It looks like Twitter has finally made up its mind regarding third party tweet ad services (like Be-A-Magpie, BeTweeted and the infamous Sponsored Tweets via IZEA) and the verdict is “no ads for you!”

Then I head over to Sponsored Tweets and check out what they’ve got to say: Changes Coming to Sponsored Tweets

We are going to make some changes to the way Sponsored Tweets works. We will no longer be publishing directly to your account through the Twitter API. Instead you will have to write the tweet yourself in whatever Twitter client you see fit.

Yes, it will be a more manual process. Yes, we liked the old way better too. But we want to comply with Twitters guidelines and be a good ecosystem partner. We have always made adjustments to our system to remain in compliance. Twitter has allotted 30 days to make this change, we will try to get it out as soon as we can. Until then it is business as usual.

Seems some people are thrilled, and some are absolutely irate. Basically, Twitter seems to not be telling us what we can and can’t post, but rather HOW we post it.

… we will not allow any third party to inject paid tweets into a timeline on any service that leverages the Twitter API. We are updating our Terms of Service to articulate clearly what we mean by this statement, and we encourage you to read the updated API Terms of Service to be released shortly. (Twitter Blog)

So it’s not that you can’t, it’s just that by doing things this way, it makes it more annoying for you and they’re hoping you give up entirely.

They claim it’s for the “long term health of the Twitter ecosystem”. Some feel that it’s simply because they don’t want anyone making money until they do.

What are your thoughts?

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Twitter Puts The Kibosh On Automatic Ads

Just over a year ago, I wrote Twipocalypse Now: Warnings of a Twitter Bubble and Twitter Fatigue: Rumors of Twitter’s Demise May Not Be Greatly Exaggerated for Twitip. In those posts, I suggested that Twitter and their third-party developers faced significant threats that would need to be addressed in order for Twitter and its ecosystem to not just survive, but to continue to flourish.

I had originally planned on revisiting those topics 6 months later to see how accurate my predictions were. However, Twitter’s rapid growth and evolution suggested something dramatic was on the horizon, so I decided to wait and see what would happen.

Well, something did happen. But it wasn’t exactly the Twitter 2.0 I was expecting. Indeed, while Twitter finally revealed a business model, they also demonstrated a change of business tactics that may ultimately prove to be self-destructive.

Twitter 2.0, Suicide or Bust

In my previous posts, I said that Twitter was evolving so fast that it might become unrecognizable. This Twitter 2.0 would boast massive changes to features, functionality and layout. The Twitter 2.0 era finally began when Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures who invested in Twitter and sits on its board, posted The Twitter Platform’s Inflection Point, a controversial analysis suggesting, among other things, that Twitter might ultimately compete with its own third-party developers.

Within days Twitter announced that it has acquired Tweetie, one of the most popular Twitter iPhone apps, and will rename it Twitter for iPhone (it’ll also be free). Then, Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams announced that Twitter had also made a Twitter app for the Blackberry. In the days since, Twitter has announced their own app for Android phones and its own URL shortener.

And if that wasn’t enough, Twitter also announced that they would finally launch an ad platform (the aforementioned business model) effectively dropping napalm on Tweetup, the new third-party twitter-based ad platform that idealab announced the previous day.

The Redux Reflux

Clearly Twitter needs to evolve, but it should do so by embracing its developer community, not alienating it or taking it for granted which is what it appears to be doing. By building its own URL shortener and a rumored photo sharing service like twitpic, Twitter is sending the message that if it likes an app or service and for whatever reason can’t or won’t buy it, that it’ll just steal the idea and build its own.

Furthermore, buying Tweetie and releasing apps for the other major mobile platforms has effectively shut out all mobile app developers. Unless those developers come up with something truly unique, the game’s over. To say that this past week must have made all third-party app developers nauseous is an understatement.

While people like angel investor Chris Sacca urged developers to ‘stay the course’, one has to wonder what possible incentive they would have to do so. Twitter has effectively turned its back on the very people who helped propel the service into the stratosphere with the creation of hundreds of services and apps that extended Twitter’s utility and filled gaping holes in its functionality.

Surprise, Surprise!

None of this should come as any surprise if you read Twipocalypse Now where I suggested that Twitter could compete with their developers. I just didn’t really think they would.

