Twitter has introduced new profiles which will roll out to all users in the coming weeks, and are available immediately to new signups. This comes on the heels of a Twitter redesign just this past January, and as expected, there's a fair share of complaints. Whether on Twitter, or in the comments of articles about the changes, a lot of Twitter users are not happy. At first glance, I was not a fan of the change either, but in the space of just one day, it's grown on me.

The changes to Twitter profiles have been expected for over a month, and now that we've had a proper look at what exactly these changes entail, we can tell you: this is actually good news for users.

Key Information At A Glance

The new Twitter profiles let you see people you have in common at a glance (meaning, people you follow who follow this profile too). While this information is available through the old profiles too, you can only see three specific names at a glance. With the new profiles, this is upped to ten.

Followers

The complete list, rather than being a long list of Twitter profiles, is now displayed as a grid. Aside from it being more aesthetically pleasing, you can also see an extra piece of information whether or not each user follows you too.

Followers2

Another great change that is coming with the new profiles is the ability to filter tweets in any given user's timeline. While viewing all tweets, or filtering out any replies, has been available for a while now, it's a feature that has been afforded only to select accounts. With Twitter's new profiles, this feature is now available to all.

This is an incredibly useful feature, especially for those of us who are particularly chatty on Twitter. When deciding whether or not you want to follow someone, you want to see their general tweets, not their conversations, since this is what is going to appear in your timeline. The ability to filter out replies and view only original tweets is a feature that has been a long time coming for all users on Twitter.

In addition to filtering out replies, you can also view only tweets with videos and photos, if you want to get a sense of what kind of media the user is sharing.

Highlights The Best Of Your Content

Twitter's revamp not only highlights the most popular content on your profile, it also gives you a little bit of extra control over what you want to highlight.

What does this actually mean in practice? For starters, your more popular tweets will appear in a larger font. You can see an example of this taken from Michelle Obama's Twitter account:

PopularTweets

While this feature depends on how your followers interact with your content, and you don't really have any control over it, there is another aspect you do have control of. You can pin one tweet of your choice to the top of your page. This is a great way to call attention to a specific tweet or link that you feel best represents who you are. This gives you complete control over the first impression you make on Twitter.

PinnedTweet

The Design Is Easier On The Eye

The design itself is probably the most contentious change that has come out of this revamp. It has already earned itself countless comparisons to Facebook, and Wired thinks this might have something to do with attracting a more mainstream audience. However, that doesn't mean it's a bad thing for those of us who have been on Twitter for a while.

If you use Twitter to promote your business or products, the new design is good news. The larger header and profile picture gives marketers more room to enhance their Twitter presence. This, unfortunately, could also mean we might be seeing more advertising on Twitter.

TwitterBio

It would appear, however, that with the larger images at the top of your page, Twitter users have lost the ability to customize their background.

For those of us who aren't on Twitter to promote a business or product, the design is still good news. Wider columns, which take advantage of more screen real estate, and an overall cleaner design all make it easier to find what you're looking for at a glance.

This clean design not only brings key information like followers you know to the forefront, it also makes it easier to find other users' lists and favourites.

Another nice change the new design brings to the table, aesthetically, is a new look for videos in your stream. Video previews look much cleaner, losing much of the YouTube clutter you usually get in a preview.

TwitterVideo

This is what is fundamentally better about the new design: It feels less cluttered, more spacious, and is easier on the eye. And as far as function is concerned, it doesn't do away with Twitter's fundamental features, so your Twitter experience should remain exactly the same.

What do you think of Twitter's new revamp? Let us know in the comments!

Image credit: Garett Heath