Could Twitter get more problematic? You know what, don’t answer that. Twitter recently announced that starting February 9th, it’s cutting off free access to its API, which is the access point that many apps, bot accounts, and other tools use to function. Did Twitter just spell the doom for many of those reliant on accessing its API?

Nothing Is Free

With Twitter cutting free access to its API, heaps of Twitter analytics apps, management tools, schedulers, automatic updates, and a range of other key info and insight options will soon stop working. If you were Twitter, you’d think of keeping these apps running, right?

Well, guess ‘Twitter 2.0’ doesn’t want to swing that way – in an attempt to rake in as much revenue as absolutely possible, Twitter will now look to charge all tools that would need access to its API to work. Bigger business apps are already paying for full API access, so sites like Hootsuite and Sprout Social will largely be unaffected. However, the subsequent loss of free access might also prevent sites like these from being able to offer free plans, which would certainly rock their business models.

The announcement follows Twitter’s recent API change, which already cut off a lot of Twitter posting tools to seemingly stop users from accessing the platform through a third-party UI. Now, even more Twitter tools will go extinct, which have helped better shape Twitter’s real-time ecosystem. If it does so happen that these apps get completely wiped, then that’ll have some pretty significant impacts on Twitter’s overall activity.

Then again, some will see this as another element in Twitter’s crackdown on bots, which Chief Twit Elon Musk has made a personal mission to completely eradicate. Musk has taken some drastic measures to kill off bots, some of which are having an impact, but Musk himself has admitted that such efforts are reducing overall platform engagement.

This decision also opens the door to Twitter competitors, as many automated update apps will switch to other platforms. This relates to things like updates on downtime from video games, weather apps, and more. Heaps of other tools like GIF generators and autoresponders could find a new home on Mastodon, or some other Twitter alternative.

The Wrap

It just seems like a wrong move for Twitter right now, but hey, Musk and his team are doing it their own way, I guess. Perhaps this is the path to gaining new Twitter data customers and boosting the company’s income. It’s very much a kick to the groin for the developer community that has helped facilitate Twitter’s growth. Just what will Musk and this new Twitter come up with next? Paying more continued use more than 2hrs a day? Things don’t look too promising for Twitter.

Sources

http://bit.ly/3HAg3zz