Image: Twitter c.2007

Here’s a free idea that someone might get some milage out of. Every time a website like Facebook, Flickr or Twitter overhauls its design, a vocal percentage of users complain. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ they will cry. ‘Why is the thing that used to be up there now over here?’ they will moan. ‘Change it back or I’m leaving’ they will insist.

Why not cater for these users that are uncomfortable with change? Build a Twitter web client that looks exactly like an older version of Twitter. Hell, build them all and let people choose for themselves how many features they want to take away?

Alternatively…

Are you one of these web Luddites described above? You may have a point. Change doesn’t always add value, and can often just add an extra layer of unwanted complexity. It’s also entirely probable that the changes are bad for you, but good for them.

My advice to you is to just go with it though. Don’t hold off from upgrading until the website yanks the comfort blanket away – embrace the change. There’s never anything to be gained from sitting still, and the longer you do the bigger the inevitable shock to the system will be.