Dear Twitter peeps, I sent you an email 13 days ago to ask for a source parameter/token for the mobile Twitter app that I'm developing for the iPhone. Since that time I've had no response whatsoever to my email (which I'm including at the end of this one). Not even a auto-response to say, "hey, we got your email – we'll get back to you" or even, "no way, Jose!"
I really don't understand Twitter's current strategy toward mobile and desktop apps. Are you guys actually _trying_ to say to developers: "don't build new mobile/desktop apps because you won't be able to compete with existing ones?" What I mean by that is this: Existing desktop and mobile apps do _not_ have to use oAuth _and_ get to keep their source parameter. The source parameter is probably the best means of organic marketing a Twitter app could have. OTOH, since these apps aren't using oAuth they don't have to worry about giving their apps a UX handicap (try setting up multiple Twitter accounts in a mobile/desktop app with oAuth, or using picture upload services and delegating your token... there are problems that haven't been solved yet.) Even though oAuth is not ready for mobile/desktop, Twitter is penalizing mobile/desktop applications that don't use it for UX reasons by not letting them take advantage of the organic marketing provided by the source parameter. I find this hugely unfair. As I stated in my original email, I will not sacrifice the UX of the app I literally slaved over every pixel on due to this misguided policy. I would _really_ love it if someone from Twitter could look into this. The message you are currently giving to mobile/desktop app developers is that they shouldn't bother creating new Twitter apps because they will either have a UX or marketing disadvantage when compared to existing apps. Something tells me that's not the message you are trying to send out. I'm finishing off my app today and I'm hoping to submit it to the App Store tomorrow. It would _really_ make my day if someone could get back to me on this (hopefully with a token that I can use to set the source parameter). It _is_ a really nifty little app and I really feel you guys are going to love it. It is an app, furthermore, that could really benefit from having the source parameter set. I apologize if any of ranting comes off as too strong: it's just that I'm _really_ anal when it comes to the UX of the apps that I build. :) All the best, Aral PS. Really excited about Chirp + hope to see some of you there! :) * * * Original email, sent 13 days ago, follows: Hi guys, I've got a new iPhone app – one that I think you guys will find quite original and fun – that I need to register the source parameter for. However, my app doesn't use oAuth. As I stated earlier, it's a _mobile_ app. And currently oAuth on mobile is a user experience nightmare and I've been slaving over the UX of this app to the point where I will not diminish it by implementing oAuth. I don't think it does my app or Twitter any favors to do so. Mobile and desktop apps are not the same as web apps. They run in a trusted context (the user's mobile phone or PC) and the decision to trust the app or not is made when the app is installed. If the app is malicious, the user has far worse issues to worry about than what it's going to do with their Twitter username and password (e.g., a desktop app could format their hard-drive, etc.) I really feel that punishing mobile and desktop app developers like this for not implementing a system that works like a charm on the web but isn't suited to mobile/desktop is unjust. I'm very excited about this new app and I really hope that I can register the source parameter for it even though I have made a UX decision to not use oAuth for it. I'm sure you'll agree when you see it that it is an app that will cause quite a bit of interest and the source parameter will not only benefit me but users who want to find the app that the tweets were authored in. Thank you for your time and I hope I'll hear from you soon. All the best, Aral -- Aral Balkan http://aralbalkan.com http://twitterformats.org http://osflash.org http://avitapp.com
