Twitter’s Battle for Control of its API

Update: Twitter has restored UberTwitter’s API access after a strange weekend. Twitter said UberTwitter’s owner, UberMedia, had agreed to remedy” some violations. Makes you think maybe the two sides should have talked before Twitter slammed shut the API door.

There are lots of puzzling things about Twitter. For example, why it has taken it so long for it to embrace a business model, and why it rebuffed the idea of contextual advertising even though it is the way that online services make money.

One of the other strange aspects about Twitter was its laissez-faire approach towards its API. Like many companies, Twitter created an API that other companies were allowed to use to build services that supported the main platform. This policy has created a wonderfully diverse and rich ecosystem with thousands of services. This has helped Twitter become a global phenomena that providers with a buffet of options and features.

The problem for Twitter is it has become of a victim of its own success. The ability of developers to embrace the API to build not only features but businesses has massively overshadowed Twitter’s own efforts. While Twitter was busy raising venture capital and pouring millions of dollars into its infrastructure, the army of developers has been aggressively working away to do things that, in hindsight, Twitter should have been doing themselves.

The other problem for Twitter is it failed to manage the API. It allowed the horse to escape the barn. While, it charged some companies to access the API, there didn’t appear to be a program in place that would balance the need to let developers use the API with Twitter’s need to control it and, as important, make money.

What this is means it you’ve got companies such as TweetDeck, HootSuite and UberMedia that have built services with millions of users, and they are now starting to hammer down on generating revenue.

All of a sudden, Twitter has recognized that while it has to stay home on a Saturday night and clean up, everyone else is out having a good time. Judging by a flurry of “policy violations” that have caused some Twitter-related services to be shut down, Twitter now seems to be saying that enough is enough.

The big question is whether it’s too late for Twitter to take control of the API. Has it waited too long to take action, or can Twitter’s new, tough stand take hold? The tricky part for Twitter is balancing the need to keep the health of its API ecosystem while driving revenue from developers who are building viable businesses.

This may mean Twitter has get tough to take control. The suspension of services such as UberTwitter for “policy violations” could be a necessary evil if Twitter wants to make it clear the rules of engagement for its API are being reestablished. This could cause a lot of pain and bad publicity but, in many respects, Twitter has no choice.

It has come to the point where Twitter has to do something bold and necessary, or do nothing at all. It either needs to take control of the API and create a revenue stream, or stopping fooling around with “policy violations”.

Personally, the only logical option is leveraging the API has the business model, along with contextual advertising. The API is the gasoline that’s fuelling an amazing ecosystem. Twitter needs to support and monetize it so it creates a win-win scenario for everyone.

For more on Twitter’s API struggles, check out this interesting Q&A on Quora about why Twitter suspended UberTwitter. It features an answer from UberMedia CEO Bill Gross.