Time to unplug the toaster: Twitoaster shutting down
When I joined Twitter last year, I said I wouldn’t be able to work anymore on Twitoaster, but the whole service would keep running. Since then, it’s been quite amazing (and unexpected, I have to say) to see pure organic growth more than doubling the traffic!
I’m really happy to see this project has been useful for a few extra months, but the time has come for Twitoaster to sunset. From product goals to technical stuff, there are many areas where Twitoaster needs to evolve and to be improved. And I unfortunately don’t have the time anymore to work on all of this.
So this Sunday (March 20th):
- The Twitoaster API will be totally shut down (read & write). Any external service relying on it will obviously cease to function (i.e. Twitoaster WordPress plugin). Please note this also includes the feeds!
- The website will remain accessible in a “read-only status” for some time. That means you’ll still be able to access your threaded timelines, conversations, rankings… but nothing will be updated anymore and you won’t be able to login with your #twitter account.
I really wanted to thank you guys again for using Twitoaster. Take a last bite in the toasts while they’re still hot. I’ll update this post when I’ll actually unplug the toaster.
Update (March 20th):
- 1:40 PM (PST) - Twitoaster API + Feeds have been turned off.
- 2:15 PM (PST) – Connection to the Twitter Streaming API closed + Login disabled. No more content update starting from now!
18 March 2011 at 8:26 pm #
@rno One Twitter toaster lights on fire, another’s flame will soon be extinguished. Twitoaster, we knew you well.
via Twitoaster
25 March 2011 at 12:17 am #
I love it!!
18 March 2011 at 8:27 pm #
@rno is this just because it burned one piece of toast and set off the fire alarms? :)
via Twitoaster
18 March 2011 at 8:37 pm #
oh please no. :(
18 March 2011 at 8:51 pm #
No, please! .. We love twitoaster
18 March 2011 at 9:04 pm #
@rno timely! I’ll miss it. We don’t support as useful of an experience yet :-(
via Twitoaster
18 March 2011 at 9:29 pm #
:( que lastima, igual gracias! y suerte en todo RNO
19 March 2011 at 1:40 am #
I love twittoaster for all my blogs why? :-(
19 March 2011 at 7:07 am #
Hi, thanks for the support and great work.
It was one of my favourites for social networking.
Currently looking at Twitter Blog for WP. Does not seem to have manual edit of the tweet (really needed to target the right public).
Any suggestions for replacement?
Grt, Bart
19 March 2011 at 9:05 am #
Why don’t you sell Twitoaster to someone interested in it? You can’t make it better because of your time, but someone else can. Please, don’t shut down this service. We love it!
19 March 2011 at 9:10 am #
The #Twitter community looks forward to having you back again in the near future. Thank you Twitoaster for the memories. -Love, Yosh
19 March 2011 at 10:50 am #
Grim Cris is right. Hand-over to someone with the right skills and interest.
19 March 2011 at 11:37 am #
@rno what is your thinking on handover to keep the service going? DM me.
via Twitoaster
19 March 2011 at 12:45 pm #
I luv Twitoaster,so I have to say I am saddened to hear this news.
Your site has promoted me more than any other site involving Twitter,as well as provided me some good laughs as I read through my previous tweets.
Congrats on an awesome an original idea,Twitoaster is by far one of my favorite sites.
Yours Truly
DrunkSlut
19 March 2011 at 1:50 pm #
suddenly.
19 March 2011 at 3:25 pm #
The sorry for us, twitoaster is one of the best APIs for Twitter. We hope you do not give up the project and if they can not maintain themselves by having a lot of work, seek help from the Community. We are willing to help.
Cuanto lo sentimos, para nosotros twitoaster es una de las mejores APIs creadas para Twitter. Esperamos que no desistan del proyecto y si no lo pueden mantener solos por tener mucho trabajo, pidan ayuda a la Comunidad. Estamos dispuesto a ayudarlos.
