After suffering with the #dickbar for a couple of days now, it's become apparent to me that Twitter refuses to acknowledge that they're a protocol, not a service, and by implementing lightweight annoyances to monetize the userbase, inelegantly as DickC puts it, pushes users to find alternatives where they can still use the protocol as a communication device without the hassles of the hamfisted business approach.

Ask yourself, would ATT interrupt your calls to alert you of popular conversations from other users, even if they were sponsored? I highly doubt that.