Twitter continues to distinguish between apps it approves of and apps it doesn’t with Wednesday’s roll out of a “certified products” program, a way for third-party developers to get Twitter’s stamp of approval. No surprise to anyone who has watched Twitter of late, the company is supporting apps that support Twitter for business and Twitter for analytics.
This summer, the developer community has been consumed with the question of which apps using the Twitter API will keep the company’s approval and survive, and which will be shut down for conflicting with Twitter’s interests. Twitter first began to distinguish between apps with its August blog post, laying out its priorities in four quadrants and placing an emphasis on businesses over consumers and analytics over engagement.
“We aim to certify the products and services that make Twitter more valuable to businesses, encourage their use of Twitter, and bring Twitter to new users,” the company notes in its post on the requirements for certified products.
The company has been steadily moving to monetize its product and become more brand-friendly this summer, so this support for business-oriented apps make sense. In the blog post released Wednesday, Twitter explained that right now, certified products can come in one of three categories: engagement products, analytics products, and data reseller products. The company has released guidelines for becoming a certified product, and encourages brands who fit the requirements to apply.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the company believes that the certification will provide those brands with a greater platform for reaching new customers, and those customers a better method for picking the best third-party apps that meet their needs.
The company has launched with 12 partners, including companies Topsy and HootSuite, but said that number can grow as more brands apply and meet the requirements.
