DON’T PANIC
- August 17th, 2012
- 52 Comments
There’s been a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt generated by Twitter’s latest announcement. I wanted to let everyone know that the world isn’t ending, Tweetbot for Mac is coming out soon, Tweetbot for iOS isn’t going anywhere. So sit down, grab a towel and let’s go over some of these API changes.
Mostly Harmless
The changes to the v1.1 API requiring authentication won’t affect Tweetbot, all current API calls are already made using authentication. The new rate limits that are part of the v1.1 API will likely end up being a good thing, instead of having a fixed block calls that can be made across the entire API the limits will be based on specific actions. We actually expect this to minimize the chances of being stuck in “Twitter Jail”. As an example, if you refresh your timeline over 60 times in an hour, you’ll still be able to post or DM. In general assuming the numbers listed on Twitter’s side remain consistent this should make for an overall better user experience.
User Caps
I can’t say that I’m thrilled with the idea of caps on the number of users, I feel that part of what makes the Twitter ecosystem interesting is the wide ranging apps available to it. I think we and others fill an important niche in that system not served by the current Twitter apps and would’ve much preferred to see some some other approach. Regardless the decision has been made, so let’s look at what this actually means to Tweetbot.
* Our user cap for Tweetbot for iOS is pretty huge (which is 2* our current users, not 100k)
* At the current rate our user base is growing we won’t hit that cap for a few years
* Our user cap for Tweetbot for Mac is also large and we don’t expect any problems given the smaller market
* Even if we were to run out of room all our current users will be fine
* User tokens are shared, so if you have a single account on both Tweetbot for iPad and Tweetbot for iPhone that’s only a single token
So again Tweetbot isn’t going anywhere, if you are worried about us running out of space well the solution is quite simple buy or gift Tweetbot for iPhone and Tweetbot for iPad now. So go out, share and enjoy!
New Display Requirements
We’ll be working with Twitter over the next 6 months to make sure we comply with these new requirements as much as possible. I don’t expect the changes to be huge, but we’ll keep everyone up to date as we know more.
Future
The beta of Tweetbot for Mac will be coming soon, shortly followed by the final release in the Mac App Store. All three versions of Tweetbot are based on the same low level code base, so once that’s out we expect to continue to add new and exciting features to all 3 apps.
Please please please create a Tweetbot application for Windows systems. Don’t punish me and force me to keep using Tweetdeck! :)
Seconding the previous comment!
From what I know of the guys behind Tapbots, the odds that you’ll buy a Mac are much higher than the odds of them developing Tweetbot for Windows. :)
In short, it’ll never come to Windows.
^ hahahahaha no.
Hmm. That wasn’t supposed to go to Clifton.
Thanks for the heads-up – I’m feeling better already.
And keep up your excellent work. I can’t wait to buy the mac client.
You guys should try Metro Twit, a very nice Windows Twitter Client. way better then tweetdeck.
http://www.metrotwit.com
How about supporting status.net services? You can ease the transition of people weaning themselves off of Twitter. Just a thought.
Thanks for the update. I was waiting with baited breath for a response from Tapbots and it’s here. I feel confident in the future of Tweetbot and to a lesser extent the Twitter universe.
On a side note. I respect Tapbots for having a vision and being able to execute very well on this vision.
For those that will astro turf a bit here (i.e “please add twitlonger, windows, Android etc and I’ll switch”). In my experience that approach does not work that well with Tapbots. If they decide that a platform is right for them it will be their decision and they’ve shown a knack for knowing where they leverage their expertise.
I can beg for some other platform support all I want but in the end Tapbots has to do what pushes their company forward.
Cheers
Probably depends if it was possible to reuse the same low level code on Windows. I suppose that’s not possible and a complete new Tweetbot for Windows won’t happen.
You mentioned that user tokens are shared between iPhone and iPad, but what about Mac? Or does that have a separate user cap than the iOS version?
Thank you guys for continuing to be the best client around, despite Twitter trying to make it difficult.
