Live data from Hacker News

Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

tapbots.com

1–10 of 86 posts

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#2
Tweetbot seems really awesome and I realize they explain why it is worth the $20, but I still think it's too pricey. And I don't think that because of Tweetbot, I think that because of Twitter. I'm more worried with all the sporadic changes Twitter is making lately that they could somehow do something to make Tweetbot useless. Maybe by not allowing 3rd party apps or something. Who knows? And because of that, I don't want to risk wasting $20. It's sort of like how people felt with the "Elevation Dock" on the iPhone. They got it for their iPhone 4's and then it basically became just a paperweight when the 5 came out (I realize they made a crumby adapter to make it work with the iPhone 5).

I guess, all in all, it just bums me out that awesome products (like Tweetbot) could potentially have a great product like this ruined by 1 small decision Twitter makes. And I just don't think I want to waste $20 on that bet (especially when the Twitter site UI/UX isn't THAT bad to use).

/2 cents

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#3
I thought it would be at the $9.99 price point, like Sparrow was. I am surprised by it being $20, but I understand given the limitations and will purchase it.

What happens to the tokens when people pirate this app? Does it count towards their limit?

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#4

Tweetbot seems really awesome and I realize they explain why it is worth the $20, but I still think it's too pricey. And I don't think that because of Tweetbot, I think that because of Twitter. I'm more worried with all the sporadic changes Twitter is making lately that they could somehow do something to make Tweetbot useless. Maybe by not allowing 3rd party apps or something. Who knows? And because of that, I don't…

Even if the app is only around and viable for a year, if you use it every day, is it really so hard to justify spending $20 on it?

I'm really glad we have companies like Tapbots, Panic, etc., pushing against the "race to the bottom" trend with app prices that we've seen lately. Good apps are HARD to do, and there's no reason they shouldn't command a price commensurate with the effort involved.

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#5

Tweetbot seems really awesome and I realize they explain why it is worth the $20, but I still think it's too pricey. And I don't think that because of Tweetbot, I think that because of Twitter. I'm more worried with all the sporadic changes Twitter is making lately that they could somehow do something to make Tweetbot useless. Maybe by not allowing 3rd party apps or something. Who knows? And because of that, I don't…

Even if the app is only around and viable for a year, if you use it every day, is it really so hard to justify spending $20 on it? I'm really glad we have companies like Tapbots, Panic, etc., pushing against the "race to the bottom" trend with app prices that we've seen lately. Good apps are HARD to do, and there's no reason they shouldn't command a price commensurate with the effort involved.

>Even if the app is only around and viable for a year, if you use it every day, is it really so hard to justify spending $20 on it?

That's exactly what I'm worried about. It COULD be a year (and in that case, yes, it would be worth it), but no one can guarantee that. It could be tomorrow for all we know. And that is why I say it's a gamble I don't really want to take on a social networking app (no matter how nice the UI/UX is).

It's worth more to me to just use the browser Twitter app (has a few flaws but isn't THAT bad) for free then take a huge risk with $20.

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#7
So, they aim for max 1.4 million in revenue (100k x $20 - 30% for apple, minus an unknown amount for beta testers) for the lifetime of the app. How many people have worked on it?

It does show the limited upside of twitter apps under the new rules(yes, 1.4 million is still a lot of money, but no home run for a company).

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#8
There have been many discussions here on Hacker News about the risks inherent in building your product—and hence livelihood—on top of someone else's platform, over which you have no control. Unfortunately for Tweetbot, this sort of complaint will possibly strike a chord with the almost negligible minority that would read a tech blog, and of those, an even smaller and more negligible minority will actually complain to Twitter.

Twitter is putting these guys out of business, and it's completely in their (Twitter's) right to do so. Playing the blame game may feel good but it won't solve anything; the hard work these guys put in is likely going to quickly stop being a viable source of revenue, and there's nothing they can do about it. I can't think of anything to say about it other than it's a real damned shame.

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#9
post #8

There have been many discussions here on Hacker News about the risks inherent in building your product—and hence livelihood—on top of someone else's platform, over which you have no control. Unfortunately for Tweetbot, this sort of complaint will possibly strike a chord with the almost negligible minority that would read a tech blog, and of those, an even smaller and more negligible minority will actually complain to…

welcome to the world of business.

Re: Why is Tweetbot for Mac $20?

#10
post #8

There have been many discussions here on Hacker News about the risks inherent in building your product—and hence livelihood—on top of someone else's platform, over which you have no control. Unfortunately for Tweetbot, this sort of complaint will possibly strike a chord with the almost negligible minority that would read a tech blog, and of those, an even smaller and more negligible minority will actually complain to…

This, and other actions like it, are only going to drive more people to the underground bot/warez economy wherein terms of use and official API channels don't apply. unfortunately in that world many of the tools also compromise user security as well.

Unless Twitter, and other widely adopted platform providers, find a balance between corporate interests and supporting users interacting with their services in the ways that they prefer to do so, we will see more and more people obtaining Tweet-bots and Friend-adders, from illegitimate sources which bypass API's altogether.

Post reply on HN