Idealists hoped the day would never come--that the network with over 500 millions users wouldn't follow in the tracks of Facebook by ever hampering the openness that makes it great. They were wrong.
Posted Thursday, August 16 it was announced there are changes coming to Twitter. Nothing earthshaking to the average consumer, but for developers it could be a doozy.
Previously, in the current v1.0 of the Twitter API, developers are allowed access without authentication. The good: this allows open market access to the public's information resulting in potential innovation for startups and small businesses. The bad: this results in companies taking advantage with spamming and overuse (and for Twitter--not much opportunity for control and eventual making money).The new changes, among other things, would require developers to:
-Request Twitter certification for applications
-Adhere to display guidelines so Twitter experience remains constant
-Work with Twitter directly if their application involves more than 1 million users
While these changes will probably not result in a massive difference to consumers, it does mark a milestone in the life of Twitter that the world of social media is all too familiar with. The growth of social networks is a circular one--capitalizing on a great idea with an open community, turning at exclusive privatization and ending in eventual collapse due to mistrust from neglect of personal information.
However, this is in no way shape or form the end for Twitter. Nor does it make what they are doing inherently wrong. They are a business (that currently makes null compared to their Facebook cousin) and for a business like Twitter to grow to keep up with their users, they need to make money. And when you have over 500 million and growing, you need more than your personal savings. The fact that it has taken this long to begin this type of restriction is admirable enough, but that doesn't mean I won't be on the lookout for the next step in the process.
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