

Come code at Twitter's annotations hackfest - mattknox
http://engineering.twitter.com/2010/05/annotations-hackfest.html

======
0nly1ife
I realize I'm late posting this, but I'm a solid Rails hacker and would like
to join / form a team for this hackathon. I just moved to the city and think
this would be a good chance to meet other coders.

------
againstyou
liked the idea. events like this one should be announced 1 month before, so
you can get prepared, specially if you live far from SF.

~~~
jhuckestein
I couldn't agree more. But then again there will be enough participants anyway
I think.

See you there ;)

------
aditya
Note: It's only limited to 50 registrations...

~~~
cmelbye
The exact phrasing was "around 50", so I'd assume that there's leeway.

~~~
mattknox
I'm the dude organizing it at twitter, and yeah, there is leeway. If we get
hundreds of applicants, we obviously won't be able to let everyone in. But
we'll let in everyone we can reasonably fit.

~~~
aditya
oh, awesome. thanks for clarifying!

------
steveklabnik
Too bad I'm leaving SF on Wednesday... I think annotations are really cool.

------
apphacker
I've lost interest in their API since they've implemented those ridiculous
display requirements. After Facebook's and Twitter's recent changes I've
become completely disillusioned about what the use of third party API's
entail, especially social media. I don't blame them for looking after their
self-interest, well at least not Twitter, but working with social media API's
no longer seem fun or interesting. They seem like too much take and not enough
give. It's clear they want ownership and control, and the only innovation they
want is the kind they can directly benefit from. Again, nothing wrong with
that, just not going to be their fucking lap dog.

~~~
fookyong
Indeed.

I actually run a (quite profitable) social media app that works with Twitter.

But based on the last 6 months of API changes, I'm going to shut it down. I'd
rather direct my energy towards something that I have 100% control of, rather
than hobble on making little concessions here and there to comply with
Twitter's ToS, as their platform matures. The long term picture doesn't look
good for any Twitter app, really. Although on a long enough timeline the same
could be said for building on any 3rd-party platform.

Like you say, nothing wrong with what they are doing - it's just good business
- but I don't want to keep jumping through hoops anymore.

Building on Twitter was good fun, though. And it certainly helps early
traction. But as time goes on and your app starts making more money and you
start getting more serious about running it as a business (as opposed to a
hobby project), Twitter becomes a liability, not an asset.

YMMV.

~~~
bradgessler
If its profitable, why don't you sell it instead of just "shutting it down"?

~~~
fookyong
I wish it were that straightforward :) Selling it and migrating it to the
buyer would be a pretty draining experience. I'd rather spend time on my other
project :)

That and, none of the customer subscriptions are transferrable. The new buyer
would only earn money from new customers.

