The Twitter API

On February 2nd, it was announced, with almost no notice, that Twitter would discontinue its free API and start charging for access.

Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead 🧵

— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) February 2, 2023

This was met with universal scorn from the development community, and the changes were postponed, first on the eighth until February 13th, and then on the 13th for "a few more days"

We have been busy with some updates to the Twitter API so you can continue to build and innovate with us. We’re excited to announce an extension of the current free Twitter API access through February 13. Here’s what we’re shipping then 🧵 — Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) February 8, 2023

There has been an immense amount of enthusiasm for the upcoming changes with Twitter API. As part of our efforts to create an optimal experience for the developer community, we will be delaying the launch of our new API platform by a few more days. More information to follow… — Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) February 13, 2023

Six weeks later, on March 30th, three new access tiers for the API were introduced, to begin on April 29th

Introducing a new form of Free (v2) access for write-only use cases and those testing the Twitter API with 1,500 Tweets/month at the app level, media upload endpoints, and Login with Twitter.

Get started: https://t.co/CqCRD3vbE5

— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) March 29, 2023

This new api would consist of 

• A Free tier for posting only, with a limit of 1,500 a month
• A Basic tier for hobbyists with a limit of 50,000 posts a month, for $100 a month
• An Enterprise tier with a limit determined by the needs of the company, at $42,000 a month

IMO, these charges will destroy the twitter development ecosystem. Most automated accounts, including the official Irish Abroad account @irish_abroad, will blow through the 1,500 limit before the end of the month
Additionally, no hobbyist can afford $1,200 a year, and this has already led to the end of many popular bots on the site, and will also affect third party clients
The cost of the enterprise tier is so great, that even Microsoft has said they will not pay for it

I'm making some changes to the code the posts the birthday, #OnThisDay, and remembrance tweets and they will continue as normal.
How will this affect the live updates? Well, from this coming Saturday, they will have to be reduced to stay under the monthly limit. The goals and red cards will still be posted.
The daily summaries and team of the round tweets will continue.
No lineups. No assists. No bookings. No end of game summaries

If the account is still under the limit, or the limits are altered, these changes will be reviewed, and some updates will return.

Further Reading

Microsoft drops Twitter from its advertising platform

Wikipedia Initiative

In our recent podcast, our initiative to encourage Irish football fans to update the Wikipedia articles for the Republic of Ireland Women's squad was announced. We had discussed amongst ourselves what to do in the build up to the first appearance by the Girls In Green at this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup, and, having read of other similar initiatives to improve the quality of women's articles in certain fields (science, art, history, etc) we thought this would be an excellent opportunity for a collective effort by fans of the team to make as much information as possible available before the tournament kicks off in July.

So, what does this entail?
For the next eleven weeks, we're going to ask fans to focus on a single position within the squad, read through the articles for the players in that posistion, and either correct any mistakes you notice, or add something to it. This can be as little as correcting a spolling mistake (like that one!), or adding a line about their debut to their career history, to adding their international record. 

We're starting this week with the goalkeepers named by Vera Pauw in the squad to face the United States recently - Courtney Brosnan, Grace Moloney, Megan Walsh, and Sophie Whitehouse - as well as recent callups Naoisha McAloon, Katie Keane, and Eve Badana. 

Read the linked articles for each player, see if you notice anything that is incorrect, or if you know anything that can be added, feel free to do so.

Further reading
Republic of Ireland Women's National Team
Project Rewrite: Tell the missing stories of women on Wikipedia and beyond
Making the edit: why we need more women in Wikipedia
Closing the gender gap: Women in Red’s efforts to add more women to Wikipedia
500 Women Scientists - Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon

Episode 55 - From Austin To Missouri

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick to review the Republic of Ireland's women's friendlies against the US in Austin and Missouri, discuss the group draw for the UEFA Under 17 Championship, and announce our initiative to encourage fans of the women's team to update the wikipedia page for each member of the squad before the World Cup kicks off in July

Episode 54 - Tired of holding our hands up!

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of hawkeyesidekick and Philip Fanagan of The Bottomless Pit of Football to discuss the Republic of Ireland's friendly against Latvia and qualifier against France and what both results and performances mean for the qualification Euro 2024 campaign