I also warned about third party services with questionable or no business models being dependent upon a single service which itself has no business model. Certainly being a third-party developer for any service is risky business, but unlike TweetDeck or Seesmic (listen to my interview with Seesmic founder Loic Le Meur where we discussed Twitter dependency) who have broadened their services beyond Twitter, almost all of the other Twitter apps and services are exclusively tied to Twitter.

Oops!

So, What?

So, it appears that Twitter may be intentionally using its community of third-party developers as a free R&D office by letting them assume all of the risk of enhancing the service. Surely, this isn’t a new accusation and there are certainly developers who will happily assume that risk, but what was once pure conjecture appears to be turning into fact, and appearances do matter.

The implications of all this cannot be understated. Twitter remains hugely dependant on those third-party developers, perhaps much more than it is aware. If Twitter continues to alienate them and continues to create an atmosphere where developers have little if any incentive to participate, it will stifle a vital source of innovation. Without an incentive, third-party apps and services will ultimately be abandoned by their creators with as many as 99% ultimately dying.

As a result, much of what makes Twitter so popular will cease to exist and a large number of Twitter’s users may just leave. In short, Twitter needs that innovation engine, and in technology, innovation is life.

“I’ve Created a Monster!”

Finally, if all that wasn’t enough, Twitter may have also unintentionally created new competitor as many angry twitter app-makers are now planning how to replace Twitter. While only in the early stages, these developers are experienced innovators and experts in various aspects of Twitter’s platform. I wouldn’t discount them, especially since anger has always been a powerful motivator. It will be fascinating to see what sort of Phoenix will arise from the ashes of all those Twitter apps.

When all is said and done, it would be a shame if the service we’ve come to love so much dies by its own hand. Of course, it’s not like we haven’t seen that before either.

Further Reading:

Twipocalypse Now: Warnings of a Twitter Bubble
Twitter Fatigue: Rumors of Twitter’s Demise May Not Be Greatly Exaggerated
Who just got screwed by Twitter

Neal Wiser is President of Neal Wiser Consulting and Co-Founder of Addicted to Social Media. With over 15 years experience in the Internet, Interactive Marketing and entertainment industries, Neal is strongly focused on helping businesses maximize their connections, relationships and results with their customers and clients. Neal has worked for Comcast, GlaxoSmithKline, Qwest Communications, Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers and his clients have included the United States Postal Service, Hyundai, DreamWorks Studios, Major League Baseball, over 20 major pharmaceutical brands and NASA. If you would like to contact Neal, he can be reached via Twitter @NealWiser. You can read more Twitip posts by Neal here.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Twitter Commits Suicide (or Twipocalypse Now: Redux)

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



The History of Twitter’s Valuation [Infographic]

Developers and beginners can use the Apigee console to learn, experiment, test, or explore the Twitter API.

As you can see, each API method is listed down the left hand side. You can use these methods to explore different aspects and functions of the Twitter API. Choose the method you want to use, customize any parameter values, such as screen_name and ID, and hit the Test button. The Apigee console will then issue an API call and you’ll then see a cleanly-formatted response as well as the original request and response headers for the call. What does this mean for the developer? Well, it gives them unprecedented ease of use.

For API methods that require authentication, you can use HTTP basic authentication (a straight username and password). Better still, you can even sign in to Twitter and use that same authentication to sign API calls using OAuth (the system under “sign in with Twitter”). This is incredibly helpful for developers using the Twitter API because no other free tools support OAuth for Twitter methods.

But, possibly the best feature of all is the Snapshot. With Snapshot, any request and response you make with the API Console can be cached and shared with anyone else without your credentials. This is really helpful because it means that when you are trying to get help from someone else for a particular API response, you can just share your Snapshot of the call with them. Fabulous!

Start playing (for free) with the Apigee Console for Twitter!

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Use Apigee to Learn About the Twitter API

Days into launch, the official application for Blackberry called (what a shock!) “Twitter for BlackBerry”, is showing a steady growth in user base according to Twitter client usage measurement site Clientopedia.com scoring some solid 2% of total tweets in less than a week. Which means that Twitter crowd is adopting the new app quite good and it has a potential to squeeze some loyal user out of Ubertwitter – the current leader app for Blackberry platform and, in fact, in total usage among non-official Twitter clients.

