What the tweet is going on here?

Thank goodness we made it to the weekend, people.  I don't know about you, but I had a pretty hectic week, capped off by acquiring some sort of respiratory issue while on a business trip.  But that's not why I stopped by for a few comments.

No, I'm going to vent for a minute or two about Twitter.  Not because they are not moderating incendiary content. Not because the platform is owned by a megalomaniac who is apparently open to allowing another back onto the platform.  Not because he's laid off the bulk of the workforce who kept the thing going for most of the time.

I'm mad because I have to use the Twitter app.

Let me explain.  Regular visitors to this space know that I've mentioned my Twitter tactics previously.  I routinely go through the list of feeds that I follow, purging those from whom I feel I gain no benefit in following, or those with whom I've become a little bored, or interests that have moved elsewhere.

I've also mentioned that I prefer to use third party Twitter apps. Or at least I did until about a week ago.

My Twitter "client," as they're called, has been Tweetbot for the past several years.  It offers a clean view of your timeline, includes the functions we all want, and there are no unwanted posts or ads, nothing "recommended" or assumptions of what I will like or enjoy.

That was then.  It stopped working almost ten days ago, something about needing to reauthenticate my account to Twitter (the actual service) but there was no linkage.  This went on for a few days with apparently no explanation from Twitter at all.  The suspicion among tech writers whom I read and follow was that Twitter and its current ownership had decided to block all third party apps, thereby forcing users to use the native Twitter app, ads and recommendations and all.

And that's exactly what happened.  Twitter released a rather terse statement that these third party apps were in violation of Twitter policies concerning its API, or "application programming interface."  In other words, for doing what these apps had always done.

So now I'm unhappily using the app that Twitter furnishes to its users, and it's just as bad an experience as I remember.  Do I have a choice?  Not really, if I want to continue using Twitter (to circulate this blog, for example).  Could I live without access to Twitter?  Certainly, but I find it useful to find out about certain things in the news that I can then learn more about thanks to links to news stories from reputable sources.

Will I continue to complain?  For a little while.  I don't see the current owner changing his mind, even if he is gradually setting his $44 billion investment on fire.  Twitter will go on until he's run off all of the advertisers who support it.

Will I continue to post here?  Yes.  You are welcome to follow this blog if like!

Have I ranted enough about this?  I think so.

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