Hey, looks like it will finally be possible to send pictures in DMs from 3rd party clients... can someone please confirm?
I wouldn't hold my breath. It's entirely possible that the new DM APIs will be restricted to approved clients or accounts.
New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
31–40 of 75 posts
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#32Two things I really want:
* Tweet count on a URL
* Read a tweet feed without auth
Also - the HN title is super misleading. The actual title is: "New APIs to power the future of customer engagement in Direct Messages".
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#33Yeah, thanks, but no thanks.
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#34They're aiming for the young or the forgetful developer, I assume? Twitter shutting down the APIs a few years ago wasn't generally considered the best way to get commitment from application developers.
"shutting down the APIs" - you mean, requiring authentication and adding rate-limiting? which meant that we could get on top of the fail whale and control platform stability? The APIs have been open and usable all the time.
Maybe he meant adding arbitrary token count limits out of the blue that forced countless 3rd party apps to close shop once they became successful? Or the fact that new features like polls are absent in the public APIs, years after they have been introduced?
I'm sure you're very excited about these new APIs for #brand #engagement, but don't pretend that Twitter has been a great steward of its public API over the last few years.
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#35Until they increase their API rate limits, this change is next to useless.
We increased the rate limits for a range of the API endpoints in the fall last year, in fact. The updates we announced today should also offer more and better data to developers as they scale.
You still cannot release a twitter client that doesn't get maxed at 100,000 users. Why bother implementing ideas when it will probably meet with the same problem due to our success.
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#36A big history lesson and a big WARNING for anyone who is thinking of building anything with Twitter's APIs. Once this company, long ago, encouraged developers to use their APIs to build products and utilities. Developers heeded the call and flocked to the company's APIs. They built new clients and innovative solutions to make Twitter truly useful. Twitter grew fast with the developer's help and the developer's themse…
This is why I coined the phrase "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it" j/k
So having a big release and advertising these 3rd party tools could be completely motivated by a need for someone else's innovation? Or are there businesses left standing who are innovating and successful with their services? They've worked great for me in the past, but I've never done anything beyond using them for OAuth or showing a hashtag list of tweets.
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#37A big history lesson and a big WARNING for anyone who is thinking of building anything with Twitter's APIs. Once this company, long ago, encouraged developers to use their APIs to build products and utilities. Developers heeded the call and flocked to the company's APIs. They built new clients and innovative solutions to make Twitter truly useful. Twitter grew fast with the developer's help and the developer's themse…
As much as I agree with you, I wonder if the changes in leadership at the company since then might mean a different direction. Reading their blog posts, it seems like a "reboot" of sorts.
I am in the camp that still thinks Twitter is an important tool: both as a communication medium, as well as a competitor to Facebook/Snapchat/etc. Whether or not this vision for the API platform plays out as history repeating itself, or as a way for Twitter to continue to grow - remains to be seen. But I definitely root for them to try and try again when they fail.
To OPs point, definitely tread lightly at first, and don't bet your whole company on Twitter's APIs. I'm excited to see where this goes.
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#38A big history lesson and a big WARNING for anyone who is thinking of building anything with Twitter's APIs. Once this company, long ago, encouraged developers to use their APIs to build products and utilities. Developers heeded the call and flocked to the company's APIs. They built new clients and innovative solutions to make Twitter truly useful. Twitter grew fast with the developer's help and the developer's themse…
This! And I should know. My Twitter to Facebook client. http://2fb.me was crippled by Twitter for trying to distribute tweets. The main purpose of Twitter and a Twitter api is distribution or so I thought. Facebook on the other hand has been a great friend. And the Facebook page gets a few new followers everyday even though the app has been reporpused. Facebook.com/toTwitter
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
"shutting down the APIs" - you mean, requiring authentication and adding rate-limiting? which meant that we could get on top of the fail whale and control platform stability? The APIs have been open and usable all the time.
Maybe he meant adding arbitrary token count limits out of the blue that forced countless 3rd party apps to close shop once they became successful? Or the fact that new features like polls are absent in the public APIs, years after they have been introduced? I'm sure you're very excited about these new APIs for #brand #engagement, but don't pretend that Twitter has been a great steward of its public API over the last…
I'm not pretending - I've been responsible for the public-facing APIs (since 2014). We've launched mute, accessibility text for images, multi image and video upload, etc etc. We haven't added every single feature, but we've done what we have done in a very methodical and careful way that ensures platform stability. Polls are a complicated issue because they depend on cards, which are also not currently part of the API. By publishing a roadmap for the first time, we're providing visibility into what's coming. Thanks for the feedback!
Re: New APIs to power customer engagement in Direct Messages
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
We increased the rate limits for a range of the API endpoints in the fall last year, in fact. The updates we announced today should also offer more and better data to developers as they scale.
You still cannot release a twitter client that doesn't get maxed at 100,000 users. Why bother implementing ideas when it will probably meet with the same problem due to our success.
Well, the platform is not just about client apps, people use Twitter's data and features for all kinds of things. You're welcome to build on the platform if you've got a good idea.