Only around 45% of tweets are sent from the twitter.com web interface or via text messages and this number has been declining in the past months as the new 3rd party client software took on on weaknesses and faults of the official interface allowing users to use Twitter in a more custom and more efficient way. Now when the release of the Twitter Ad Platform is imminent, rumor has it that Twitter is out on a mission to get this rebel audience back to it’s own official apps to monetize on it.

For us regular Twitter users this could mean one thing: Twitter is killing the competition in the client apps market and when the competition is dead we will not get any new exciting features in Twitter clients as often as we do now.

On the other hand this whole thing could mean that Twitter is finally turning to it’s users and filling it’s own holes as Twitter’s Fred Wilson recently wrote. And soon we will see a whole range of new feature-rich Twitter applications for all major platforms both mobile and desktop.

One way or another, we’ll see the outcome very soon as the events have been developing quite fast since Wilson’s post. And I hope Twitter audience will benefit from this as in the end of the day, they – us, are why Twitter was invented in the first place.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Twitter Takes Control Over Client Apps – Good or Bad?

Since that time there’s been no word from Twitter. I’ve seen a few accounts ‘verified’ since that time but they are largely fairly sizeable businesses or celebrities. Fair enough I guess – the amount of people applying to be verified must have been pretty large and to verify someone must be a pretty manual process – I put it down to Twitter biting off a bit more than they could chew….

Today I got an email from Twitter with a subject line of – ‘Account verification status update‘. Yay – an update!

I opened the email to see this:

OK – so I’m not verified and there are problems with my request. But what I find odd is that there is no way for me to address the issues. The email says that if I’m a business I can go to a ‘Business Center Page’ for more information – but I have no idea what such a page is or where to find it. I do run a business and my Twitter account is used in conjunction with that business – but I’ve never registered as a business and have never been told about any such ‘Business Center’.

Of course I Googled for more information – only to find others have had the same message in the last few hours.

Not sure what is going on but it leaves me feeling a little confused and disillusioned. In the scheme of things it doesn’t matter too much whether I’m verified or not – however to refer people to some mystical business center when no-one seems to be aware of what it is doesn’t really help anyone.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Twitter Rejects Verification Request with Cryptic Message

Twitter has made it’s way on to Google’s SERPs as “real time search”.

Even celebrities are using Twitter and tweeting away.

Recent Discovery
I just got this update when trying to login to my Gmail account:

Without looking at it more, these were my first questions:

5 Initial Questions About Google Buzz

1. Is this Google’s attempt to take over Twitter?
2. How messy will this make my email account?
3. I’m sure I can opt out of this, right?
4. At what point do I need to worry about my identity with Google?
5. What FREE tool will Google “acquire” next?

What do you know about Google Buzz? Is it a Twitter replacement?

Are you excited about it, mad about it, or could care less?

Here’s a bit more information I found as I looked further:

Can you say Twitter Wanna-Be?

Welcome to Buzz
Buzz is a new way to share updates, photos, videos and more, and start conversations about the things you find interesting. You’re already set up to follow the people you email and chat with the most.

Did I Say “Trying to Be Twitter?”

Your Google Reader shared items, Picasa Web public albums, and Google Chat status messages will automatically appear as posts in Buzz. To edit your connected sites or change privacy settings, view connected sites.

When I clicked on “view connected sites” I got this (and look, they included Twitter):

Maybe I’m just protective of Twitter.

Maybe I’m asking for trouble by even questioning Google’s authority in the online world.

Maybe Google Buzz will prove to be an answer to everything I’ve been looking for.

Maybe not.

Interested to hear what you have to say…

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Does Google Buzz Plan to Overtake Twitter?

So this post is to outline the newest way we’re accepting articles from you. A few things have changed, and there have been a few submissions that don’t quite seem to be working properly, so I wanted to put this out there to help out some.

First and foremost, if you’d like to submit an article for TwiTip (and see your face “up in lights” on our sidebar and on the post itself) then you need to submit it here: Add A Tip.

We’ve got a whole new format now that I think is pretty rockin’. Before, you’d email me your “pitch” and then I’d send you the guidelines, and then you’d write it and submit back. Then I’d have to put the post into the back end, format it (because typically posts would be sent written in Microsoft Word, and that puts really icky code into WordPress), and then post it.

