The most damning thing about the heart symbol and the associated addition of the "likes" feature is that it seems like a lift from both Instagram and its parent company Facebook. These two services are perhaps Twitter's biggest competition in the current social media landscape, so it seems bizarre for Twitter to make the conscious decision to ape their most popular features, sacrificing its own uniqueness in the process. In the past, Facebook and Instagram have often borrowed features that were made famous by Twitter, such as the @reply function and the use of hashtags to group posts and showcase trends. Twitter has always seemed like something of a leader in terms of innovation, whilst the other networks have trailed behind, forced to acknowledge that Twitter often leads the way. The copycat adoption of another website's major features feels like an admission on the part of Twitter that they have had their moment in the sun and must now cede to the competition. Twitter should not abandon something as useful as its multi-faceted "favourites" system, which has long served a variety of different purposes for a variety of different people. The adoption of likes and hearts simply serves to slide Twitter further into the homogeneous social media landscape, which really undersells its position as an innovative online service.
Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.
