The stormy relations between Twitter Inc. and the sprawling developer community that surrounds it may have taken a big turn for the better. Longtime developer relations manager at Google and Facebook Jason Costa announced on the Twitter developers email list today that he has joined Twitter as the company’s Developer Relations Manager. “I’ll be 100% focused on ensuring the best possible developer experience for those looking to build on the Twitter Platform,” Costa wrote.
On paper at least, Costa looks like the ideal candidate: He’s got a BS in Computer Science from USC, an MBA in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from MIT, he was a Technical Programs Manager on Google products and APIs for 4 years and most recently he was at Facebook working on that site’s mobile product. The first initiative Costa has begun discussing is a number of on-site developer events.
Costa, who is (probably) not to be confused with the melodic death metal drummer of the same name, remains close to prominent developers at Google, according to a Klout analysis of his Twitter conversations.
Twitter Needs Developer Love Again
Twitter saw a wave of upset developers when the company appeared to announce last month that Twitter clients were no longer something developers should build. It’s been a year this month since Twitter’s first big developer conference, Chirp. No new Chirp has been announced, but Costa said today that a small event will be announced soon and more events will be discussed soon.
Developer relations at Twitter are extremely important because the service represents a historically unprecedented combination of scale, humanity, speed, effective social engineering and open data. As pressure from investors and egomaniacal celebrities mounts, many people in the larger community worry that Twitter will sell out the geeks that helped make it what it is today. Hiring a developer relations manager is a good step towards preserving the viability of the platform. Hopefully it’s not too late. These ought to be early days.
