How great is the new Twitter?

Twitter isn't just 140 characters anymore. The popular social networking site unveiled a massive redesign this week, adding new features that include simplified navigation for finding specific messages, ways to discover additional content related to your message updates, or "tweets," and the ability to view pictures and video directly from your home profile. The "faster, easier and richer" new Twitter, which is being rolled out to customers gradually, has been met with glowing reviews from tech critics. But just how "great" is it? (Watch a promo for the new Twitter)

Bravo, bravo: The new Twitter is "great," says Harry McCracken in Technologizer. By adding so many quality features all at once, the site made "one big leap" in the right direction, "rather than a series of baby steps over months or years" — a smart move. And best of all, "it still feels like Twitter." I have to say, "I'm awfully impressed."

"Twitter's great leap forward"

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The new Twitter falls flat: Unfortunately, says Alex Salkever in Daily Finance, Twitter's redesign is "fairly tame," and fails to address some of the primary issues that have plagued the site since its launch. Unlike third-party Twitter applications like TweetDeck or Hootsuite, Twitter.com still lacks many of the "goodies" that everyone from "less-sophisticated Tweeps" to "micro-messaging maniacs" crave. The update is good, but not good enough.

"The new Twitter isn't nearly new enough"

Let's give it a B+: The new Twitter is certainly "still missing" some key features, says Kristin Burnham in the San Francisco Chronicle, like better "List" functionality, which could help users organize the unrelenting barrage of tweets and followers on the site. But "the new interface is clean and well organized." Overall, I'd call this a "welcomed" update.

"The new Twitter: What's good and what's missing"