14 DAY TRIAL // It's finally official, Twitter has announced that it has acquired TweetDeck, maker of the popular Twitter client of the same name. No price was given, but the companies did say that they plan to continue to support and develop TweetDeck as is and will position the tool as something for companies, professionals and power users.
"The mainstream Twitter user-base is well catered for by twitter.com and the official mobile clients. And by becoming part of the official platform, TweetDeck will now fill that role for brands, influencers, the highly active and anyone that just needs 'more power'," Iain Dodsworth, the founder of TweetDeck, wrote.
This answers the most obvious question that arose when rumors of the acquisition started popping up. It may not be the real or the full reason why Twitter acquired the company, but this seems to be the path forward, TweetDeck will become the 'pro' version of Twitter.
But Twitter wasn't looking to buy TweetDeck a couple of months ago, it would have liked just as well for it to die off rather than acquire it. Twitter made it very clear for developers that it didn't want any more third-party clients "confusing" its users.
It said that it wants to provide users with an unified experience, so that everything works the same regardless of where they're accessing the service, on their desktops or tablets, online or through an app.
Now Twitter is changing its tune, it now says that there are people out there needing more than what Twitter.com and the official clients offer and this is where TweetDeck comes in.
This can mean one of two things, either Twitter is finally seeing the light, which means that somehow, just a couple of months ago, no one at the company realized that some people do want more advanced features and functionality.
Or, perhaps more likely, Twitter didn't really believe that users need an unified experience, it just didn't want others providing that experience. Whatever the case, the TweetDeck team wills stay put and continue to work on the product.
"Change may well be inevitable, but we remain the same team, staying in London, with the same focus and products, and now with the support and resources to allow us to grow and take on even bigger challenges," Dodsworth.