Twitter's Chirp Dev Conference Is Another Casualty Of Musk's Takeover
Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter in a massive $44 billion deal and became the sole CEO, things have quickly devolved into utter chaos. With people getting fired left and right, changes happening en masse, and even more to come, it's no longer a surprise when something gets canceled, moved, or otherwise altered. This time around, it's Twitter's annual developer conference, and some people are not happy.
As per Twitter's own Developer Platform, Chirp is "a celebration of the innovation developers have brought to Twitter, the opportunities that await, and a chance to meet and mingle with others in the developer community." This year's iteration of the conference was set to take place very soon, on November 16, 2022. The event included various workshops, technical sessions, networking opportunities, and fun things like a cocktail party and a scavenger hunt. While it was meant to take place in San Francisco, the content was also supposed to be posted online for those who couldn't make it in person.
Chirp had a tumultuous history. It was first held in 2010, but then, after just one year, it was canceled. The big comeback scheduled for 2022 was meant to be a way to "earn trust" of the developers once again, at least according to Amir Shevat, Twitter's Head of Product (via TechCrunch). Unfortunately, amidst all the current chaos, it appears that winning back trust needs to step back into the shadows.
Chirp bites the dust yet again
While 2022 was meant to mark Chirp's big comeback, the change of ownership threw a wrench into those plans — so much so that the developer conference has now been canceled entirely, less than two weeks before it was set to take place. This information was shared via the official Twitter Dev account. Twitter claims that the reason behind the cancelation is that the team is currently "hard at work to make Twitter better for everyone, including developers."
It's easy to believe that the team is currently working extra hard. Inside reports say that Musk's first order of business was to fire a lot of Twitter higher-ups and regular employees alike, and according to a CNBC report, those who are still there are now forced to work 12-hour shifts seven days a week in order to meet the new deadlines. An event the size of Twitter Chirp could be disruptive in this situation, but this is still unfortunate — especially for the developers who had planned to attend the conference.
Under Twitter's announcement, there are some calls for reimbursement. The people who were going to fly in for the conference are now left with flight tickets and hotel accommodations, presumably already paid for, and no reason to travel anymore. "Will you reimburse the flight tickets and accommodations people paid to attend #Chirp?" asked one Twitter user. The company has yet to reply.