It’s been interesting to contrast various developer’s responses to Twitter cutting off their use of the API.

  • NetNewsWire appears to have had just one connection to Twitter, the ability to subscribe to a Twitter feed the same way you’d sub to an RSS or Atom feed. They accepted the cutoff, and don’t re-up as a developer, to pay the fee, or convert to the new API.

  • On the other hand micro.blog appears to not only have maintained their connection to Twitter, which means cross-posting to it (much like Radio3) but they have also added the ability to download the user’s Twitter archive into their database. That was a surprise.

  • Between the three efforts, I have far more connections to Twitter, created over many years of being an enthusiastic supporter of the API, but like NetNewsWire, I have decided not to go further down the road with the new Twitter. I transitioned Drummer and FeedLand to email based identity, where previously they were using Twitter, and let all the other products fail when Twitter cut off the API

I’m not complaining, btw – this is what it’s like to be a developer, and be a user of developer-created products. Corporate platforms always fail, given enough time. The Twitter API had a good run. Now the deck is clear, and there’s room to make some new stuff, or just take a break and smell the roses a bit, or go for a bike ride. 🤪