Twitter has purchased TweetDeck for more than $40 million and I think it’s fair to ask: What’s going to happen to the TweetDeck apps?
Right now, you can get the TweetDeck app on the iPhone and on Android and these are solid ways to keep track of your micro-blogging. What’s interesting is that these apps can also hook into other services like Facebook and I don’t know how long Twitter will continue to support that.
The back story of the Twitter, TweetDeck deal is that the app maker was reportedly going to be purchased by Uber Media, which has also snapped up popular Twitter clients like Echofon. The rumor mill suggested that Uber Media would try and create its own competitor to the micro-blogging service, as even though Twitter has over 100 million users, the power users are more valuable to advertisers and use services like TweetDeck.
Many believe the TweetDeck acquisition was a defensive move to keep it out of the hands of a potential enemy. So, does that mean it’s just going to fall by the wayside? Not necessarily.
The company also purchased Tweetie a while ago and that eventually became the official iPhone app. I believe the company will use the brainpower of TweetDeck to improve the first-party apps on all platforms but I’m not sure if the standalone app will survive with Facebook integration intact.
Twitter is still trying to figure out a real business model that can actually match the substantial buzz with equally substantial revenues. It seems like that will be through advertising and having its own apps with strong user bases will make that a little bit easier.
What do you think will happen with the apps, friends? Also, if you’re a good developer, you may want to try and create a Twitter app – it may just be a matter of time before someone wants to buy you.
[Via CNN]