19 March 2011 at 3:56 pm #
:(
19 March 2011 at 4:28 pm #
Thank you very much for the good support all the time and I know well about the hard work in the past you did. Thank you and good luck for the future.
19 March 2011 at 5:14 pm #
Why shut down? Sell your site on flippa. Put some affiliate links and banners, test the revenue. Heck, you may even decide to keep it after you monetize your system. Hire some staff and grow this site to even become much larger. You gotta good thing going here and are ultimately walking away from large sums of money.
19 March 2011 at 5:19 pm #
Thank you very very much for all the time you spent us. Good luck!!!
19 March 2011 at 6:30 pm #
Awww. Well… thanks for the wonderful look at the twitterverse. I’ll miss the perspective, and I wish you well on your next adventures. xoxo K
19 March 2011 at 7:30 pm #
Parting is such sweet sorrow. I enjoyed every minute of the time I spent on twitoaster. Like all great things, sometimes, it has to end. It is such a very valuable service for twitter avid users,like myself. I hope you can revive it someday. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of twitoaster. :(
19 March 2011 at 7:43 pm #
I find it so bizzarre that someone would create something so amazing and then kill it off. To those of us who wish we had the ability to create something like this, it’s absolutely mind boggling.
It’s like creating a child and then suffocating it for no reason. If it’s no longer a challenge and an adventure for you, then why not pass it on to someone who would give it the love and care that you once had for it?
Please don’t kill Twitoaster!
19 March 2011 at 7:58 pm #
I am sad to read this post, specially because I saw how it grew in trefic in the last months, specially from some small countries.
Is there anything we could do to let the toaster on?
Anyway I hope you would keep going forward with your projects and dreams.
May God bless you and keep you safe in His love.
–
Jonathan Proaño
@parlox
20 March 2011 at 3:43 am #
We would like to take twitoaster off your hands and keep it going for all the world to see.
20 March 2011 at 8:02 am #
Im new to the site dont unplug it yet…..
20 March 2011 at 9:17 am #
I have been saying for an eternity that toasters are inherently evil – they will take over the World.
20 March 2011 at 11:42 am #
I love Twitoaster PLEASE find someone to run it.. As others has requested don’t kill your baby! Adopt to other parents if you wish but keep it going! I will be sad to see it go .. infact DEVASTATED! RICH :0(
20 March 2011 at 2:35 pm #
Is there anything else I can do to keep it running?
20 March 2011 at 2:51 pm #
Hello from Russia! Is that joke? We gotta keep it runnin! Finally sell it
20 March 2011 at 4:35 pm #
We’ll be keen to consider taking over…
20 March 2011 at 5:03 pm #
For all those asking to keep the service on or even selling it. What I’m seeing in this announcement. Twitter has lately been unwelcome to third party developers trying to catch as much traffic to its official clients as possible. So, considering that Arnauld (the guy behind Twitoaster) is now working at Twitter, he might’ve been asked by the employer to shut it down. But I think that Twitter is working on threading and analytics features, so hopefully we’ll soon see Twitoaster emerge within Twitter in some ways. Anyway, kudos to Arnauld for the great app and fun it’s provided all of us.
20 March 2011 at 5:41 pm #
You’re right Twitter crushed Twitoaster.
20 March 2011 at 6:42 pm #
@rno Nooooo I’m gonna miss it :S ….. RT : Time to unplug the toaster: Twitoaster shutting down #Twitoaster
via Twitoaster
21 March 2011 at 1:52 am #
Sorry to hear that Twitoaster is shutting down, I really liked this site. Good luck to all.
21 March 2011 at 2:13 am #
Hi.. I am sorry to hear the news, that the site is closing down. I have been on tweet of teh day and tweet of the week etc virtually every day for a while now. The site is great and helps people get listed in google, even better than twitters own statuses. I for one would be interested in buying or taking over the site, as I know how useful it is to people, who try to get their message across. Please consider, some of these offers, as I am sure there is someone who can carry this on and be a good aid to twitter.
