What is a Twitter heart?

Twitter is taking us on a tour of basic shapes with its latest introduction of the heart symbol.  Twitter hearts are replacing stars on the platform and causing confusion among avid tweeters.

Twitter Heart Explained

The star icon stood for favorited tweets and allowed users to show their appreciation without feeling pressured to engage or retweet.  The new Twitter heart serves the same purpose.  So why the change?

In a statement, Twitter said that stars were too confusing to new users.  “The heart, in contrast, is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones.”

Hearts also replaced stars on Twitter’s video platform Vine. And, the source of the change may of been Twitter’s live-streaming app Periscope which first started using the icon.

In addition to hearts, Twitter introduced a lightening bolt icon last month when it unveiled it’s “Moments” tab.  Moments, a collection top stories curated by Twitter and it’s partners, provides shareable content to users who find the traditional Twitter stream overwhelming.

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