Twitter’s new rules prohibit any other social actions from being tied to tweets. Won’t that require you to remove Send to Instapaper, Email Tweet, and Favstar functionality from the timeline?
Are you concerned that Twitter’s next round of API changes will require you to display the Timeline exactly like the official apps (so that they can force ads into the timeline), which would require you to remove the mute and filter features?
Even though you won’t hit your user cap for several more years, aren’t you concerned about your current business model? Once you sell X number of licenses, and can’t sell additional copies w/o Twitter’s explicit permission, will you have to find another way to generate revenue from Tweetbot (subscriptions, etc.)?
I have no doubt that Tweetbot will continue to exist under Twitter’s new rules, but I think that calling the changes “mostly harmless” is glossing over the details a bit.
In the future, you should use Kickstarter to launch Tweetbot for Windows(Desktop and mobile devices). They deserve to live the best twitter client experience that exists today.
It’s been bandied around and I’ve no idea how true it is but I was wondering if you knew anything about the possibility of having to remove ‘read later’ services and faavstar.fm support from within the app.
I use both Instapaper and favstar pretty heavily, would be a pity to lose them.
I’m not a developer, nor do I play one on TV (just old-timey radio theatre), but this could be exciting:
1. Preemptively add App.net support to TweetBot.
2. Include a snappy little “Reserve your Twitter handle on App.net” feature. (They already offer this functionality.)
3. Approach App.net about a limited-time membership discount for TweetBot users IF Twitter ever cuts you off.
4. If they do cut you off, update or activate a TweetBot function telling users “Twitter shut us down to comply with their new API restrictions. For a limited time, you can reserve and activate your Twitter username on App.net for a discount.”
Optionally: Just go ahead and do this near-term, anyway. Straddle both services and offer the discount now.
Mutual advantage: TweetBot holds on to a chunk of its user base, and a wave of new buyers looking to grab the discount. App.net gets a big infusion of new users, increased visibility, and a sexy, robust and respected new client app.
I don’t think money is the issue in that matter, afaik Tapbots simply do not like the Windows (Development) Environment at all and do not WANT to develop for Windows ;)
All I have to say is that if Twitter forces unsubstantial changes on Tweetbot I will leave Twitter. I’m glad you guys aren’t concerned and don’t think that we need to be either but still… Twitter seems to have been turning up the suck lately and the Tweetbot apps are why I keep coming back.
@Remiel: The Twitter API guidelines specifically state you cannot insert App.net or any other network support in that way.
@chilblane It’s only prohibited if updates from other services are interleaved with tweets. Since Tweetbot doesn’t combine the timelines of multiple accounts, App.net integration is perfectly fine :)
Excellent job staying centered and focused through all this. Not many apps get called out the way TapBot did as a warning and survive. Way to put the User Cap into perspective. 1-2 years who knows right… ;)
@Remiel App.net only offered the Twitter handle reservation for the fundraising period… and judging from the discussion on the service, they’re probably not about to reinstate it.
Also, I’m also interested in how the new guidelines will affect Read Later and Favstar integration. I would hate to see that functionality leave the apps… but obviously if Twitter is set on enforcing those rules in that way, we understand, there’s nothing you can do :(
All in all, this is not good news I think, even if it’s not a reason to panic :\
If Tapbots does a Windows client, I’ll quit using their products out of principle.
@Remiel: This would definitely be one way to sit on the fence… but I’d be concerned that adding anything to do with appdotnet wouldn’t sit very well with Twitter. Especially an integrated timeline, or similar: “Tweets that are grouped together into a timeline should not be rendered with non-Twitter content. e.g. comments, updates from other networks.”
Even without Tweetbot contravening the above, I think it’s obvious that the direction Twitter is taking this would inspire them to add more Rules which would essentially preclude any app from directing users to a “competing” service. Not that appdotnet is (or should be) a competitor per se, but a popular app like Tweetbot wouldn’t stay under the radar very long.
evntually won’t we still be forced to see twitter ads and promoted tweets in our tweetbot timeline? that’s a deal breaker for me.
