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Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

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Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#41

Post by tlrobinson »

nathanhammond wrote: post #35

The future of unofficial Twitter clients might just be fully open-source code. Twitter can't stop every determined individual from creating their own application if the code is out there publicly. And with Twitter possibly cutting people off I wouldn't be surprised to see some clients become open source as they hit their cap. The question simply becomes how high the bar becomes for building your own personal Twitter…

You would't even need to open source it, just have a field to enter your developer key.

Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#42

Post by natrius »

jad wrote: post #34
breckinloggins wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just really don't get it. If the problem is that they can't figure out how to monetize third party apps, the answer is staring them right in the face. So, Twitter is already going to dictate what the tweet view looks like. In-stream ads won't be much more than tweets. So why not stipulate that an app MUST show in-stream ads in a given format? If the app wishes to not show ads or to use twitter for more of an "infra…

> If the app wishes to not show ads or to use twitter for more of an "infrastructure-like" purpose, then there should be some kind of use-fee-based pricing model on the API side. No need for this complexity. They could just revoke API access for apps that don't show ads per their guidelines. It'd be easy to catch any Twitter client with a significant user base that isn't showing ads properly. At the end of the day th…

"Facebook, wisely, never relinquished control over their platform."

What did Facebook do differently? Third-party Facebook clients have been possible for quite some time, perhaps from the initial launching of their API.

Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#43

Post by twoodfin »

archgrove wrote: post #4

Twitter are gambling that they are now powerful enough to say "No more 3rd party clients", and thus start streaming ads down peoples throats (oh, sorry - "Richer stories" is apparently the nuspeak). I'm not sure they're yet in a position to dictate this, especially given how bad their own clients are compared to some other options. The interesting thing about Twitter compared to e.g. Facebook is that the social graph…

I (and in anecdata, many people I know) use it to follow some "big names", and a splattering of smaller names, for broadcast information.

Why is this a negative? To a first approximation, the "big names" you follow are an indication of your interests, and advertisers are very comfortable with broadcast media.

Following anyone also indicates a degree of commitment that simply hitting a "Like" button does not: You're willing to see everything that person/business Tweets.

Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#44

Post by cstejerean »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #36
troethom wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it could work. The set of users who would pay is a completely different demographic than those who are following Justin Bieber. You're only devaluing the market for the adverts that would appeal to everyone.

Aren't "users who will pay" the most desirable demographic for marketing to?

Users who will pay for twitter API access to use as infrastructure != users who will pay in general

Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#45

Post by semanticist »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #36
troethom wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it could work. The set of users who would pay is a completely different demographic than those who are following Justin Bieber. You're only devaluing the market for the adverts that would appeal to everyone.

Aren't "users who will pay" the most desirable demographic for marketing to?

Different groups of people will pay for different things.

Beiber followers might not spend money on Twitter, but they might on whatever tat it is teenage girls get their parents to buy for them.

The kind of people who will pay to opt-out of adverts are probably not the kind of people who will click on your adverts.

Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#48

Post by comex »

There is a point where third party clients are going to have to demonstrate that they are not required to go through Twitter to get access to it. Just as third-party IM clients long thrived without official access (and in the face of attempts to block them), and are now commonplace and tolerated, Twitter clients can (probably legally) switch to an API key borrowed from Twitter and be no worse off. Even though Twitter's actions aren't catastrophic for third party clients yet, the fact that nobody has used this approach is putting Twitter in a stronger position than they deserve.

Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#49

Post by kalleboo »

nathanhammond wrote: post #35

The future of unofficial Twitter clients might just be fully open-source code. Twitter can't stop every determined individual from creating their own application if the code is out there publicly. And with Twitter possibly cutting people off I wouldn't be surprised to see some clients become open source as they hit their cap. The question simply becomes how high the bar becomes for building your own personal Twitter…

On iOS, you need to pay Apple $99 to install custom software on your own device. That would be a significant hurdle.

Re: Where did the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha go?

#50

Post by benatkin »

The last TapBots blog post, written a week and a half ago, had the title "Don't Panic" and characterizing the response as "fear, uncertainty, and doubt".

I think this vindicates most of the people who raised a big stink about the API policy changes back then.

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