Twitter to 'reboot' growth, relationship with developers

Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said Wednesday the struggling messaging platform is in the midst of "rebooting" as it seeks to fulfill what he sees as its vital mission as a rapid source of information.

Speaking at the Twitter developers conference in San Francisco, Dorsey said the relationship with Twitter and third-party developers had become strained but promised to work to improve the situation.

"Somewhere along the line our relationship with developers became a little bit complicated," he said.

"I apologize for our confusion," adding that "we want to reset our relationship, make sure we are learning, we are listening, we are rebooting."

Dorsey said the developers play a key role in helping Twitter fulfill its important role in the global community.

"Twitter is unique because it is a brand, a bird, a logo that just about everyone on the planet has seen. It stands for something," he said.

"Twitter empowers the conversation that the world needs to see."

Dorsey also told the 1,500 developers that Twitter would make available analytical tools that can help them get better data on how people use applications.

Dorsey, a co-founder of Twitter, this month began his second stint as CEO as the San Francisco-based company seeks to revive growth and move toward profitability.

One of the first things Dorsey announced was the new Moments feature, which enables members to get a glimpse at breaking news.

On Wednesday, Twitter announced another feature called "Twitter Polls" that enables users to "weigh in on all the topics they care about."

"If you want the public's opinion on anything -- what to name your dog, who will win tonight's game, which election issue people care most about -- there's no better place to get answers than on Twitter," said a blog post from Twitter's Todd Sherman.

"For poll creators, it's a new way to engage with Twitter's massive audience and understand exactly what people think. For those participating, it's a very easy way to make your voice heard."

Source: AFP