Now, you simply go to the form, fill out the fields, and submit! I get notification, and if the post is approved, I do a little font formatting and all is well!

The coolest part, is that if you know basic HTML, you can submit your post in HTML. Or you can write it in your own blog editor, and copy the HTML version and paste that in there. That saves even more time, because then all the formatting is done, and I can just read and publish.

The whole point of setting up this form this way was so that we could get more content in from you guys, and get it published more quickly than before. So far, it’s been a great tool to have here on the site, and you can consider this the official “Open for Business” invite to submit all your great Twitter related posts!

Just keep in mind a few basic things:

1. It cannot be a post you’ve already published elsewhere. We want original content that’s only ever going to appear here. You also shouldn’t plan on, or allow others to publish it on any other site after the fact. Also, don’t submit links to your site, or to your already published post, please.
2. If you have images you want to include, send them to Lara [at] TwiTip [dot] com with the title of your post so I know which one to include it with. The form we’ve got is fantastic, but it doesn’t have image upload capability at the moment.
3. Please make them decent posts. I’ve had a few come through that are basically a paragraph or two that talks about some random Twitter tool no one’s ever heard of (or would care to), or are very basic “6 Reasons To Use Twitter” type things… we’ve got enough of those! Be original and creative. Check through the site to see if we’ve written about, or posted the same type of article before. (If I get another post about HootSuite, I think I’ll scream! )

So there you have it. We’d love some fresh, new tips and posts from you, our dear readers! Oh, and if you have a Twitter related question, feel free to put that in the form as well, and we’ll post it up so other readers can have a chance to help you out!

Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with!

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



TwiTip Call For More Content!

I’ll cut to the chase. Twitter isn’t a fad. It’s not going away. Let me tell you why:

They Have Industry Recognition

Industry giants can be intimidating for any new business, especially on the web. Since Twitter’s inception, we’ve seen multiple companies make offers to acquire the young service, and we’ve seen multiple companies get turned down. A lot of people were thinking, “Hey, why didn’t they take the money and run?” I know I was. But, it seems the folks at Twitter had bigger and better things on their mind.

Besides fighting off the temptation to give into lucrative acquisition offers, Twitter has had to face the looming threat that all startups face: what happens when Google decides to do what you’re doing? Yikes. This question has gotten even scarier for social startups – what happens when Facebook decides to do what you’re doing? Double yikes. But, Twitter has stood the test of time and managed to fight off the major industry players. Facebook users can update their Twitter accounts with a simple application, fan pages have a built in utility to update Twitter accounts, and Google and Bing are now showing Tweets in their search results. Win. Win. Win. Win.

There Is No Replacement

Besides fighting off internet giants like Facebook and Google, you would suspect that Twitter would also be facing heavy competition from copy cat services. After all, making a micro blogging platform isn’t that difficult, but, then again, the platform itself isn’t Twitter’s main advantage over competitors. Those trying to duplicate Twitter’s service would be faced with overcoming Twitter’s first mover advantage, their piles of funding, and their existing relationships (see paragraph above). With all of these advantages, it’s no surprise there hasn’t been much real competition from similar services. Simply put, if Twitter were Myspace, there is no Facebook.

The Mobile Web Is Here

So, maybe Twitter isn’t falling to competition any time soon. That doesn’t mean people won’t just quit using it. What’s to keep Twitter from becoming just another Second Life? The answer is mobile. There are three reasons why mobile is important to Twitter’s success:

1. Mobile is easy. Instead of using an isolated desktop application or piece of software that limits use to specific times and places, mobile presents an easier, less cumbersome way for people to use Twitter: on the go, anywhere, anytime.
2. Mobile is real. Because Twitter can be used and viewed on the go, its content is more than just tech talk floating in cyberspace. It’s real updates about things beyond the monitor: Mobile brings the value of conferences, speeches, concerts, accidents, crimes, parades, inaugurations and more to the folks who weren’t there.
3. Mobile is the direction the internet is headed. E-marketer estimates US penetration will near 100% by 2013. And, it’s not just talking and texting anymore. The mobile web is here.

