Twitter CEO Dick Costolo went on NBC’s “Today” yesterday morning to announce a new look for profile pages on the social network and a new iPad app plus updated iPhone and Android apps.
“We rebuilt Twitter for iPad from the ground up to make it fast, beautiful and easy to use,” Costolo said.
“Today”‘s website explains:
“What’s the biggest change? There’s now a huge header image that runs across the top, sort of like the banner image that Facebook users have on their timelines. The page itself has been reoriented to play up other visuals as well: Your avatar is no longer tucked in the corner, but will display front and center. The photo stream, too, has been moved up, and will now be accessible on the apps.”
In a release from Twitter, the company said the upgrade represents “our mobile-first strategy.” The company says that if you upload an all-new header photo on Twitter’s mobile apps or on twitter.com, “the same image will appear whenever anyone views your profile on these apps or the web. These new profiles are available for everyone.”
Twitter also updated its iPhone and Android apps to support new profiles and photo streams:
“Swipe through the stream to see the photos that other users have shared, or tap any thumbnail to view their photos in fullscreen.”
The announcement also includes a new iPad app: “We’ve rebuilt the app from the ground up to make it fast, beautiful and easy to use. Tweets come alive with in-line expansion and support for photos, videos and website summaries. Like Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android, this new version of Twitter for iPad also supports new profiles and photo streams on profiles.”
How to change your Twitter header image
Twitter has blessed us with a new way to dress up your profile pages: Header images. Yes, these are a lot like Facebook and Google + cover photos, and the process for adding them is just as simple.
First, take a look at your new Twitter profile page. No, not your homepage, the page that’s called “Me” on Twitter’s website and on your favorite mobile app. You can make the change through Twitter’s website or you can actually make the change right on your mobile device.
Select the “Me” option from the left-hand menu bar. You’ll notice this page looks completely different. Choose the settings icon that appears under your profile image or avatar. Select the “Edit Profile” option.
Select “Header” and then choose from two options: “Take Photo” or “Choose Existing Photo.” The former will use your device camera to take a new image. The latter lets you select from your library of images.
Once you have an image, you can move and scale it as you please. Original image size cannot exceed 1252×626 pixels.
The benefit of the image appearing behind your avatar is that you can, as with Facebook cover photos and Google + cover images, create a sense of interaction between your avatar and the header image.
