TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Twitter is blocking all third=party ads:

For this reason, aside from Promoted Tweets, we will not allow any third party to inject paid tweets into a timeline on any service that leverages the Twitter API.

This would seem to include applications like Tweetie for Mac and Twitterrific which place Fusion or Deck ads in the timeline, but Chris Bowler said on Twitter this morning this rule change doesn’t preclude them from showing ads.

Twitter’s API terms clarify this a bit. They say:

(a) We encourage you to create advertising opportunities around Twitter content that are compliant with these Rules. In cases where Twitter content is the basis (in whole or in part) of the advertising sale, we require you to compensate us (recoupable against any fees payable to Twitter for data licensing).
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(b) You may generally advertise around and on applications or sites that display Tweets, but you may not place any advertisements within the Twitter timeline on your Service other than Twitter Ads.
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(d) You may advertise in close proximity to the Twitter timeline (e.g., banner ads above or below timeline), but there must be a clear separation between Twitter content and your advertisements.

The last term is ambiguous. It says adverts can be close to the timeline (they use the top and bottom of the timeline as an example), and then say there must be a “clear separation” between tweets and adverts. Tweetie’s Fusion Ads could fall within this; while they are technically within the timeline, they are clearly distinguished from tweets. So while (a) seems to clearly ban placing ads within the timeline, (d) might also provide a condition to that. This isn’t at all clear and Twitter needs to clarify it.

I have a feeling ad services like Fusion Ads and the Deck will be allowed to continue placing adverts within the timeline, because they aren’t trying to deceive users into thinking their ads are Twitter content. Twitter’s real target, it looks like, are services trying to blend ads in to look like tweets or content from Twitter, and that is something they should absolutely try to stop.