Twitter axes third-party ads

Advertisers no longer allowed access to API.

Micro-blogging site Twitter has decided to ban all third-party advertisers from injected paid Tweets into the service.

The company said that it would be amending its developer terms of service to include a clause which bans third parties from using the service's API framework to inject advertising into Twitter streams.

With the new rules in place, the Promoted Tweets service will be the only authorised way to place advertising within Twitter content. The company launched the service last month as a way for advertisers to place paid Tweets atop user search queries.

Twitter chief operating officer Dick Costolo formally announced the change in a posting to the official company blog. In the entry, he explained that the company was worried a flood of ads could make its way to the service and turn users off of Twitter as a platform.

"As our primary concern is the long-term health and value of the network, we have and will continue to forgo near-term revenue opportunities in the service of carefully metering the impact of Promoted Tweets on the user experience," Costolo wrote.

"It is critical that the core experience of real-time introductions and information is protected for the user and with an eye toward long-term success for all advertisers, users and the Twitter ecosystem."

While the API has been locked down, the company believes that there are other ways for third parties to make money through Twitter, such as the development of analytics tools or advertising placed outside of the Twitter content within the third-party tool itself.

Additionally, the company is soon hoping to ad new tools for cashing in on the service when it launches the Annotations meta data platform.