Twitter CEO hints at redesign for site, which is 'too text-heavy and hard to use’

Jack Dorsey says regular account holders and advertisers want him to simplify the micro-blogging platform

Aatif Sulleyman
Wednesday 14 February 2018 19:55 GMT
Comments
Earlier this month, Twitter reported its first ever quarterly profit
Earlier this month, Twitter reported its first ever quarterly profit (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Twitter’s CEO has hinted at upcoming changes for the micro-blogging site.

Both regular account holders and advertisers find it too hard to use, and when they can’t find what they want from the site they leave disappointed, Jack Dorsey told investors this week.

He said he wants to simplify Twitter, and give users a more personalised experience.

“One-third of the two million new people who come every day come with expectations of what [Twitter] should be, then get disappointed when they can’t find what they want,” Mr Dorsey said at the annual Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, CNBC reported.

“It’s a lot of work right now.”

Mr Dorsey added that he believes the site is too text-heavy, and said one of the biggest things Twitter is focusing on right now is video.

“We got stuck in the age of typing. The power of text is amazing but in some context you want to see an image or video and [something] more immersive,” he said.

He is also hoping to use video content to drive revenue. “Video is our fastest growing content,” he said. “We’ll be applying a lot of technology to this.”

Earlier this month, Twitter reported its first ever quarterly profit.

“Q4 was a strong finish to the year,” said Mr Dorsey.

“We returned to revenue growth, achieved our goal of GAAP profitability, increased our shipping cadence, and reached five consecutive quarters of double digit DAU growth.

“I’m proud of the steady progress we made in 2017, and confident in our path ahead.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in