Twitter Buys TweetDeck, Promises To “Invest” In It

When rumors circulated in recent days that Twitter was about to buy Tweetdeck, there were red flags flying everywhere from people assuming that Twitter would buy the popular client software and then shut it down.

Not so, says Twitter.

In a blog post confirming the acquisition, Twitter promises that “we will continue to invest in the TweetDeck that users know and love.”

TweetDeck founder Iain Dodsworth also confirmed the acquisition on the TweetDeck blog, and appears to reveal more about how his creation will fit in to the Twitter product lineup:

The mainstream Twitter user-base is well catered for by twitter.com and the official mobile clients. And by becoming part of the official platform, TweetDeck will now fill that role for brands, influencers, the highly active and anyone that just needs “more power”.

Twitter has had something of a contentious relationship with third-party developers in the recent past. In March, the company told developers to stop building new clients that mimic the standard Twitter user experience. Twitter has also battled with companies that have tried to compete on the advertising front.

Last year, Twitter bought Atebits, the company that made “Tweetie” — what was then considered by many to be the number one Twitter app on the iPhone. Much like with the current Tweetdeck situation, there were rumors that Twitter would shut down Tweetie, but it’s since been turned into Twitter for iPhone, the official company iPhone app.