, much bigger.  Whether the introduction of viewable video content and pictures within your stream will turn those of us using an app back to the website remains to be seen.  To be honest most of us have got used to having much of that functionality already and there's already a web based alternative with Brizzly that does exactly what I was expecting from the official version.

Brizzly

I suspect that long term this is about Twitter's need to keep people coming back to the website because that's where the bulk of the advertising is going to be.  Thankfully though the updates are being rolled out to all users and are not the beginning of the much talked about 'Pro Accounts' that were rumoured to be heading our way last year.  

Twitter clearly want to increase the functionality of their site and despite the cries of, 'They're facebooking us!!' this can only be a good thing.  As long as they keep to the core value of Twitter, as a source of information, and continue to let their community breathe I can't see anyone being impacted in a bad way by embedded media in the stream.

The interface does look cool, it seems to be a website working like and app, and if it performs as smoothly in reality as it does in the promotional video I think it's safe to say we're gonna like it.  Whether it will turn us all back to the website or not.... well I'll let you be the judge of that once you've got it.

And yes, I'm still waiting too.