Twitter's latest experiment invites developers to build on the social network in a bid to help prevent online harassment.
As TechCrunch reports, the new initiative will supplement Twitter's own blocking and muting tools by recommending integrated third-party moderation services at the point at which potential harassment of a user occurs.
A beta test is available to select users who, when reporting harassment, will see a prompt highlighting appropriate third-party services that provide more advanced levels of safety and protection than Twitter alone.
Initial partners include Block Party, which automatically blocks likely harassers; Bodyguard, which automatically moderates replies; and Moderate, which manages users' mentions. All three are included in the Twitter Toolbox online hub—featuring self-serve apps built by the social network's developer community.
By encouraging folks to take further action once they've already blocked or muted an account, Twitter hopes people will be more inclined to interact with third-party apps.
"This is the first step in us working with developers to actually enable [users'] needs," explained Amir Shevat, head of Product for Twitter's developer platform, "I think of Twitter right now as the old Nokia phone," he continued. "It was a good phone. But the only app on it was Snake, if you remember. I see the future of Twitter as an iPhone, where the value that you get is actually through developer innovation."