Twitter rolls out updated homepage

Twitter has rolled out a new homepage in an attempt to make search more accessible to its users - by giving it a whacking great box right in the middle. It also prominently displays trending topics over the past minute, day and week.

Twitter says: "Helping people access Twitter in more relevant and useful ways upon first introduction lowers the barrier to accessing the value Twitter has to offer and presents the service more consistently with how it has evolved".

It also removes the attempt to explain what Twitter actually is for the uninitiated, instead putting real tweets at the forefront so people can see for themselves. "Repositioning the product to focus more on discovery is an important first step in presenting Twitter to a wider audience of folks around the world", says the company.