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Twitter Tuesday - Ads in third-party apps? Seriously?
As we mentioned last week, Twitter ad networks aren't dead. In fact, it looks like they're just getting warmed up. Ad.ly is getting ready to launch ads in third-party Twitter clients, which is a whole new level of Twitter advertising. Ad.ly for Apps serves location-based ads to users, in-stream, right in a Twitter client. It's got an API, making it pretty easy to build into other Twitter apps. The big question is ... why would app creators want to do this? If you were a developer, the return would have to be pretty huge before you'd sell out your users and give a cut to Ad.ly, right?
Plus, it's not entirely clear that this is legit under Twitter's new TOS, which bans "in-stream" advertising. Ad.ly for Apps is technically "on top of" the stream, not "in-stream," but from a user's perspective, it's just about the same thing. It'll be interesting to see whether Twitter drops the hammer on this kind of thing. On one hand, I really, really hate ads in my Twitter. I'd rather pay for an ad-free version of a good app. On the other, it might be nuts for Twitter to tell independent developers what their apps can or can't display.
Plus, it's not entirely clear that this is legit under Twitter's new TOS, which bans "in-stream" advertising. Ad.ly for Apps is technically "on top of" the stream, not "in-stream," but from a user's perspective, it's just about the same thing. It'll be interesting to see whether Twitter drops the hammer on this kind of thing. On one hand, I really, really hate ads in my Twitter. I'd rather pay for an ad-free version of a good app. On the other, it might be nuts for Twitter to tell independent developers what their apps can or can't display.
I'm also excited to write about one of my favorite new Twitter tools, Snap Bird. Snap Bird lets you search your Twitter archives, and goes way farther back in time than Twitter Search can manage. I have over 5,000 tweets, and the only way I can find some old joke or link I posted is by using a service like this. Snap Bird is free, works well, and authenticates using OAuth. It can be slow sometimes, but it's definitely worth a try.
If you're a Twitpic user, and you want to "rescue" your photos from Twitpic, Posterous is trying to get your attention. Posterous is a lightweight blogging platform better known for competing with Tumblr than getting involved with Twitter, but I guess they're trying a new tactic to gain users. Take a look if you'd like to export your Twitpics.
Are you sick of following people who don't follow you back? I know some folks are obsessed with reciprocal relationships on Twitter. Well, JustUnfollow can remove all of those non-reciprocal people you follow in one fell swoop. It's definitely a slash-and-burn kind of tool, but if that's your style, fire away.
In privacy news, Twitter got off with a slap on the wrist from the FTC over privacy concerns. The investigation dealt with security breaches in 2009, where the accounts of prominent figures like Barack Obama were compromised. Twitter basically had to agree to periodic security reviews and promise not to do it again. Security has improved in the past year, of course, but Twitter has also become a more prominent target for hackers.
Hey, that's all we've got for this week. See you again next Tuesday, with all the news and apps worth tweeting about!
If you're a Twitpic user, and you want to "rescue" your photos from Twitpic, Posterous is trying to get your attention. Posterous is a lightweight blogging platform better known for competing with Tumblr than getting involved with Twitter, but I guess they're trying a new tactic to gain users. Take a look if you'd like to export your Twitpics.
Are you sick of following people who don't follow you back? I know some folks are obsessed with reciprocal relationships on Twitter. Well, JustUnfollow can remove all of those non-reciprocal people you follow in one fell swoop. It's definitely a slash-and-burn kind of tool, but if that's your style, fire away.
In privacy news, Twitter got off with a slap on the wrist from the FTC over privacy concerns. The investigation dealt with security breaches in 2009, where the accounts of prominent figures like Barack Obama were compromised. Twitter basically had to agree to periodic security reviews and promise not to do it again. Security has improved in the past year, of course, but Twitter has also become a more prominent target for hackers.
Hey, that's all we've got for this week. See you again next Tuesday, with all the news and apps worth tweeting about!
