Like Facebook, Twitter is creating a constellation of apps with Periscope, Vine, Twitter #Music (RIP) but I'm surprised they haven't launched a standalone DM client already. Private messaging in the Twitter mobile app has always felt clunky, although they've made some notable improvements in the past year:
(1) Added image/video support to DM's
(2) Support for group DM's
(3) Removed the 140-character restriction (finally!)
(4) And just yesterday I noticed they added support for browser notifications
Let's take bets. Will Twitter release its own standalone private messaging app by the end of the year?
P.S. we should add a polling feature on Product Hunt. 😉
@rrhoover But why is there the need for another app?
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@rrhoover I believe Twitter is less about interaction and more about broadcasting. I feel carefree about following someone on Twitter than accepting friend request on FB. Would be interesting to understand the Twitter twist in the DM space.
@krishan711 Hey Krishan - Sorry for the confusion - it should have said "unofficial" somewhere in the listing. Although Twitter should really have this app available already! It integrates with the current system but allows you to send richer messages such as voice notes or stickers (and more).
Hey! I love the app so far, though found it a bit odd it didn't use the native Twitter integration to log into my account and the login screen didn't support a password manager *or* pasting in one :(
@ow - We are using Twitter's Fabric SDK to login (does all the login magic for us) and to get access to direct messages Twitter request that developers use the fallback webview - otherwise when creating Twitter API Keys there is no option to access direct messages.
Disclosure: We are not 100% sure that apps are unable to access direct messages without the fallback webview - can someone fact check this?
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Need Android Version :(
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More of an argument than a valuable stand-alone app - makes a good case for a standalone DM app. Would need to load existing group DM chains to be really valuable, and ideally offer value above the in-twitter DM experience - history search or rich presence e.g.
@wikipetera - Unfortunately Twitter's API doesn't give access to group DM chains. You're right to saying that it's a value proposition right now. There is a lot of room for exploration - and it's a venue that Twitter is missing. There has been a lot of speculation (...for years) whether or not Twitter is "working" on an app. They're taking way too long!
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@georgemavroidis Sometimes you gotta show the big guys what to do! Good luck on this app and good work so far.
Hey Guys - very excited to be launching version 0.1 of Direct Messenger for Twitter on Product Hunt!
It is undisputed that messaging is truly an over-saturated market - so it’s a wonder as to why Twitter has not “really” tried to join the race. There has been speculation for years whether or not Twitter is “working” or should be working on a standalone messaging app. Well they’re taking too long.
As a plethora of apps dominate the app experience in the East there is a lot of speculation as to who will win the race to “becoming the WeChat of the West”. The mobile messaging wars are heating up - with Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Kik - and now “Twitter is joining that race”….at least unofficially.
Direct Messenger integrates seamlessly with Twitters current setup - and opens up the opportunity to send richer multimedia form the beginning (Stickers, Voice Notes, Location, Hearts). Matt Galligan wrote an amazing Medium piece titled: Imagining MessageKit. https://medium.com/@mg/there-s-a...
It acted as the “last-motivating-straw”. Twitter has been given enough time to produce something themselves!
Order a Lyft or an Uber from their verified Twitter account? Get a pre-release of a song from an artist you love? Magic wouldn’t need a standalone app…just a Twitter account.
There is a lot of room to move here - and I look forward to you guys taking a chance on the future of this app!
A bunch of different apps are now trying to become the "Messenger for Twitter" (the one on top of my mind is http://www.producthunt.com/tech/... from @isiyfa).
Two questions here:
- What does prevent Twitter to create its own messenger app (cross-platform and without worrying about API limits) and wipe out all these apps?
- Now that Twitter has removed the 140 chars limit, is there really a need for a stand-alone app?
Anyway, it looks sleek ;)
@mnlfrgr - This is the only app that actually acts as a "Messenger for Twitter" - the others use Twitter as an authentication tool - and doesn't actually act as a standalone messaging app.
- Nothing stops them! There were articles written in 2012 that Twitter should be working on a standalone app. They should release a standalone app. Either they're taking too long or they don't think it's something they should be focussing on at this moment. (They're going through a lot at the moment :p)
- Simply releasing the 140 character limit doesn't turn Twitters current implementation into an amazing private messaging app. And that's what we're trying to do!
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@georgemavroidis Love what you're trying to do. Was always amazed how there was no standalone DM app. I just downloaded and will test it out!
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