Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Is Your Twitter Client Ready for June 30th?

Christopher S. Penn's post Are you ready for the Twitpocalypse? details coming changes to the Twitter API that will impact many of the widgets, sites, clients, and applications one may use to access Twitter.

Penn reminds us that on June 30th Twitter is ending support for basic HTTP authentication, and requiring that all applications that access Twitter via the API change to OAuth authentication. In short, any application, site, widget, etc. that uses basic authentication (entering your Twitter username and password) will stop working. Any application, site, widget, etc. that requires you to “authorize” an application will continue to work as intended.

OAuth is a technology that enables applications to access the Twitter platform on your behalf without ever asking you directly for your password. For users, switching to OAuth means increased usability, security, and accountability for the applications that you use every day.

So, you may want to look up your favorite client and make sure they are set to go with OAuth, or be ready to switch on June 30th. Sphere: Related Content