Twitter starts shooting tanks parked on own lawn(?)

Well, if this wasn't predictable.... Twitter is apparently starting to build the successful features that 3rd party sites on its ecosystem have pioneered - SAI:

It seems Twitter's had enough with other folks taking control of millions of Twitter users (and the money they represent). If Twitter's new business model is based on copying Google with Twitter AdWords, controlling the end-user interface will be very valuable. And this move seems designed to address that.

Specifically, it's the difference between Google Sites revenue (Google.com), in which Google keeps 100% of the money and Google Network revenue, in which Google has to hand over 50%-80% of the money to a distribution partner.

It was predictable (this is a standard tactic of an open ecosystem play - get YOU! to do the work and then clean up once one knows what works), we predicted it*, but of course that didn't stop hordes of companies developing applications, all hoping to get a small place in the sun early. Its not all said and done of course, the Twitter functions still have to delight the customer - but of course "transactional troubles" may plague the competing sites of les autres until the end user gets the message.

So what do you do if you are a Tweetdeck, or Tweetmeme or Tweetthang etc etc? Traditionally, the ideal would be to sell the platform to Twitter - that's an exit for one (probably the most heavily used) in each area (mobile, PC, alerts, etc). After that the options look nastier in the medium term - essentially its a franchise model similar to small shops in a mall - renting space on the Twitter platform, continually worrying that your subniche is the one that Twitter goes after next.

Or maybe not - maybe Twitter will run a "big tent" model for quite a while longer, using the 3rd parties to continue to push its services ever outward to expand reach via resources it cannot command internally, and take a cut of a potentially bigger pie. If it were a Facebook the former is the no brainer option, but Twitter culture (and the game theory to beat Facebook and Google) is sufficiently different to suggest this may be on the cards for quite a while longer.

But you all know the endgame........right?

Update - Ian Betteridge points out in the comments that this story is being rubbished. I think that while this story in itself is based on small datapoints (and its a Henry Blodget story - 'nuff said), the big picture is directionally correct. To me it is very risky to assume that Twitter, over time, will not pick off the bits of its own ecosystem that maximise its own business model.

*As, of course did all the other observers with some savvy. The thing that fascinated me was all the VCs pumping money into the 3rd party ecosystem when the underlying company had no declared business model. They are clearly betting on Twitter being slow to eat its own hit head (the long tail can be given to 3rd parties ad infinitum)