Twitter has launched a couple of new features this week - and before you ask, no, you still can't edit tweets, and no, Twitter hasn't 'kicked off the Nazis', which are the two most common responses to any such announcement.
So what has Twitter done?
Well, they've changed the search icon from a magnifying glass to a hash symbol, for one.
Because details matter pic.twitter.com/42UK2BL6Wu
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) February 13, 2019
They've also added an improved way to check out and follow profiles on iOS.
We’re testing an easier way to check out profiles on iOS without leaving your timeline! Simply tap any @ handle in a Tweet, take a peek, follow, and get right back to it. Let us know what you think! pic.twitter.com/dIUFxI2r4C
— Twitter (@Twitter) February 13, 2019
And they've got a new animation for your Valentine's Day tweets.
Roses are red,
— Twitter (@Twitter) February 13, 2019
Twitter is blue,
Like this Tweet
For a #Valentines treat,
(You know you want to) pic.twitter.com/sIAJAgrHvQ
So, cool, right? Twitter's doing the things - they're rolling out new updates and keeping the platform fresh and relevant. Right?
The fact that these updates are so minor, in relative terms, may actually be starting to cause a turn against the platform's management - Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, you may have noticed, has been on virtually every podcast available of late talking up his strategy, his intentions to get things done, and his new age philosophical approach.
The problem, however, is that Twitter isn't getting things done. Dorsey can talk all he wants about the importance of 'finding the right balance' in difficult issues, and of the complexities in managing a platform that's intended to facilitate free speech. But the more he does so, the more people are starting to question what he actually is doing, other than talking. Sure, his explanations sound logical, his approaches ring true for many. But he's been meditating on the major challenges for some time - these aren't new problems which appear to have him stumped.
Given this, at some point, we may need to consider that the creation of Twitter wasn't the reflection of collective genius which saw the need for a short-form, connective platform within our broader interactive process, but rather, the creation of a few dudes who came across just the right idea, at just the right time. Which is fine too, but the problem is that we're still reliant on one of those dudes to evolve the platform into its next iteration, and we have many indications suggest that he's just not the guy to do that.
In this respect, and as we've previously noted, the push for tweet editing, in particular, seems to be as much symbolic as it is functional - a movement representative of the wider critique of Dorsey's leadership.
Sure, Twitter can come out with smaller tweaks, little updates, all of which serve some level of function, and provide another point of interest. But until decisions are made on those larger platform problems, the questions will continue to flow. And without answers, the progress that Twitter is making in other areas will seem increasingly less relevant.