This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen, Part Four

In Comments, Ravi mentions an aspect of this I hadn’t considered:

It is even worse than it appears for Twitter. The Google+ APIs are coming. When that happens, third-party Twitter clients will start baking in Google+ integration, especially because Twitter has been kicking their developers all year.

What does Twitter do in response?

Do nothing? The bleeding increases. Backbone users, after all, are big fans of third-party clients.

Kick developers who dare to integrate with Google+? That sounds like it would generate a devastating backlash.

Buy more clients / pay developers to favor Twitter? That doesn’t sound sustainable.

Alternatives?

We’ve seen how popular clients made Twitter. Many people used a client instead of the Twitter site.

The same thing could happen with Google+. An app could come along that would bring sense to its UI/UX and that could be a tipping point.

Previously here:

This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen
This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen, Part Two
This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen, Part Three
What A Twitter For Grown-Ups Could Look Like
Why Twitter Should Buy webdoc If Apple Won’t

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This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen, Part Three

Here's my take on the Android Market redesign http://j.mp/qc9qzY

— Hadrien Gardeur (@Hadrien) July 13, 2011

And it goes to an in-depth post at Google+!

A conversation that should have remained in Twitter will now take place at its new competitor, Google+.

Twitter is slowly going to be bled to death by a thousand cuts like this.

Because every time someone clicks out of Twitter to Google+, they will use Google+ more — and at some point they will realize it allows them to do more.

Previously here:

This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen
This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen, Part Two
What A Twitter For Grown-Ups Could Look Like
Why Twitter Should Buy webdoc If Apple Won’t

This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen, Part Two

A user of webdoc states in a discussion of Google+:

Now that I spent some time playing with G+, it’s starting to feel more like a Twitter++ with rich media than a disruption to FB.

I don’t go that far. But the point I’ve been trying to make is this: That’s what other people might believe on their own.

I find the Google+ UI/UX to be confusing. But that could be just me. I know plenty of services that people use just fine that frustrate me personally. One of those is Facebook.

Twitter better start paying attention to this threat.

Google+ could gut them of their backbone users.

Backbone users are those who have organized themselves into groups — such as the #ePrdctn one — and who have pushed Twitter beyond transmitting trivia.

If backbone users leave for Google+, Twitter will return to being a trivial service no one can take seriously any longer. It will be seen as the MySpace of communication.

If you don’t believe this can happen, go review what happened over at Digg earlier this year.

I’ve stated repeatedly that Twitter needs to address the grown-ups who are using it and need more out of it.

Google+ is partially addressing that need. Some UI and UX changes could tilt everything in favor of Google+.

Previously here:

This Is What Twitter Does Not Want To Happen
What A Twitter For Grown-Ups Could Look Like
Why Twitter Should Buy webdoc If Apple Won’t