Twitter 2.0: Social Network Cuts Off Third - Party Apps

FLYING SOLO

It’s hard to imagine the internet without Twitter. Whether we’re following a breaking news story, tweeting along to our favorite television shows or watching celebrities argue over music, the social network is a major part of our everyday lives.

 Whilst Facebook and Instagram are for our friends and family, Twitter is our window to the world - to engage in debates, understand new perspectives and have real-time conversations with people from all walks of life.

Twitter was one of the first social networks to make its way to the iPhone with the release of iOS 2, but it was a third-party developer that created the app rather than the company itself. Indeed, Twitter has a history of being open source, and relying on developers to create software for its users, before swallowing up those software companies (such as TweetDeck for $40 million, Twitpic and its library of content and Bluefin Labs a social media analytics company). Indeed, Twitter acquired popular iOS app Tweetie, before rebranding it into its official Twitter app back in 2010.

Twitter has had a long and prosperous relationship with developers, who have no doubt contributed to the network’s success, but the company has now announced plans to kill off support for some third-party APIs, leaving many apps and software unusable. In today’s article, we take a closer look at the upcoming changes to Twitter’s API and discuss the future of the social network.

CLOSING OFF DEVELOPER ACCESS

Last year, Twitter announced plans to phase out Twitter API features such as automatic timeline refreshes and push notifications in a bid to reduce its overheads and take back more control of its ecosystem. In April, the company postponed the deprecation date of its old API following backlash from developers, but last week, the plug on its old API was pulled.