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Twitter May Kill Off TweetMeme This Week

Twitter May Kill Off TweetMeme This Week

Despite the abundance of tweet buttons from various companies across the blogosphere, Twitter is possibly launching an official button this week, which could spell the end for companies like TweetMeme (a service many blog platforms use) in the not so distant future.

Twitter is launching an official Tweet Button for sharing articles on websites and counting how many times a URL has been shared, according to documents Mashable has obtained. The Tweet Button could launch as soon as this Thursday.

We’re still diving into the details, but from what we can tell, the Tweet Button is designed to be the most comprehensive counter of retweets and shares across Twitter’s network. It is a single line of code that can be added to any website. There are three versions of the button (110×20, 55×20, 55×63) with five different settings for customization. (Mashable)

Launching a twitter button makes sense, as it would help Twitter effectively compete against rival social networks like Facebook, (who has an official like button) as well as solidify their defenses against the oft rumored Google Me.

It will be interesting to see how third party companies adjust by adopting extra social networks like Facebook (something AddThis has previously done) or adopt extra features (i.e. displaying tweet avatars, analytics, etc.) to compete against Twitter.

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Either way third party developers will probably not be thrilled with this news, as it would only heighten fears that Twitter is once again competing against developers in the twitterverse.

(Image via Mashable)

Update: Corrected article (Blog Herald uses Topsy, not Tweetmeme).

View Comments (7)
  • I’m not sure that a Twitter button will kill Tweetmeme. Given Twitter’s track record for going down, I wouldn’t want to put their code on my site. It could lead to slower page loads or even functionality breaks due to Twitter being down. We use TweetMeme on eMediaVitals.com, and I’d be hard pressed to swap it out from Twitter until Twitter demonstrates that they barely need the Whale fail.

  • I don’t think that Twitter will kill TweetMeme. TweetMeme has statistics that go alongside their tweet button. @franky Topsy is another great service :)

  • @ Franky: Once again I am enlightened by your wisdom. ;-)

    @ Shevonne: True, but people may default to Twitter just because the retweets/reposts are “official” (although I suspect they may only count retweets).

  • I think the ease of use of Tweetmeme will stand it in good stead aaginst any competition. Concentrate on other impovements twitter!!

  • When I read the title of this article I was expecting to read abou how Twitter was going to try and block TweetMeme!

    Although Twitter releasing their own button does make sense, I’ll continue to use TweetMeme instead of this new button. They work fine for me at the moment and I see no reason to change.

  • “Either way third party developers will probably not be thrilled with this news, as it would only heighten fears that Twitter is once again competing against developers in the twitterverse.”

    That’s the risk you take when you develop a product that is based on someone else’s product. They have a right to expand their brand, their footprint, their usability, their product line. If you don’t like the risk of that, don’t take it. If you do take the risk, don’t whine when they effectively crush your entire business model.

    Sorry, but lines like that in articles just make me want to /facedesk.

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