Big news from Twitter today, in case you didn’t see it here’s what was announced. Twitter is changing their favorites to hearts. In this post we’ll break down some of the top reactions we’ve seen from around the web and even some of the top Twitter reactions. First up here’s the announcement from Twitter:
We hope you like what you see on Twitter and Vine today: hearts!
We are changing our star icon for favorites to a heart and we’ll be calling them likes. We want to make Twitter easier and more rewarding to use, and we know that at times the star could be confusing, especially to newcomers. You might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favorite. Hearts on Twitter | Twitter Blog
You can say a lot with a heart. Introducing a new way to show how you feel on Twitter: https://t.co/WKBEmORXNW pic.twitter.com/G4ZGe0rDTP
— Twitter (@twitter) November 3, 2023
Pretty much all tech and news sites reported on the release, here’s some of the highlights…
In a move that’s upset a significant number of users, Twitter has changed the social media platform’s “Favourite” option to a “Heart.” The company says that the new form of interaction will now be known as “Likes.” You can say a lot with a Twitter replaces Favourites with Heart ‘likes’ system
Huffington Post shares why this Twitter change is a potential big deal…
Faced with stagnating user growth, Twitter needs to make itself more accessible to mainstream users. But is copying Facebook really the best way to do that? Twitter replaced the star icon for “Favorites” with a heart on Tuesday. The feature, which has existed since 2006, will now be called “Likes.”You can say a lot with a heart. Introducing a new way to show how you feel on Twitter Why Twitter’s New ‘Like’ Button Is A Big Deal
Most places are reporting that people universally dislike the “like” heart.
Like. Like. Like. Like. Twitter Drops Stars for Hearts, and the Twitterverse Does Not ♥
MTV reports that things are mixed:
Over at MTV.com they are reporting that Reaction to Twitter’s new update is mixed. There’s Something Different About Twitter Today And No One ‘Likes’ It
The Guardian reports on the change and provides a little commentary:
Social network changes star shaped ‘favourite’ button to heart shaped ‘like’ button. But how have people reacted online?Favourites – we use them for a myriad of reasons. Favouriting a tweet could mean “I like this tweet”, or “good point”, or “this is fun, but not enough to retweet”, or “I acknowledge your communication, but can’t be bothered to reply”, or “the conversation is ending now, but on a positive note!” Also, the favourite is a great bookmarking tool.Now, however, Twitter has cruelly stripped away all of the above nuances of communication by replacing the favourite function with a “like” button. Unlike. How, now, is one supposed to bookmark an article on the refugee crisis without ‘liking’ it? I’m not ready to inaccurately look – ironically Twitter is replacing favourites with likes – but does anyone heart it?
Even in Canada there is mixed reviews…
Twitter announced Tuesday morning that it would be replacing its “favourites” feature, and its little yellow star, with “likes” and a red heart. But many users didn’t love the idea. Twitter replaces ‘favourites’ with ‘likes,’ changes stars to hearts
Vox reports that user’s went nuts…
For years, if you liked a tweet you could click a little star icon to “favorite” it. But Twitter has decided that this concept is too confusing, so it’s rebranding it as a “like” button (that sounds familiar) and replacing the star with a heart: You can say a lot with a heart. Introducing a new way to show how you feel on Twitter… Twitter changed stars to hearts, and Twitter users went nuts
CollegeCandy also chimes in that…
People are NOT happy. Twitter Just Got Rid Of The ‘Favorite’ Button & People Are Bugging
Here’s some of the top Tweets talking about this as well:
First up some British humor.
Alternative symbols to Twitter Hearts:
1. A stiff handshake
2. The word "fine"
3. A pint
4. A nice biscuit
5. "6/10"#Likes— VeryBritishProblems (@SoVeryBritish) November 3, 2023
Kingsley is impressed.
Thanks @twitter for this groundbreaking, innovative and necessary change of stars & "favorites" to hearts & "likes" pic.twitter.com/fr6K8mZRdZ
— Kingsley (@kingsleyyy) November 3, 2023
This made us LOL:
what's the dill with all these hearts on twitter now? pic.twitter.com/GLVT09WVyX
— Ezra Koenig (@arzE) November 3, 2023
Engaget nails it.
Twitter replaces stars with hearts because it loves new users https://t.co/oVe2nfY9Zi pic.twitter.com/AM1Xrlnpel
— Engadget (@engadget) November 3, 2023
Interesting conversation on adding some nuance to the liking (which is also a hot discussion anytime Facebook and Like is mentioned):
Problem isn't hearts; problem is hearts as only means of expression. Need a +1 or a "check" or something neutral. https://t.co/to4toDImxI
— Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) November 4, 2023
Want your Star back? Check out this new Chrome extension:
https://twitter.com/MoveOverMS/status/661707279058776064
A history lesson:
THE YEAR 2043
"Daddy, how did the war start?"
"Well, my mutant son, a long time ago Twitter changed fav stars to fav hearts."— daveweigel (@daveweigel) November 3, 2023
Wait, what?
The 'hearts' are the final straw: it's time to nationalise Twitter | Osman Faruqi https://t.co/lCwExtnd24
— Guardian Australia (@GuardianAus) November 4, 2023
