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Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API

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Re: Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a business perspective, you don't want to alienate developers who work to build your ecosystem. A more sane way to do this would have been with a public tweet explaining why they were doing it (ad revenue), a 3 month lead time, and an API for helping apps get users to "upgrade" their account.

If charging for API usage amounts to developer alienation, then why is Apple the most successful business in the world? Frankly, I don't think Musk much cares for the developers. From a business perspective, he might be right here - developers aren't the ones watching ads or paying for microtransactions, users are. The developers, at his scale, are a liability. Restricting their capabilities and profiting from their…

If the App Store had been free for 15 years and then Apple said "if you don't pay us $100 a year in one week, we'll delete your app" then you can bet that Tim Cook would be seeking new opportunities _within hours_. There's a big difference between "this has always cost something" and "this is going from free to paid with _one week's notice_".

Re: Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API

#64

$149/month for 500 requests, good lord. https://twitter.com/PaulTassi/status/1621162343039406084

This has nothing to do with the new paid-only API. This specific API (full history search for the past month) has been paid for years, at those price points. cf https://blog.twitter.com/developer/en_us/topics/tools/2017/i...

Re: Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API

#65
post #64

$149/month for 500 requests, good lord. https://twitter.com/PaulTassi/status/1621162343039406084

This has nothing to do with the new paid-only API. This specific API (full history search for the past month) has been paid for years, at those price points. cf https://blog.twitter.com/developer/en_us/topics/tools/2017/i...

What's the new "basic" tier going to look like then, if this is the existing scheme? How low can that quota go?

Re: Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API

#66
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has nothing to do with the new paid-only API. This specific API (full history search for the past month) has been paid for years, at those price points. cf https://blog.twitter.com/developer/en_us/topics/tools/2017/i...

What's the new "basic" tier going to look like then, if this is the existing scheme? How low can that quota go?

This is the existing scheme for one specific expensive API. Pricing for everything else clearly has nothing to do with it, and could be anything.

Re: Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If charging for API usage amounts to developer alienation, then why is Apple the most successful business in the world? Frankly, I don't think Musk much cares for the developers. From a business perspective, he might be right here - developers aren't the ones watching ads or paying for microtransactions, users are. The developers, at his scale, are a liability. Restricting their capabilities and profiting from their…

If the App Store had been free for 15 years and then Apple said "if you don't pay us $100 a year in one week, we'll delete your app" then you can bet that Tim Cook would be seeking new opportunities _within hours_. There's a big difference between "this has always cost something" and "this is going from free to paid with _one week's notice_".

[deleted]

Re: Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API

#69
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bit safer with OpenAI because they have paid plans. But you're right, it's still a bit risky. In the distant future, OpenAI can copy and vertically integrate features their API users have created or they can simply pull the plug on them.

Well, that's exactly the business model of offering a free API.

You can't replace Twitter's API (or any social network interface, as the network effects are the value). If you build on OpenAI, you can at least have a forward looking plan to swap out their API for your own ML system (or a competitor) once other systems reach parity (which, assuming current trajectories, they eventually will).
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