Following recent rumors that Apple would buy a chunk of Twitter, maybe Twitter begins to close itself to fit with Apple vision of closed but mainstream and consistent user experience.
I don't believe so much to the consistent twitter experience alibi, because I just never trust or believe in companies highly funded which have not still a proven viable business model.
To my mind , they are at the mercy of their short term vision investors which oblige them to monetize everywhere in all possible short term strategies.
Twitter API thinks it is a too big to fail social API; and begins to think short term profitability. Like the banking system with subprimes, they believe the mass will always save them from fail. look one blogpost talking about it here http://api500.tumblr.com/post/27360838922/apis-too-big-to-fa... with other ones like GoogleMaps or Facebook.
As i mentionned in an other post about it, Twitter seems not respecting API neutrality (same paradigm as Internet neutrality), the fact that all API 3rd-party users may have the same rights, access and limits to your API, if they satisfy same primary conditions (free or paying users)
Instagram, Linkedin, Tumblr...who's next?
They have gone crazy since they want to have their "consistent user experience"...
Twitter seems not respecting API neutrality (same paradigm as Internet neutrality), the fact that all API 3rd-party users may have the same rights, access and limits to your API, if they satisfy same primary conditions (free or paying users)
Instagram, Linkedin, Tumblr...who's next?
They have gone crazy since they want to have their "consistent user experience"...
It is like banking system ! you can be independant with your own safe-deposit box but it is easier to make business with a bank account ! If you ask only cash payments, it will be weird sometimes in BtoB !
Same for APIs.
How could you today socialize your application without Facebook, Twitter API? Geolocalize without Googlemaps API or Bingmaps API? Make our own ?
If you aren't paying for the product, you are the product. It is true. But now, so many applications are based on these monopolistic API, which can change terms and conditions and pricing at any time. More than 1 000 000 3rd party apps for twitter, even Google maps changed pricing recently. It is about charging money, but also about policy and involvment to developers, viable business model and company's roadmap. But without any "rating" how would you manage your cloud supply chain with thousand of APIs?