Do you remember the pre-Axiom (X-closed) era when one could go to X privacy and was given open access to massive amounts of data to build various applications and analytical systems? Yet, today is as unlike those days as can be. Starting this week, X Company introduced a “top-up pack” for its developer API. They effectively work like the small-scale transactions expected to be made by app developers whose data counter limit will expire in the middle of the month.
This pack costs $100 and will undoubtedly get you to 10k posts. Earlier in 2021, there were the shock actions of Elon Musk, who took away free access and adopted price tiers starting at the lowest, starting at $100 per month. Sooner or later, free tiers have appeared with higher limitations. These developers are still waiting for upgrading if the free tier data is completely exhausted.
It’s just that you will never get the results you expected. Green Road Tax Excerpt This limits the number of recharges you can purchase. Free users saw a limit of 10, while Pro users got their slop slipped to a limit of 5 each month. This action was taken in an unprecedented manner and aroused mixed emotions.
Most third-party application developers, such as Tracy Chow’s Block Party, had abandoned X and began looking for a different area where their code might be best suited. One faces the same problem in the case of research on the X Data Processor itself. In the end, they had to yell at X several times, and thankfully EU rules (Digital Services Act) obliged X to provide access to the data storage.
Overall, X’s recent API changes paint a clear picture: data costs are more expensive than in cities with redundant lines and there is not much room for developers in such a city. Whether the developer ecosystem has good results or innovation is hindered will become clear in the future.
