Sunday, June 15, 2014

The #WorldCup Twitter App

There is a new version of the Twitter app specifically for the #WorldCup.

Srsly? Well, why not? Twitter releases new app versions at least once every month anyway. In that context, it isn’t so extravagant to create a version that highlights a sports tournament that is expected to be the biggest event yet in the history of Twitter.

This is the kind of change Alvin Toffler said was coming in his 1970 book Future Shock. Product designs — previously something thought to be permanent — now can change from week to week based on the whims of popular culture. In principle this is a good thing, so long as the pace of change doesn’t throw you off balance.

Of course, when the World Cup ends, there will be another new version of the Twitter app. People like me who can’t seem to find the time to follow the World Cup can slow the pace of change ever so slightly by skipping the World Cup version of Twitter and waiting for the version that follows.