Twitter has grown up, and so has the Twitter bird

Twitter has been on a long journey since its inception on Mar. 21, 2006, and so, it seems, has the flying Twitter bird.

To mark its 10th birthday on Monday, the social media platform released a video showing the logo's evolution. Much like man emerged from the primordial swamp, the Twitter bird has, over the years, shed its eyes and legs, got a haircut, and become the serious avian character we know today.

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Twitter settled into its current bird in 2012. It was a new bird with clean lines to mark the platform's maturity and, finally, a chance to drop the word "Twitter" or the lowercase "t" from the logo. As Doug Bowman, Twitter's former creative director, wrote on the site's blog: "Twitter is the bird, the bird is Twitter."

"Our new bird grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry," he explained. "This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends."

While still a platform that is used by millions and that often drives the media conversation, Twitter has faced some notable instability in recent years as user growth has stagnated. Perhaps it's time to return some eyes to the little guy? Then, perhaps, the platform wouldn't be flying blind. 

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