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Twitter Just Sold Its Developer Platform To Google (engadget.com)

Posted by msmash on from the big-shark,-small-shark dept.

Google has acquired a part of Twitter -- the part that isn't about tweets. Twitter's mobile developer platform Fabric will become part of Google, both companies announced Wednesday. From a report: Acquired by Twitter in 2014, Fabric is "a modular mobile platform" designed to help app developers improve the "stability, distribution, revenue and identity" of their products, according to Twitter's blog post. Everything from the ability to natively embed tweets in other apps to signing in with your Twitter credentials were made possible by Fabric. Now that it's been reacquired, Fabric will merge with Google's Firebase development platform. "We quickly realized that our missions are the same -- helping mobile teams build better apps, understand their users, and grow their businesses," the Fabric team wrote in its announcement. "Fabric and Firebase operate mobile platforms with unique strengths in the market today." And if you're an existing Fabric customer, don't worry, the platform will continue to function. You'll just need to agree to the new terms of service, which will be available once the deal is completed.

27 comments

  1. Get your resumes ready, Fabric team by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google will get bored of you soon enough, just like they get bored and dump the vast majority of their projects.

    1. Re:Get your resumes ready, Fabric team by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And if you're an existing Fabric customer, don't worry, the platform will continue to function.

      Don't worry *wink* *wink* the platform will continue to function *wink* *wink*

    2. Re:Get your resumes ready, Fabric team by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope it will survive. It is really, really nice for mobile developers.

    3. Re:Get your resumes ready, Fabric team by mmell · · Score: 1
      Hopefully, soon. The flaming pile of rubbish that is Twitter has already cost the United States enough.

      I'm sure it made sense at the time - giving SMS connectivity to social networking was a great idea in its day, but nowadays those tweets are coming primarily from PC's, tablets and smart phones. SMS was never designed for this (hell, it wasn't really designed at all - just created when somebody noticed 160+bytes of unused space in the digital telephony design and said "Hey! I can do something cool with that!"). If it had been designed, it would've started out as MMS, and given the klunky nature of the interface at the time would probably never have made it past being somebody's not-too-bright idea.

    4. Re: Get your resumes ready, Fabric team by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      more like it will get incorporated and disapear as a seperate entity.

    5. Re: Get your resumes ready, Fabric team by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fabric includes fastlane, the wildly popular iOS development helper.

  2. What's in a name...? by MountainLogic · · Score: 2

    Must of bought it because their IoT platform is named Thread.

    1. Re: What's in a name...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have. Must have.

    2. Re: What's in a name...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have. Must have.

      What are you saying? You must of replied to the wrong comment.

    3. Re: What's in a name...? by Buchenskjoll · · Score: 1

      Nope. "Must of" is an abomination and it needs to die.

      --
      -- Make America hate again!
  3. Why....? by TheOuterLinux · · Score: 2

    I was thinking we needed more spyware. You can never have enough. Thanks Twitter and Google.

  4. Hmmm by rmdingler · · Score: 2

    You'll just need to agree to the new terms of service, which will be available once the deal is completed.

    Rooting for the Google Sky Map version.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Corporate behemoth incest.

  5. Awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure everyone will feel confident in using the tools to build their software and services knowing google won't leave them hanging.

  6. Why would they buy something from Tweeter? by Master5000 · · Score: 2

    Most likely they already have something better in house and if not, there probably is a better thing in open source world. But then again, this is Google. They'll probably shut it down next year. They probably did an acqui-hire and just needed the engineers, not the technology.

    1. Re:Why would they buy something from Tweeter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fabric is excellent. You wouldn't even notice it is from Twitter. Google has a competitor, called Firebase, but it is not as good. The merge of these two platforms will be a perfect match -- looking forward to it (we already use both at our company)

  7. Not sure I need an API by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    To turn the word SAD! into an emoji.

    1. Re:Not sure I need an API by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

      To turn the word SAD! into an emoji.

      Well it'd be no good on Slashdot anyways.

  8. In other words by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google moves to deny Trump's access to Twitter.

    1. Re:In other words by SumterLiving · · Score: 1

      I also call Twitter, "trump's insider trading broadcast device." The way I heard it ... many people are saying it, trump decides to proclaim a company is failing, fraudulent or he will ruin them but notifies all of his "transition team and chosen administration" one or two days in advance. trump's "transition team and chosen administration" then shorts that company's stock. $Million are made, trump gets a kickback and another favor on the books. All go out and spend $500 on a caviar dinner all the while masturbating and laughing at the foolish pee-on's" that support them.

    2. Re:In other words by mmell · · Score: 1

      You say that as though it were a bad thing.

  9. Re:spyware by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    They are merging two spyware platforms.

  10. True by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You need a RESTful API

  11. Twitter dev is dead, long live Twitter dev by magsol · · Score: 1

    Twitter waffled for so long about exactly what kind of relationship it was going to have with its budding developer community. I can honestly say I'm surprised their decision went in this direction, but at least they made a decision ... I guess?

    --
    "I'd just like to emphasise that taking a million years isn't a metaphor here..." -Rich Bradshaw
  12. Two public companies. How much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Two public companies. How much?

    JJ

  13. Re:F(U) ^ 2 by Snocone · · Score: 1

    > - what would Twitter know about improving revenue exactly?

    http://www.mopub.com

    Pretty much the only noticeable Google competitor left standing up until yesterday. RIP.