(PCM) Many people who visited Twitter recently may have taken notice that one thing in particular looked a bit different. Twitter has now changed their default user icon from the egg shape that they’ve had since their launch to an icon that more closely resembles a person’s head.
Twitter says that the change was made to urge users who had not yet set a picture as their icon to finally choose an image. The company also feels that the change will cut down on harassment and bullying that can take place on the site, by random strangers hiding behind a lack of icon.
In a formal statement Twitter says, “We’ve noticed patterns of behavior with accounts that are created only to harass others – often they don’t take the time to personalize their accounts. This has created an association between the default egg profile photo and negative behavior, which isn’t fair to people who are still new to Twitter and haven’t yet personalized their profile photo.”
Users began immediately firing back at Twitter claiming that it is not a person’s profile picture that determines whether or not they will harass others online. They can still partake in this kind of behavior using a different profile picture. The egg really had nothing to do with that type of behavior. It may have just made them seem less recognizable.
Others just want their egg icon back as they felt somehow attached to it and it was as simple as that. Get ready to see people beginning to make old screen captures of the egg icon their new profile picture!