Can’t wait for the official Mac release; the alpha kicks so much booty.
How about support for IHave50Dollars in case people start leaving Twitter, ya know? http://ihave50dollars.com
Well, I certainly hope they design an equivalent app for App.net! So even if Twitter gets to the point of forcing them to stop development of Tweetbot, we’ll have Tweetbot on a system that cares about users more than advertisers.
World not ending, but dude, we bought all these canned goods!
Thank you god(s of TweetBot)!
I would stop using Twitter if I was forced to use their official client.
Thanks for the heads-up!
But what about the “no other social or 3rd party actions may be attached to a Tweet”-rule? Won’t that prohibit features like ‘Send to Instapaper’? That would definitely be a deal-breaker.
Screw Twitter. I’m fed up with their attitude.
I read this in their announcement, “Nearly eighteen months ago, we gave developers guidance that they should not build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience.” And to reiterate what I wrote in my last post, that guidance continues to apply today.”
IE, “Screw off if you are working for your users not our marketing department.”
And to reiterate my opinion, “The people at Twitter are screwing us all.”
I WISH THERE’S TWEETBOT FOR ANDROID!!! T__T
Keep up the AMAZING work guys. Can’t wait to purchase v1.0 for my MacBook
Of course tweetbot doesn’t have to panic. They get 2x their current use base and twitter had removed all motivation for developers to write a new competitive app.
Of course tweetbot doesn’t have to panic. They get 2x their current use base and twitter had removed all motivation for developers to write a new competitive app.
“Don’t panic” ?
I’m waiting for the first iOS app.net client to move from twitter.
I don’t panic, I thinking and planning, not waiting for the point I’ll have to panic.
Can we get app.net integrated into tweetbot? I’d love to run both my twitter and app.net accounts through your fine applications! I think your interests and users’ interests will be served well by making it easy to transition seemlessly between twitter and its most viable alternative to date!
I’d kill for an app as good as Tweetbot for identi.ca or app.net.
At the rate twitter’s going they’ll be Digg 4.0 in a couple years. Best to have your life boat ready.
Hope you have a viable long term strategy for twitter is only going to continue tightening the screws. Their long term strategy is to monetize via ads, which means their focus is on the needs of their customers, and that’s not you. As others have said; diversifying the services you support looks to be the only way to go.
i’ve seen a couple comments mention this already, but i would love to see you create a client for app.net!
+1
Twitter has jumped the shark.
Thanks for the calm analysis chaps. Keep up the great work.
App.net will pay third party clients like tweetbot 2$ by user by year, more profitable
On long term for developer ecosystem !
Invest with users for users.
Will App.net pay every third-party client like Tweetbot $2/user/year? That could potentially exceed a user’s subscription total…
Here is the proposal from app.net
http://daltoncaldwell.com/3rd-party-rev-share
If a user use only tweetbot on one year, 2$ for tapbot
If I use it 50% with another client, 1$ for each client…
Ugh, can people please shut up about app.net? Twitter’s not going anywhere, and the changes aren’t going to hurt anyone except for people who abuse the APIs.
Been using it for 24 hours straight now and its fantastic. Minor gremlins with the tweet button greying out occasionally. Agree with lots of the discussion above.
My biggest preference is for the mute function. I use tweetbot on my iphone all the time and mute a lot. Is it proposed to include in the Mac version as it determines my preference?
Even though Twitter has introduced some changes, I don’t think people have to panic like this.
If I paid for the iPhone app, then I paid for the iPad app, then I gave useful feedback for Mac version, why would I pay again just like everybody else?
Might just be me, but I’m no longer able to download the mac alpha. Clicking the download button doesn’t do anything. Tried in both Safari and Chrome. Help!
I agree link no longer working for install
please make it for android i hate tweetdeck
Should we panic now? Twitter has made it clear that they aren’t willing to work with developers like tapbots. Hope you guys have a backup plan because Twitter seems intent on putting the developers that made Twitter great, out of business.