YC RFS: Things Built on Twitter [2009]

When this was written it was bang on. But Twitter is deliberately choosing to go down a different path. I can easily predict Twitter will find itself swimming in the wrong direction within a couple years because the need for an open messaging protocol still exists. That creates opportunity that will be taken advantage of.

I'll bet PG is still interested in investing in "the next big protocol" startup. It's related to another RFS, "the email killer". Email as a protocol is dead. Twitter, as a protocol, is now dying.

There's definitely still a need for the next "protocol" - but it won't be Twitter.

PG said that this RFS is not as promising anymore here, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4332000

I know that this request was written in 2009, but it's obviously not one that has as much potential with the recent changes Twitter has made.

"And the people at Twitter also want to encourage people to build stuff on top of it."

Funny, how that has changed so quickly. Sad, that it's changed so quickly.