Twitter is updating some of their API features to make sure that the site is more secure. One of the better moves is to require (most) third party developers to use the OAuth login to connect to Twitter. They have excluded streaming API developers from this list. This is a smart move for a number of reasons:
- They are giving plenty of time to developers to change their systems to adhere to the new guidelines. Developers have until June 30th to do this, which is plenty of time compared to other changes that they made earlier this year.
- Having to provide a Twitter username and password to an unknown third party is sometimes a little daunting. There are times when I would prefer a site to use the OAuth, because they look a little shady
- The OAuth makes it convenient to go from one site to another connected to Twitter.
I think this is a nice move that will help make Twitter a more trustworthy network.