Twitter has removed a feature that allowed users to embed the MS-DOS games in a tweet just a few days after it went live. The news does not come as a surprise because the feature that allowed users to integrate classic games in tweets by clicking the Internet Archive page was not in line with the micro-blogging site’s own rules, says a report from the Guardian.
Twitter breaches own rules
Twitter did not speak publicly about scrapping the feature, but gaming is clearly restricted under its developer guidelines.
Twitter has mentioned in its “What the approval team looks for” that it does not built end-to-end interactive experience inside the video or audio player not related to player card content such as purchasing, gaming, polling, messaging and data entry. Thus, the micro-blogging site decided to cancel the feature, probably after noticing the various news reports.
“Do not build end-to-end interactive experiences inside the video or audio player unrelated to player card content,” the company explains in its developer’s documentation.
Twitter upgraded post-earnings
It was mayhem for Twitter shares last week after the company released its earning numbers. The numbers disappointed investors as well as analysts. Various analyst firms dropped their price targets on the micro-blogging platform after the earnings report, but Stifel upgraded the stock.
Analyst Scott Devitt, John Egbert and Alex Chavdaroff assigned a Hold rating, upgrading it from Sell, and produced a price target of $36 per share. However, they feel that the stock will be under pressure in the long-term after the “potential near-term narratives” cease to exist. Revenue for the quarter dropped 44% over the last three quarters, which according to the analysts, is discouraging given Twitter’s current multiple.
Stifel analysts also listed three major long-term issues for Twitter, including obgoing pervasive slowing user and usage growth. Next, although management has stated that the platform is under-monetized, Stifel analysts note that the platform may be over-monetized in some developed markets. Lastly, they also note that the micro-blogging continues to lag other social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
The Stifel analyst did note one positive, pointing out that when adjusting for the time spent using the app, the monetization for Twitter is more than that of Facebook.
On Monday, Twitter shares closed up 0.11% at $37.88, and year to date the stock is up almost 6%.
