While the geeks were integral to Twitter's early success, they are mostly irrelevant now as Twitter grows as a social network. The huge majority of Twitter's current users have never coded for it and aren't even aware that 3rd party apps exist. They simply create or (mostly) consume content.

Twitter may have needed the geeks and developers and folks who cared about an open network creating something new in the beginning, but they don't need them to become profitable now. It's similar to the way that power users and content creators used to be integral to Apple since they were some of the larger customers and influencers, but now that Apple is mainstream with the success of the iPhone and iPad for regular consumers, the content creators and power users make up tiny and still shrinking part of Apple's business.

The odd bit is that the hobbyists and geeks think they are still important to Twitter and that by banding together and raising a fuss or leaving they will impact it. Much the way content creators and power users still think they could with Apple. They won't. They're such a small minority now, that they don't matter anywhere near as much as they think they do.

" the implicit contract it entered with its early users is null and void."

Does an API without a binding contractual agreement really imply future applicability? It's always a big risk to lean on another company's API for your product / business.

My impression of twitter remains unchanged. It is one of idle disinterest. Once I was subscribed to a user that posted race results I cared about. Since then, I haven't seen anything on twitter that I care about, not that I've spent much effort looking.

Fine article... 18 months too late to be relevant. Pretty sure this is a dead horse being beaten.