Twitter, the popular social media platform, has recently revealed details and pricing for its new version of API, which provides access to the platform’s data and features. However, the announcement has been met with criticism from a significant number of indie developers who are unable to afford the new pricing plan.
The New API Pricing Plan
Twitter’s new API pricing plans offer three tiers – a free tier that only allows developers to write 1,500 tweets a month, a basic tier costing $100 per month, and an enterprise tier that offers broader access at a higher cost. The announcement comes as Twitter seeks to restrict the use of bots on its platform. However, this has had serious consequences for small businesses, hobbyists and students.
The Impact on Indie Developers
The impact of the new pricing plans has already caused many indie developers to announce the closure of their Twitter-based apps. Due to the high cost of accessing data through the new pricing structure, many small businesses and independent developers cannot afford it.
Elon Musk claimed that the new pricing plan was intended to shut down bots on the platform. However, many have criticized this move as detrimental to independent developers. As a result, many developers have started to look for alternatives in other platforms that are more developer-friendly.
Fear Over Loss of Third-Party App Ecosystem
Many developers who run applications that use Twitter’s API but are not entirely dependent on it have also announced major changes due to the new pricing structure. They claim that killing off third-party app ecosystems is a shortsighted move by Twitter that could potentially lead many developers to move on to other platforms.
Further criticism suggests that Twitter’s move could make it difficult for indie developers to earn sustainable incomes from their apps. This could potentially harm Twitter’s chances of having a profitable future as well.
Twitter Looking for New Ways to Serve Research and Academic Communities
Twitter has announced that it is looking for new ways to continue serving researchers and academics who rely on its API for their work. The company maintains a free tier with limited functionality aimed at testing purposes and bots.
The new free tier allows 1,500 tweet posts a month, but users won’t be able to access any other features. The basic tier costs $100 per month, allowing developers to post up to 3,000 tweets per month at the user level and up to 50,000 tweets per month at the app level. However, it is unclear how many developers will be willing to pay for such stripped-down versions of the APIs.
Twitter’s existing APIs will be deprecated within the next 30 days, so developers are advised to migrate to the new pricing structures for a smooth transition. However, it remains uncertain how many indie developers can afford these new plans or whether they will remain on Twitter’s platform in the long run.
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