21 March 2011 at 8:28 am #
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
21 March 2011 at 11:10 am #
Why do you need to shut down the plugin? i just installed it on my wordpress last week. :(
can you recommend another plugin that would work with UBUNTU 10.10 and Wordpress 3.1? thanks.
21 March 2011 at 11:18 am #
That really really sucks… We love Twitoaster, it works so fine… Is there not some body that can pick it up?
21 March 2011 at 12:32 pm #
Thank you Arnaud – I’ve found Twitoaster invaluable for searching for cached tweets and will miss the service.
All the best with your future ventures
21 March 2011 at 9:23 pm #
The first day without Twitoaster… Nooooooo! I am really angry.. Miss Twitoaster.
22 March 2011 at 6:01 am #
Any alternative??
23 March 2011 at 12:55 am #
Sell Twitoaster to someone. Or organize a team of people just go to odesk, elance, freelance, or other sites and build a team. Don’t just let it go. Do something with it – sell it or get help.
23 March 2011 at 5:35 am #
por fabor zizkrivirme a Twitoaster,grazie,
23 March 2011 at 6:48 am #
Twitoaster just needed that something or someone to make it bigger than twitter & facebook :-) I guess no one can be as sad to see it gone like Arnaud.
23 March 2011 at 2:58 pm #
I wish others could take over from where you’re leaving it. Sad and unfortunate.
24 March 2011 at 7:21 am #
No wonder after I updated my twitoaster wordpress plugin I get this news. Well, somethings have to go and with Arnauld working in Twitter, it is more of definitely would happen.
Sad to see twitoaster go though.
24 March 2011 at 6:58 pm #
This tool has provided huge benefits to our breast cancer information site. We will sorely miss this service, even though we fully understand the business side that led to the deactivation.
We appreciate the alert.
Be well,
The PinkIsPowerful.com staff
24 March 2011 at 7:00 pm #
This tool has provided huge benefits to our breast cancer information site. We will sorely miss this service, even though we fully understand the business side that led to the deactivation.
We appreciate the alert.
Be well,
24 March 2011 at 9:57 pm #
Oh no! :( What are we goingo to do now? The service and stats information made this site a great tool, and, sincerely, I don’t know which other App could replace @Twitoaster as effectively as we realy need.
Anyway, thanks @rno ; and good luck in the future! ;)
25 March 2011 at 7:54 am #
I blame Twitter for that! Shame on them! >:-(
Facebook is making more and more sense. But Twitter remains static. Shame on Twitter!!
25 March 2011 at 1:58 pm #
This my friend is a truly sad event.
Thank you for all you have done. You have been a great service to us all.
The work you have done thus far is very much appreciated.
I wish I knew what you know, so I could take over this project for you.
Twit toaster is and was the most innovative content distribution ap ever.
Again, thanks for your service.
28 March 2011 at 1:57 pm #
All good things must come to an end. I just want to say thank you for everything.
30 March 2011 at 6:19 pm #
Thank you for your service.
31 March 2011 at 10:04 pm #
Hey Sorry to see you go Twitoaster you were truly the “Toast of the Town” or at least the web! Hope your next venture surpasses all of your expectations! All the Best from Jim Jimi Vain
1 April 2011 at 1:26 am #
So sad. I keep losing twitter plugins for WordPress for clients, it is driving me mad.
4 April 2011 at 9:31 pm #
Why my academic project is going to go shit nowhere. I totally ruined up. Why is twitter killing its once so open environment. Its like falling doom.
7 April 2011 at 10:04 pm #
Ohh! Thats really sucks!
and its very bad news for us!
WTH? PLZ DO SOMETHING! WE ALL LOVE TWITOASTER!
AND ALL THE COMMENTS ARE PROVING IT!
IF U WANT U REALLY CAN DO SOMETHING! WE KNOW THAT.
“THERE’S WILL ..THERE’S WAY”
8 April 2011 at 4:03 am #
Man!
8 April 2011 at 11:34 am #
well, there goes the only ‘twitter app’ website i ever used. will miss it, though i’m sure others will be making similar things inspired by what this site started.