Twitter reveals why they went from stars to hearts. There’s a real reason.
A week ago, Twitter lost its collective mind when the site turned stars (and favoriting) to hearts (and likes). People were totally freaked out, because A) why fix something that isn’t broken, and B) hearting something feels like way more of a statement than clicking on a star. Sure, I like your tweet, but do I HEART it?
While we are all still adjusting to the change made, and why it was made, Twitter has decided to weigh in.
At the time of the switch, Twitter had this to say: “The heart, in contrast [to stars], is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones. The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people. And in our tests, we found that people loved it.”
And the data they’ve collected since the switch backs that up.
“It’s a change that’s been fantastic for the platform,” Kevin Weil, Twitter’s Product SVP, said yesterday. “We see now 6% more hearts, 6% more likes on Twitter than we saw with favorites.”
The change was made in order to “make Twitter easier and more rewarding to use,” and if this increase in likes holds up, it looks like Twitter did just that. Twitter’s announcement tells us another important thing: It seems the heart is here to stay.
Related reading:
Twitter just changed something major and people have FEELINGS about it
(Image via, um, Twitter)
