Twitter expands API with support for posting and deleting ...

Today, it's announcing support that will enable developers to build better Twitter bots by launching new end points that allow you to tweet, ... TwitterhasbeensteadilyupdatingitsrebuiltAPIfollowingitsmid-2020relaunch.Mostrecently,thecompanyaddedsupportforTwitterSpacestoitsdeveloperplatform.Today,it’sannouncingsupportthatwillenabledeveloperstobuildbetterTwitterbotsbylaunchingnewendpointsthatallowyoutotweet,deletetweets,postpolls,useReplysettingsandtagpeopleinimages.ItalsonowsupportsSuperFollowsfunctionality,sodeveloperscanbuildoutsolutionstosupportcreators,thecompanysays. Whilebotsthatpostspamareunwanted,Twitterhasmadeitclearthatitseesotherbotsasbeinghelpful.ThecompanyinSeptemberintroducedanewlabelthatwouldallowwhatitcallsthe“goodbots”toproperlyidentifythemselvesontheplatform,forexample. Atthetime,itcitedexamplesofgoodbotsincludingthepublicserviceaccount @earthquakesSF;abotofferingCOVID-19updatescalled@vax_progress;abotthatoffersanongoingbreakdownofthelast100billsintroducedinCongress, @last100bills;anaccessibility-focusedbot, @AltTxtReminder;andothersthatjustaddvalueintheirownway,like @met_drawings,whichsharespublicdomainworksfromTheMet’sDrawingsandPrintsdepartment,orthegoofy@EmojiMashupBot,amongothers. Today,Twitteragaintoutsthe@vaxprogressbotanditsdeveloper,BrianMoore,who’salsobehindbotslike@NYTIMESALLCAPSand@chernobylstatus,andwhowillbecomeanearlyadopterofthenewTwitterAPIv2features,hesays. Whilethingslikepollsandimagetaggingwillmaketweetsmoreinteractive,Twitter’snew“managetweets”endpointswillallowformorebasicfunctionality—likepostingtweetsordeletingtweetsforanauthenticatedaccount.ThiscouldenablemoreTwittercleanupsolutions,perhaps,likethosethatremoveoldtweetsonbehalfoftheirusersorsolutionsthatpostautomaticupdates,liketheabovebots,forinstance. Inadditiontosupportingfeaturesthatwillallowdeveloperstoposttweetsanddomoreintermsofhowthosetweetsoperateorwhattheyinclude,thecompanyisalsoexpandingthenewAPItosupportitscreatorplatform,SuperFollows. LaunchedpubliclyinSeptember,SuperFollowsallowuserstosupporttheirfavoritecreatorsontheplatformbysubscribingtotheirexclusivecontent,likemember-onlytweetsandnewsletters,forinstance.Fansmayalsogainaccesstoprivatecommunities,deals,discountsorothermembershipperksandreceiveasupporterbadgedependingonhowthecreatorsetsuptheirSuperFollowmembershipprogram. WiththeAPIchanges,TwitterisaddingtheabilitytosharetweetstoSuperFollowersviatheAPI,whichwouldallowdeveloperstobuildoutsolutionsthathelpcreatorsmakemoneyfromtheirTwitterfanbase.WhiletodaySuperFollowsisstilllimitedtoonlyaselectnumberofcreators,theaudienceforthisfunctionalityisn’tyetlarge.ButTwitterhasitseyeonthefuturehere,thinkingabouthowthird-partyappsaimedatcreatorsmayneedtobuildinsupportforsharingcontenttoawidevarietyofplatforms—Twitteramongthem. CombinedtheupdatesallowdeveloperstobuildplatformswhereusersareabletotakeadvantageofTwitter-nativefeaturesdirectly—likeconversationcontrols,polls,SuperFollowsandotherfeatures—muchofwhichhasn’tbeenpossiblebefore.Thatcouldleadtoimprovedthird-partyTwitterclients,aswell. TwittersaidmuchofthisnewfunctionalitywasprioritizedforthenewAPIreleasebasedoncommunityfeedback,andthecompanyaskedforthefeedbacktocontinuesoitcanhelpplanwhattobuildnext.