Should Twitter forget about features?

Twitter is probably still my favourite social network. My use may fluctuate as a reflection of how busy I am, but it’s still pretty much the default place that I go to when I’m looking for entertainment, news, chat or to generally check in with the online world. The other day I questioned why it was that I like it so much and the fact is that it’s so simple. I log in, and I see a nice big screen with messages on it. That’s all I need and all I want. But Twitter is in danger of putting too much emphasis on the features, frequently adding in new functionality that too often detracts from the original service,  instead of optimising it.

Many of the features that Twitter have added actually make the Twitter experience more frustrating. I’m not really a fan of the Retweet button they added and I still get surprised when I see someone I don’t know appearing in my tweetstream.  I’ve spoken to plenty of people that don’t like this function and though the majority of respondents in our Twitter survey said they didn’t mind it, I wonder how many would actually have chosen for this option to be added in the way that it was, instead of the simple option offered by the likes of Tweetdeck. It’s important that Twitter don’t add in too many features that detract from the service itself and remember that it was the simplicity of it that set it apart in the first place.

Location

Everyone is getting in on the Location game now and this is another feature that Twitter have added, with their geotagged tweets. Twitter really need to set the trend in this area and it’s important that they make location an easily integrated part of the service without it becoming the main focus. People have been using Twitter without the location features and for people who aren’t fans of location-based services, this can’t become an overriding feature of the site as they’ll lose a core following.

To really see just how many features and additions Twitter have made to their site, you need look no further than the sidebar. Features here include : follower details ; who to follow ; @ replies, DMs; Favourites ; Retweets ; Search bar, Saved search ; Lists ; Trending Topics ; Descriptions ; RSS feed . You can see below just how busy it’s getting :

Twitter should really be focusing on 2 areas : providing a reliable service and monetisation. Recently I’ve noticed an increase in the fail whale and other functions such as Twitter search seem to have been wavering. No doubt a result of testing out more features to introduce!  It’s when Twitter gets something like this wrong that I get a bit peeved, and this far outweighs any benefit that might come as a result of new functionality. Where Twitter should focus efforts are on its routes to monetisation. They’ve passed the point where they need to add something new to attract people. It’s the concept of micromessaging/blogging that’s selling the service and it’s certainly not slowing down. And by providing a reliable and steady service Twitter have enabled innovation in the space of clients such as Tweetdeck.

Taking a lesson from Google

The risk that Twitter is making is similar to Google and Yahoo. When the area of search first emerged Google was certainly not a clear market leader like it is today. But while Yahoo were busy adding more and more features and content onto their site, Google stuck to their core service – providing good search. And we all know who won out there. A look at how Google’s site looked in 1998 shows how little they’ve deferred from the original, actually taking features away (note how big the email alert box is)

And similar to Google who offer custom search tools to sites, many are now using the basic service is Twitter providing and relying on it to provide their users with a good experience. The latest from twitstat shows that just 16% are accessing Twitter through the web (presumably twitter.com itself) , with other users split through clients such as Tweetdeck and Seesmic, as well as the likes of Foursquare. So as many features as Twitter are adding, unless they keep the focus on the core service and up-time, then they’ll be providing a poor user experience. And many of their users won’t even be seeing these features anywhere, if they’re using a service like Tweetdeck.

Now I don’t want to seem completely negative and resistant to change at all. Twitter have made some good additions to the site that have enhanced the experience, for example putting the search bar on the side. A much needed feature that has enhanced the experience. But features such as who to follow and trending topics featuring on the sidebar detract too much from the original service itself. There’s a fine line between optimising what’s already there and adding features for the sake of it.