Raffi, Would you mind engaging me on this part of my email:
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. I would really love to have a comment on from you guys for the blog post I'm writing: is Twitter actively discouraging the creation of new mobile and desktop apps? Personally, I am _not_ going to implement oAuth in my mobile app. This is not because I lack the skills to do so or an understanding of exactly how oAuth works and what it brings to the table. It's because I will not sacrifice the UX of my iPhone application by sending people to a barely legible, unusable, and not-optimized-for-iPhone oAuth page on Twitter.com as part of their flow (the other objections I listed – which are harder to tackle than making a mobile-friendly version of the oAuth page, which I cannot believe Twitter still hasn't done – do not apply to my application.) Sending a user to Twitter's oAuth page after having slaved over every pixel in your iPhone app is like giving someone a ride in a Ferrari and then throwing them in a mud puddle before pulling them back in for the remainder of their ride. I _really_ hope you can reconsider this as I see no logic whatsoever behind this policy. Regardless, my app goes to Apple tomorrow; source parameter or no. All the best, Aral On Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 8:14 PM, Raffi Krikorian <ra...@twitter.com> wrote: > hey aral. > > sorry you didn't get an e-mail back yet! however, like it has been > mentioned before on the mailing list, documented on the faq on our wiki, > etc., we're unfortunately not allowing new registrations of source > parameters. sorry. > > it too has been all over the list, but i'm actively taking comments, etc. > on how we can try to improve the oauth experience - just drop me a line > personally. > > On Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 12:04 PM, Aral Balkan <aralbal...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> 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 >> > > > > -- > Raffi Krikorian > Twitter Platform Team > http://twitter.com/raffi >
