Tonight I noticed that the new Twitter retweet feature was missing from my accounts that had been part of the test group for it. While I haven’t used it to retweet beyond testing, this disappearance also meant I couldn’t see who had used that feature to retweet me, either. It’s a trifle annoying, but nothing more, at least for me.
Also, if you hang out on Facebook, you may have seen an open letter there noting upcoming changes, including the disappearance of some features. Again, those disappearances don’t impact how I use Facebook… but I’m sure they impact others.
When there are changes on social networks I’m active on, I always take a moment to think about what makes each network work for me. Is it the way people connect? The content? The features?
I think it’s important to know the answers to these questions, not because I think most of the features we use will disappear on any given network, but rather because over time new networks will pop up and older ones will fade away. The changes will be much easier to navigate if you have an idea of what’s important for you to find (while, of course, being open to new ideas!).
Change is inevitable, of course, and some changes will likely catch us off guard. Still, knowing your big-picture wants and needs can help you keep perspective, even when all you really want to say is “Huh? Now why’d they go and do that????”
