Twitter Addresses Developer Agreement, Bans Third-Party Clients

We’ve all seen it, especially in social media circles: the endearing #280characters tweet, the upside-down tweets, what have you. Twitter’s latest addition banning third-party clients from using their service may change the way we see our beloved internet home forever.

The New Rule

The rule states that “Third-party clients must not scrape, replicate, or display Tweets or Tweet content without authorization or otherwise derive a Competitive Advantages from Twitter Content.” Basically, this means that you won’t be able to access Twitter through any other app than through Twitter’s official app.

The Pros and Cons

Pros

• More control over Twitter content
• More control over the user experience
• Increased safety for Twitter users

Cons

• Potential for an increased amount of spam
• User experience may suffer
• A decrease in overall fun and creativity

The Verdict?

The jury is still out on this one – it’s hard to tell what the real effects of the rule will be until it’s implemented. Still, it’s a brave new world out there and at least we can all agree that Twitter is trying – and that’s really all we can ask of them.

In the end, Twitter could end up being a better place than it ever was before. Or, it could end up in the red. Only time will tell – let’s hope it’s the former!