Twitter looks like it released a new front page that is focused all on…..search.

No more explanations on what Twitter is or can do. No videos about Twitter or how to use it.

The main page of Twitter is now focused on search.

I wonder what other sites will be redesigning soon? Look for more sites to emphasize Search and less emphasis on that distracting content. Simplified web searching!

I wonder how this new design will affect mobile touchscreen devices like cell phones and Apple tablet PCs? How long until the mouse is obsolete?

Also – here’s an update on the new iPhone 4GS.

In 2006, the site opened up to allow non-university users and the floodgates opened. I joined up when I read it allowed us all to have access and I have been keeping up with friends, family, colleagues, old church youth group pals, former students, and so on ever since. My network consists of over 400 “friends” and I post videos, links, blogs, notes, games, etc. in what I consider a living blog.

It is different in many ways to this blog because of the instant response it generates. I get more response to a funny video post there than any post I generate here. Instant-gratification! I don’t have to Twitter that I posted a new blog post either. I don’t have to publicize my new posts there because it auto-feeds my note to the entire network.

I see colleagues in my profession with profiles on the site but they don’t seem to take full advantage of what Facebook offers. Some have it set to receive and feed their Twitters and/or Plurks. But to me that seems like it isn’t proactive enough. It seems like it is just another feeder for the same information. There isn’t interaction in the same way as a blog itself. There doesn’t seem to be the two-way or even 30-way communication when something is shared with commentary on the timeline.

I wonder if people are still adjusting to Facebook and take it way too seriously?

I don’t see it as a professional tool though I do see how it can be used that way. I see it as a way to share the things I find in my daily web travels. From the interesting to the sublime, there are some really interesting things to share on the web. I keep my commentary to a minimum and let the conversation build from the social circles I have developed over the years.

It is blogging-lite! It’s crass and baudy at times but I think it keeps it interesting. I get comments asking me where I find such odd items to post and I share how I harness the web with so many tools. I still get to teach my former students and co-workers but it isn’t planned. It’s live conversation taking place on the timeline.

My hope is that more people take advantage of the possibilities to use Facebook in a way that reaches out beyond streaming what they post on other timeline tools like Twitter and Plurk. Integrate some fun into your timeline! Share a funny YouTube video you found and start a discussion on why it made you laugh. Talk about the social activities you engage in outside your professional world. Take pictures of what is in your yard or something interesting you found in your town. Yes, be concerned about social media professionalism but don’t be stodgy!

It’s okay to have fun every now and then. Anyone else enjoying Facebook?

My profile is http://www.facebook.com/mrjadkins. Stop by for some fun!

In the process of watching the timeline of Twitter, I moved to Twittervision to watch a global messaging start focusing from one country – Iran. Twittervision took too long.

I went to #IranElection and to #IranElection09 on Twitter but those timelines refreshed with over 60 new messages every 10 seconds. I needed more information in a timely manner.

I went to Monittor where I was able to monitor 3 hash-topics at the same time. I watched #IranElection, #IranElection09, and the folding of #TehranBureau. I learned that domestic news agencies were forcibly shut down by the military and TehranBureau’s reports became a trickle.

But the news kept coming from several individuals at ground-zero in Tehran and other cities where public civil disobedience was taking place.

I moved over to Twazzup to monitor the latest news.

The interesting thing during all this tragedy is how little the “news” regime has been covering what is going on. I learned on MSNBC that there are some Republican rappers who are a bit conservative. I also learned that the transition to digital cable went really well this weekend from CNN.

I didn’t learn that students in the University of Tehran were barricaded in their dorms while the police randomly brutalized a few of them. I didn’t see any mention of the tanks that moved into Tehran to help keep the peace. I didn’t see any reports about YouTube removing videos from Tehran that were showing the brutality. And I didn’t hear reports from the news agencies about the Iranian government shutting down Internet access and cell phone service to keep what was happening controlled.

I learned how people are fighting to get information out of their country about what is happening. I am seeing live feeds of people posting how to get around government filters to post to Twitter and other sites. I am reading posts listing who to follow that is typing in English for us to get the real news.

I watched as people sent messages to @andersoncooper and other news related media resources. They were pleading for help but more pleading for recognition about what was going on. What is going on, still.

This weekend marked a victory for digital television but it may be the death date of network news. I like how one post on Twitter says it best: “US News Agencies fiddle while Iran burns”. Is anyone watching? Is anyone chatting about it? My Twitter timeline is full of people posting about what they are eating, watching on television, demonstrating at a conference, and my heart is breaking.

I wonder if tomorrow’s news will cover how they failed? Or will this be a quick story before we get the celebrity birthdays and weather?

Is this not news? I guess the 20 year anniversary of the events in Tiananmen Square where the world’s media captured the protests and civil unrest was huge ratings. The events taking place now must seem like a repeat. Why cover this again? The whole world is not watching because Dateline is profiling something else tonight.

This image rocks me.