In this day and age, everyone copies everyone. We cannot even keep count of how many features Facebook copied from Snapchat, not how many of those made it to Instagram or WhatsApp. Today, Twitter introduced QR codes, like Snapcodes. But no one really knows why.
Twitter is a strange business. Amidst user complaints about trolls, spam and the overall difficulty of using the platform, Twitter’s answer is… QR codes! And they are not even that useful.
The new Twitter QR codes work like any other platform’s QR codes: you scan it and it opens a the user’s profile in a pop-up window. Good. Except that in Twitter, you need to tap on at least two different links to even reach the QR scanner!
Until now, to follow someone, you had to search for them, or directly tap in their usernames if you knew it. It was easy, and straight forward in most cases. Now, you will have to tap on “settings” then select “QR code” and finally tap on “QR scanner” – how is that even easier? And of course, you will need to have your friend’s doing the same before handing you over their phones so you can scan the code. I tried. Believe me it was much faster to simply ask them for their username!
Yes, QR codes are cool. Yes, Twitter Qr codes look good. But was it really what Twitter should have been working on? Probably not.
And users are not impressed! Like Alex for example:
Everyone:
– Twitter's full of trolls!
Twitter:
– Let's make some QR codes— Alex Bourgeois (@Alex__Bourgeois) November 17, 2016
Others also wonder why people have been tweeting their own QR code:
What’s the point in tweeting your Twitter QR code?
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) November 16, 2016
Mark has a point. If you tweet your QR code to your followers, that probably won’t help you gain any new followers…
So, Twitter, what are you up to? The Internet wants to know.
You might also like
More from Twitter
Twitter Is Testing A New Shopping Section
Twitter is testing a new feature that allows brands to add a shopping section to the top of their profiles.
Twitter Brings Auto-Generated Captions To Voice Tweets
Twitter has announced a new accessibility feature that generates captions for voice Tweets that users record and send to each …
It Is The End Of The Road For Twitter Fleets
Twitter announced it will be shutting down Twitter Fleets, its own experiment with ephemeral content and the Stories format.
Twitter Forecasts A Positive Outlook This Summer
According to Twitter, the surge in positive conversations on its platform indicates that... the future is bright.
NFL Extends Partnership With Twitter To Bring Exclusive Content To Twitter Spaces
The NFL is extending its partnership with Twitter to include expanded engagement formats and exclusive content for Twitter Spaces.
Twitter Now Lets You Use A Security Key As Your Only 2FA Method
After announcing support for multiple security keys in March, Twitter now lets you use one as your only two-factor authentication …
Twitter Is Getting Into NFTs, But You Can’t Buy Them
Twitter is releasing 140 NFTs, matching its original character limit. However, you can't buy them. Instead, Twitter will be giving …
Twitter Opens Applications For Ticketed Spaces And Super Follows
Starting this week, you can apply to be among the first to try Twitter's Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows monetization …
Twitter Now Lets You Restrict Who Can Reply To Your Published Tweets
Not quite the edit button we asked for, but Twitter is now rolling out the ability to restrict audiences on …