How to Create a Twitter Aggregator App?

What is a Twitter aggregator app?

An aggregator is a software that allows users to gather and display content from multiple Twitter accounts in one place. This tool is especially helpful for businesses and individuals who want to keep track of mentions, hashtags, and keywords related to their brand.

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For users:

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For app owners:

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For original content publishers:

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According to Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism research, there has been a significant increase in referrals from mobile aggregators such as Apple News, Upday, and Google products including Google News and Google Discover.

As for Twitter, it's still one of the most popular social media sources for social networks aggregation. According to Statista, as of the third quarter of 2020, Twitter had 187 million monetizable daily active users worldwide. This social media shows permanent and significant growth — in 2014 year it was managing 109 million active users globally. Twitter doesn't require any introduction for its social worth, so it can greatly enhance users' engagement and, as a result, build brand awareness of your application.

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Twitter aggregation methods

And here we are going to make a short overview of the most popular Twitter feed aggregator development solutions.

Twitter's Application Programming Interface (API)

Twitter's API is the commonly used official method for accessing public Twitter data. It allows programs to request and deliver information by allowing an aggregator to call what's known as an endpoint.

Simply put, Twitter opens access to the API, thus other systems can interact with its data. We at Freshcode use this method the most commonly due to its unquestioned legality, low cost, and high-speed data transfers.

Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

RSS method is not as popular as it once was, but it's still quite relevant. This algorithm provides tracking websites for the new content automatically and pulls it over to feed the reader. RSS feeds use an XML (extensible markup language) file format to translate content for search engines at a more granular level through feed readers. Twitter has removed native RSS feeds from its public interface. So today you need a third-party service to make RSS feeds from tweets.

In many cases, only the original website where information was produced and the RSS feeds the website sends it to, falls within the limits of legal use.

Parsers (scrapers)

The parsing module as part of the backend app's side can be based on different frameworks. It runs a command at regular intervals to parse each separate source. All data is analyzed, collected, and finally stored in a database. There are commonly used two databases to separate parsing and importing — it increases the speed of both processes.

Parsing as a more sophisticated method is efficient in the context of getting news from several resources, or, for example, scraping timelines. So, for the most part, it's not really required within the Twitter aggregator case. Anyway, existing tools for scraping Twitter news feed can be used with and without using Twitter's API.

Let's note there are some troubles with the abusive use of parsers for conducting such harmful activities, like competitive data mining, online fraud, denial of service attacks, account hijacking and data theft, etc. Some companies are looking to the law to solve this problem, others develop anti-scraping technologies for their products. So, stay alert with scrapers and make sure you use them in a legal way.

Key features of a Twitter news aggregator

There are a number of unique features that can be implemented in the social media aggregator and enhance its functionality. But now let's highlight the basic ones that are essential for any aggregation app.

How to make a Twitter aggregator for your business

The modern world is heavily app-dependent, including increasingly popular content aggregators as a source to stay up-to-date with the latest news. Mobile news aggregators offer a variety of advantages for businesses trying to grow their audience and increase engagement via advanced features and utilities.

<medium>Twitter aggregators are commonly developed as mobile platforms.<medium> So, in most cases, we don't recommend clients to invest time, efforts, and budgets in the complex aggregator website development but build it as an addition with minimal functionality range.

Anyway, if you see there benefits for your business (for example, covering a wider audience by offering alternative access to the news), then building a complete Twitter aggregator website might be a good move.

If you are looking for creating an aggregator application with a minimal feature set, cross-platform development would be an optimal solution. <medium>It lowers expenses, accelerates development, and makes maintenance less challenging in the long run.<medium>

We are sure the client should be aware of what languages and frameworks are used by, what additional toolkit may come in handy, and how to benefit from different solutions.

Because of this, we've prepared brief information about some commonly used technologies and tools within the development of content aggregator websites and mobile apps.

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Twitter aggregators - custom app vs. off the shelf

News & Media is a big business sector and it needs the optimal technology to be implemented in order to reduce operational costs and remain viable. And when it comes to starting the development project of the Twitter aggregator you have to make the right turn at the development fork.

First is called Off-the-Shelf software, commonly used by startups and fresh developing companies opt to use. The other one known as the Custom software is generally the prerogative of the large and established businesses (so if you are looking for a quick fix this turn is probably not yours).

Actually, that is a rough definition enough and every case is unique and may benefit from any of these software types. Let's make a brief overview of the pros and cons of custom and off-the-shelf aggregator apps.

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Custom Twitter aggregators are harder to create and it takes more time than pulling out a ready-made app. But what about future prospects and authentic form?

When <medium>a custom application is like an atelier clothing<medium> designed specifically for your unique figure but:

1. you need to wait until the dressmaker will finish
2. and pay a tidy sum for it

<medium>...an off-the-shelf app is a pretty dress off the rack<medium> that is quicker and cheaper to buy, but:

1. you may meet someone in the same one
2. may doesn't fit someplace

So it's all about priorities on a case-by-case basis.

How to monetize a social media aggregator app?

Here we've mentioned key methods of Twitter aggregator monetizing:

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Takeaway

We are on the cusp of a new era for media products. When new ideas and principles are already at full throttle, let's take care of the future of media space with no fakes, low-quality content, and poor UX.

Twitter aggregation is getting eminent nowadays because of Twitter's permanent popularity. It includes a comprehensive mix of the best content and helps to stay up-to-date with the latest news.

Guided by the experience with similar projects Freshcode offers the best-proven solutions to build an agile and dynamic media aggregator from scratch.

Frequently Asked questions

How can I create my own social media aggregator?

Firstly, you should pick your niche and credible sources for aggregating news. Then create a requirements list, your expectations from the future app, what client's needs it meets, even a rough list of features it should realize, etc.

When it comes to the software development stage you need to choose between two types of development — custom and off-the-shelf. Developers use a variety of ready-made tools for news aggregator apps that eliminate the necessity of writing your own script. But if you want a tailor-cut bespoken product you need custom development to realize unique business logic and feature set.

What are the main features of an aggregator app?

When you build a media app you don't need to make it complex and excessively filled with all kinds of functionalities. Whatever content aggregator you want to create you'll need to implement at least the following features:

• Main page
• Newsfeed
• Admin Panel
• Search Panel
• Filtering
• Push notifications
• Analytics Dashboard

Why is a social media aggregator app so popular?

Social media aggregation is getting eminent nowadays because of the plenty of benefits it offers. Whether you're working at the office, walking through the park, or partying with friends, breaking news are always at your fingertips. The aggregator app includes a comprehensive mix of the best content and helps to stay up-to-date with the latest news articles.