A few days ago Twitter told developers they should not create “client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience.” Twitter has been on a buying spree lately, purchasing Twitter applications like the previously named Tweetie for iPhone. Twitter is trying to regain control over third-party clients which currently represent how 42% of users choose to tweet. Twitter’s move can be seen as an attempt to unify the user experience while also ensuring that they don’t lose advertising revenue to developers of third-party Twitter applications.
Bill Gross, founder of Idealab and UberMedia, has also been on a mission to monetize the Twittersphere, acquiring many popular third-party applications such as TweetDeck (what up), UberSocial, and Echofon. It will be interesting to see how the development community responds to Twitter’s enforcement and continued refinement of their platform.
[H/T: esco]
[Source: Business Insider]
