Why Developing a Native Twitter Client is a Good Move by RIM
A recent blog post at CrackBerry.com reports that RIM is working on a native Twitter client. A couple of days later, Mashable reblogs this story on their site. Judging by the reactions on the internet, most people are welcoming RIM’s attempt to complete with UberTwitter and SocialScope. But user satisfaction is not the main reason why RIM is jumping in to this space.
Blackberry has always been about communication. Email and short messaging have been the primary way in text communication, but people are interacting via social networks more and more. Besides Facebook (which already has a native Blackberry app), Twitter is the only other formidable force in social networking. No other platforms come close to the growth of Facebook and Twitter right now. It is in line with RIM’s strategy to invest more resource in Twitter and seize leadership in this market and try to control the direction of innovation.
Speaking of innovation, there is still plenty of room for RIM to do it. UberTwitter is the current market leader for Blackberry Twitter apps, and it is not strikingly different from Twitter apps in other platforms. As the CrackBerry article reports, the Twitter app by RIM will include integration with the address book and with other features in the device — something not currently offered by any other Blackberry Twitter app. In addition, there are plenty of other innovations to be included in a mobile Twitter app, such as gracefully integrating user groups, trending topics, columns, etc.
Loic Le Meur in his tweet thinks that RIM will disrupt its own ecosystem by competing with it. Maybe it will, but it won’t be a bad idea. Platforms often step in when they see a need. Microsoft stepped into the web browser space when they foresee the internet becoming crucial in the computing world. More recently, Microsoft created the Zune device to improve their MP3 player offerings. The Zune turned out to be a success for Microsoft. Another example: Facebook created its own Twitter app to ensure quality of integration.
I am looking forward to the Twitter app by RIM. I only hope they make it better than the horrible Facebook app they are offering now.
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