This presentation takes a look back at some other popular APIs that have met their demise, gives an understanding of what's new with Twitter's API v1.1, and provides information on how to protect yourself (and your app) from being negatively impacted by these kinds of changes in the future. http://blog.smartbear.com/api-monitoring/the-rebirth-of-twitters-api/

1. The Rebirth of
Twitter’s API

2. Twitter’s API v1.0
was put to rest to
make room for v2.0.
But wait……

3. Why is Twitter
retiring its API
v1.0?

4. Previously, Twitter’s API could be accessed
without authorization, so malicious sites and
applications had easy access.
This, of course, presented
a security risk.

5. So, security risks and a
desire for uniformity across
all third-party applications
necessitated a switch to v1.1.

6. …But why 1.1
instead of 2.0?

7. Twitter is not switching to API v2.0 but
instead switching to the v1.1 it originally
introduced in Fall 2012.
This allows for an adjustment period
before they abandon v1.0 entirely.
As it turns
out…

8. We're extending the API v1.0 retirement
date from May 7, 2013 to June 11, 2013
in order to accommodate additional
blackout testing.
-- Twitter
Source: https://dev.twitter.com/blog/api-v1-retirement-date-extended-to-june-11

9. How v1.1 is
different?

10. Version 1.1 of the API will require all
applications to authenticate every
request. For applications that already
use OAuth, those tokens will transition
over to the new version.
- Zach Walton of WebProNews
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/twitter-api-version-1-1-brings-more-regulation-to-apps-2012-08

11. In order to improve the security even
further, when third-party apps
refresh they’ll run up against
Twitter's rate limit.
----------------
“The rate was 350 times per hour.
However, after the change took
place this rate limit was changed to
60 times per hour for each task and
720 times per hour for popular data
such as tweets.”
Source: http://quotient.net/blog/2012/9/21/twitters-recent-api-changes-and-how-it-affects-your-business/

12. Twitter API is going to strictly
support JSON only.
“We've decided to discontinue
support for XML, Atom, and
RSS, which are infrequently used
today.”
How else is v1.1 different?
Source: https://dev.twitter.com/docs/api/1.1/overview

13. Why all the controversy?
----------------
A big controversy erupted over
the 100,000 user limit now in
place. Before the latest change to
their API, Twitter clients had no
limit.

14. The one million user limit means that if you sign up to
Twitter clients you can never have more than 100,000 users
ever (well, unless Twitter gives you special
permission, which is a rarity).
Third-party Twitter apps that currently have millions of users
will definitely be affected, unless they are given special
permission to expand their user limit. Some third-party apps
such as Tweetcaster would have a cap at 200 percent or
double their user base, which would seriously affect their
growth.
- John Curtis
Source: http://quotient.net/blog/2012/9/21/twitters-recent-api-changes-and-how-it-affects-your-business/

15. The greatest change fueling
controversy and complaint is
the new “Developer Rules of
the Road” that originally
began as a guideline for
display in third-party
applications.

16. These guidelines have now become
requirements designed to “foster a
consistent Twitter experience.”
------------
Those will include scaling tweets
appropriately based on the device
on which the application is used;
displaying Tweet actions such as
reply, retweet and favorite; and
linking @usernames to the
appropriate profile.
Source: https://dev.twitter.com/terms/api-terms

17. The demise of other
well-known APIs

18. Google
--------------
Without announcement, Google got
rid of their weather API.
“As this is a private API, Google is
arguably entitled to pull support
without warning but that won’t stop
developers being disappointed by the
move and lack of communication.”
Source: http://thenextweb.com/google/2012/08/28/did-google-just-quietly-kill-private-weather-api/

19. Path
-------------
Following a spam controversy in
Path, a popular mobile
app, Facebook has restricted Path’s
API access so that you can no
longer look up Facebook friends on
the app.
Losing this ability could hinder the
growth of this application, now at 10
million registered users.
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/04/path-blocked/

20. Facebook
-----------
Like Path, Facebook also
blocked this “find friend”
feature from apps like
Voxer, Wonder, and Vine.
There is speculation that
Facebook is trying to stop
competition that they deem
“similar” to their own available
services.
Source: http://allfacebook.com/facebook-platform-policy-voxer-wonder-vine_b109372

21. Testing & Monitoring
Third-Party APIs

22. When it comes to third-party
APIs, it’s important to be safe.
Research: Know your choices, check reviews
Defend: Define your thresholds, response times
Test: Make sure it works
Monitor: Be first to report, ensure performance

23. Know how to test your third-
party APIs effectively, so
you don’t end up suffering
the consequences.
----------
 Include APIs in test plans
as if it was your own code
 Add APIs to regression
tests

24. Know what’s going on with third party APIs
to make sure you’re not blindsided when
change occurs. This helps prevent small
problems from turning into big
problems. That, in turn, keeps your website
performing optimally and your customers
clicking contentedly.
Effectively testing your third party APIs for
dependability is key to getting, and
keeping, high customer satisfaction.

25. Are you trying to monitor the
performance of your third party API?
AlertSite for API Monitoring helps some of the world’s
best-known companies keep their APIs and websites up
and running.
http://bit.ly/AlertSite-API-Monitoring