Twitter Dangles Apple in Olive Branch to Developers

[Waqas 48]

“With Apple’s upcoming deep integration of Twitter into iOS 5, there is an opportunity for us, together, to take the ecosystem to a new level,” wrote Twitter’s executive chairman Jack Dorsey in a note to developers Thursday.

Dorsey’s note, the digital equivalent of extending an olive branch, reassures developers that they are a big part of the company’s genetic makeup — in spite of Twitter’s highly publicized attempts to fill its own holes. They too can benefit from Apple’s blessing, Dorsey asserts.

The almost-mea culpa contends that Twitter is listening and anxious to provide developers with the APIs and policy changes they need to build their own businesses.

And to prove his sincerity, Dorsey started a “Listening to your feedback” thread on Twitter’s developer forum. The personal touch appears to be working. The general tenor of the thread is upbeat, with some previous critics claiming to be won over.

“Twitter’s communications to developers has been improving in the last couple months,” developer Steve Streza posits on the thread. “As someone who shut down a Twitter client in development due to poor communication and fast moves by Twitter to take over the client experience, I welcome this move towards more advance knowledge of plans.”

Others are taking the opportunity to request full access to Twitter’s firehouse, a valuable commodity that the company currently charges for and one it has long restricted.

Still, despite the promise of shared access on the stairway to Apple’s heaven, not every developer is ready to forgive and forget. “Investing in the Twitter platform is difficult now that Twitter directly competes against their developers by building its own clients and services,” writes Isaiah. “Your previous actions have created a nervous environment full of risk,” he adds.

But, as Dorsey says, “Very soon, anywhere there’s an iPhone or an iPad, you’ll always find Twitter.”

It’s perhaps an opportunity that’s yet again too inviting for Twitter developers to pass up.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Orin Zebest

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