I’m not one given over to complaining much and when I do I try to provide a solution to the complaint, because as a former Drill Sergeant of mine once said, “A complaint without a solution is called whining.”
Feedback
Twitter’s feedback system is barely there and isn’t really a feedback system so much as a minimal customer service option and it is not that functional. At least it’s easier to find than Facebook’s convoluted system.
What I look for in a usable feedback system is first the ability to find it without sending out a search party. While easy enough to find a less technologically inclined individual still might not be able to find it. So I think Twitter could make it easier to find for everyone.
The next thing I look for is the ability to submit feature requests, while a response to the request would be nice it is not required. I once submitted a feature request to an open-source accounting software project using their feedback system, while I didn’t get a response from them I did see the feature show up in a later update.
It would be great if every product developer would adopt a feedback system to include feature requests.
Twitter Spaces
I’ve mentioned Twitter Spaces before and it’s a good feature to have, I think Elon Musk made a good decision to bring it back. However, to get the most out of it you need to use Twitter Spaces on a mobile device. If you use Spaces from a desktop the only thing you can do is listen. If you want to host a Spaces conversation or participate in one you have to get on your smartphone through the Twitter App.
I do the bulk of my work with my laptop, my phone is my remote device for when I can’t be at my laptop. I am a firm believer that a web app needs to be at least as functional as its mobile app, and vice versa. If it isn’t then it’s functionally useless, and that is too bad because I like Twitter Spaces.
Other Problems
There are other problems such as people you follow being unfollowed, I personally have not experienced this but I have seen tweets from people that I follow saying that this has happened to them. Elon Musk to his credit as sometimes tweeted replies that this or that is being looked into.
But insofar, as I can see only those who are Twitter Blue subscribers and have a bit of a following seem to get any attention to these matters. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with subscribers being able to put a bug in Elon Musk’s ear, but as a feedback system, it’s highly inefficient. I don’t think these subscribers would appreciate other users inundating them with requests to Elon Musk.
Conclusion
The subscription model Elon Musk is trying to implement comes with some perks that free users don’t get and that is totally fair, But not having an intuitive and functional feedback system that everyone can use and find is a disservice to the entire user base.