Twitter ruffled everyone’s blue feathers yesterday by removing an option that let users see @ replies sent to those they don’t follow. I don’t care if the move was right or wrong, but how they did it was a rookie parent mistake.
Let’s say I’m at the playground with Jr. and Sister. We’ve been cheerfully playing for an hour and then I decide it’s time to go. I’ve got two options.
The first is to say, “OK, kids. Time to go. Everybody get into the car.” I could do that, but it’ll elicit a core breach from Jr. and Sister. Every time. When the fun they’ve been enjoying is cut off in an instant and without warning, they flip.
Instead, I give them what I call “The Countdown.” It goes like this: “Kids, five more minutes and we’re going to go.”* Then, “OK, kids, four more minutes are we’re going to go home.” They’re able wind down, do what they really want to do before we leave and it works like a charm. Every single time. When I finally move from “One more minute” to “Say goodbye, it’s time to go,” they comply.
I don’t care if we do see @ replies, don’t see @ replies … who cares? That’s not what got everyone in a lather yesterday. A few days warning would have saved the folks at Twitter a huge headache. But that’s OK. They’re still new parents.
*Tip: It’s tempting to do “One more slide down the sliding board and we’ll go,” but if you do you’re screwed, because Jr. will just sit at the top of the slide. And sit. And sit. He can control his descent down the slide, but not the passage of time.
