Twitter has taken the controversial decision to change the star icon to a heart, producing a variety of reactions ranging from fury and dismay to politely expressed disappointment.
Not only has the icon changed, but your 'favorites' are now your 'likes' and you get a cutesy, bursting animation when you click the button.
The heart was rolled out on the Twitter Android app a couple of months ago, and some people commented at the time on how favorites are used to express a range of meanings, and the heart doesn't function in the same way. You might use favourites as bookmarks, adding something not because you particularly like or support it but because you want to come back to it later. Favorites can be used to show acknowledgement in situations when a 'like' would be inappropriate.
Confusingly, Twitter's blog post on the subject says "The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions". It's hard to see how a heart conveys anything other than positive emotion, and it's an interesting direction to take at a time when Facebook is moving away from the like and seeking to add more nuance.
Here are some of the responses so far:
What do you think about the new heart button? Let us know in the comments.
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