Facebook going legit on Wall Street means other networks must start to prepare to follow. Twitter has been cutting back developers and added Instagram and Tumblr to its list of cutoffs. The adolescent days of free wheeling Social Media is over and everyone has to grow up and start making money. Twitter is working to become a silo of its information and slowly walling off its garden to increase control of its value.
Its going to be interesting to see what happens to Twitter. Most people are opening up as they wall off. I dont really think of Twitter as a social media network, more of a news broadcast and listening sophisticated text messenger. Its more people talking AT each other than TO each other. Its people following their interests. Anyone who wants to have a real conversation with me beyond 140 Characters I refer them to meet me on another network.
But this is the game of business and Twitter at 6 years old has to play it. The test will be as it alienates all the people who promoted it through developers and strategic networks, can it remain popular? Will users abandon Twitter because Twitter wont allow other networks access to their users? I can hear people saying “But those are MY friends on Twitter!” News flash: They arent your friends because they are owned by Twitter. Thats exactly what Twitter is saying “Hey these are your friends ONLY IF you play with them in the Twitter sandbox, but you cant invite them over to anywhere else to play with you. Now screw off and like it.”
Its not hard to notice over the last year or more app developers have used only Facebook logins as a way to create account access to their apps. What I’ve also noticed is fewer of them are using Twitter login access. This has given more power to Facebook and its open graph. Is Twitters behavior quietly getting it pushed to the side? How long until users follow suit as their friends are cut off from everywhere but the Twitter playground? Will Twitter eventually make networks pay to have access to their users? What if EVERY network starts doing this? Kinda kills the whole idea of collective social media huh? One way or another what the future plays out will be interesting in the annuls of social media and business lessons.
What do you think?
Chris, if I have to pay for Twitter, I’ll find another sandbox to play in.
As a developer who adds these widgets to web applications, the changes in APIs and authorizations is maddening (but generates billable hours 🙂 ‡¡‡
I agree with you that Twitter is :more of a news broadcast and listening sophisticated text messenger”. I don’t think It’s quite “more people talking AT each other than TO each other”, except that I do think that Twitter has moved beyond its original characterization of “I’m getting myself a piece of toast – what are you up to”?. Its become a way of making short announcement to people to engage their further relationship with you. The ability to embed URL’s has greatly facilitated this change, allowing users to draw other people’s attention to a credible source for further reading. Certainly if people want to continue the conversation they are best taking it elsewhere. My sentiments are with Lynda: “If I have to pay for Twitter, I’ll find another sandbox to play in”. If Twitter were smart, they would realize the benefit of bringing more people (friends, friends of friends, followers, participants interested in the thread) into the Twitter sandbox. Taking an exclusionary approach will leave a trail of sandy feet into the territory of another network provider who will reap the benefit, and Twitter will be the poorer for it.
Competition will cause Twitter to reconsider. Can you say Whout! Whout!