Twitter has stirred up quite a bit of controversy over the past week following the announcement that it didn’t recommend developers built apps that compete with the company’s official clients. Now co-founder Biz Stone has spoken out, describing the situation as “Growing pains”.
Speaking to the BBC, Stone said “The question for developers is to ask themselves is how they can best serve the users. By another app that pretty much does the same thing as Twitter? Or by creating new and innovative ways to get value out of Twitter that we are not necessarily doing ourselves.”
Stone’s comments follow the company’s Ryan Sarver’s attempts to clarify the situation last weekend. At the time, Sarver explained that Twitter was “trying to be as transparent as possible and give the guidance that partners and developers have been asking for.”
Stone explains to the BBC today that this is all about giving the simplest user experience. “There are going to be some growing pains but I think the most important thing we can do is communicate as best we can, even if it is bad news people don’t want to hear or we are not comfortable saying. It is important because people can get the clarity they need.”
While some third-party developers have been left sore by Twitter’s announcement, the company learning the importance of clear roadmaps and communication with them can only bode well for future relations.
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