Unlike Second Life, Twitter doesn’t propose an alternate reality. It proposes a simple way to better understand our current reality. Tweets ranging from “what I had for breakfast” to “Michael Jackson died” give followers world-wide a better grasp on the activities and thoughts of real people.

Twitter isn’t for everyone. Some people just aren’t interested in real-time news, objects of local interest, or the status updates of friends and family, but an increasing number of people are. With their sealed market position and a platform that makes mobile usage easy and compelling, Twitter isn’t going anywhere soon. If you’ve been waiting for the fad to fade, get ready for a long wait.

Image via xotoko on Flickr

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



3 Reasons Twitter Is Not A Fad

TwitPic is an excellent application that further boosts Twitter’s usefulness. However, so many people use TwitPic incorrectly. Tweeters use TwitPic to tweet pictures of their children at Disney World or pictures of their grandmother at her 100th Birthday Party. C’mon! Your kids are not that cute, and your grandmother??? I don’t even want to see a picture of Halle Berry when she’s 100 years old.

Using TwitPic as if it were Flickr is similar to using your iPhone as if it were an iPod. You are missing out on all of its capabilities.

Below are 10 ways to use TwitPic to improve the quality of your life and the lives of those around you.

How to Use TwitPic

Weight Loss Pictures: Use TwitPic to chronicle your weight loss. Every Wednesday is Weigh-In Wednesday. Have someone take a picture of you and Tweet It! Sharing pictures of yourself will motivate you and your followers.

Funny Pictures: Use TwitPic to spread laughter across the Twitterverse. If you see something funny, take a picture and Tweet It! Laughter decreases stress and this will lengthen the lives of your followers and help them lose weight.

Drunk Pictures: Use TwitPic to improve your vision. You are out on the town and you have been drinking heavily. You meet someone who you find extremely attractive. Before you get into a cab with the attractive stranger, take a picture of them and Tweet It! Have your followers review the picture. There is nothing wrong with waking up to Ugly Betty, as long as you were not thinking you went home with America Ferrera.

Food Pictures: Use TwitPic to get food advice. You are on a diet and you are unsure if you should eat something. Take a picture and Tweet It! One of your followers may convince you not to eat it. They may also just give you the nutritional information so you can log it properly.

Blind Date Pictures: Use TwitPic to set up better blind dates. You are considering setting up one of your friends on a blind date. Before you take the plunge, take a picture and Tweet It! Make sure you send it to your followers that know your friend. Let the Twitterverse decide if you should continue with this “hook up.”

Cheat Day Pictures: Use Twitter for memories. You are on a diet and it is time to eat your weekly Cheat Meal. Before you devour your food, take a picture and Tweet It! The picture will serve as a positive reminder for the rest of the week. If the food really looks good, send it to @FoodPorn also.

Five-Second Rule Pictures: Use TwitPic to destroy the five-second rule. Your food just fell on the floor. You are thinking about enacting the five-second rule. Stop it. You are an adult. Instead, take a picture and Tweet It! Let the Twitterverse decide if the number of hairs and dirt particles exceed the eating threshold.

Rash Pictures: Use TwitPic for medical diagnosis. You have a rash, but you don’t have health insurance. Don’t cry. Instead, take a picture of your skin disfigurement and Tweet It! There are thousands of physicians on Twitter, including myself. If we cannot diagnose your rash, at least your picture will serve as a warning to anyone considering dating you.

Sanity Pictures: Use TwitPic to prove your sanity. You just saw Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster, Notorious B.I.G., Elvis, Tupac, Santa Claus, or Pauly Shore. Take a picture and Tweet It! Now when you tell the story, your followers will not have you put in a Twitter Straight Jacket.

Neighbor Pictures: Use TwitPic to bond with your neighbors. You just saw your neighbor “making out” with someone who is not their spouse. Take a picture, but DON’T Tweet It! Instead, use the picture to extort money from them. If they refuse, Tweet It!

Hopefully, you now understand how to unleash the full power of TwitPic and you will save the pictures of you kissing your dog for Flickr.

These are the ways I use TwitPic. If you have better methods, leave them in the comments. I’ll steal them, claim them as my own, and use them in my next post.

Photo by Shermeee

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



10 Better Ways To Use TwitPic