CUPERTINO, CA - On June 14th at roughly 10:30 pm EST Apple posted the epic update aimed at fixing Twitterrific, the wildly popular iPhone Twitter client that had been temporarily debilitated by the infamous Twitpocalypse bug one day earlier. The downing of Twitterrific set off a global panic in the Twitterverse, sending a clear message that the Twitpocalypse was not only real, but it was in full micro-effect.
Reports warned that Twitter would allegedly stop working once the number of tweets surpassed 2,147,483,647, it’s the largest number that can be stored as the data type known as a “signed integer. Totally capable of destroying Planet Twit.
"I was totally freaking out when I realized the Twitpocalypse was real," said Twitterrific iPhone user Wiles Trotter, "I felt like Twitter was coming to an abrupt end when I heard the news. I've not experienced this kind of panic attack ever, I was hopeless."
Once developers The iCon Factory, learned of the app's fatal flaw on Saturday, June 13, they quickly took action to fix the known issues with update 2.0.2 which was submitted to Apple at 6pm EST for approval according to The iCon Factory Blog. The next grueling hours that followed offered only one choice, hurry up and wait.
Meanwhile, the rest of the anxious Twitterverse tweeted news of the impending 2.0.2 update submission over and over again ad nauseum, with hundreds of Twits repeating the exact same text launched as the only glimmer of hope during the Twitpocalypse blackout that struck Twitterrific.
The terms Twitterrific 2 and Twitpocalypse started dominating Twitter's trending topics. It was late into Saturday when Mashable's CEO Pete Cashmore, sent a single tweet, a message that resonated authentic hope to the whole of the Twitter universe, finally giving the community at large something meaningful to cling to.
Cashmore's perfectly timed tweet of destiny was re-tweeted hundreds of times in a matter of seconds by the bulk of his 814,638 followers within proximity. At that moment you could almost see the tragic mood lifting as the entirety of Twitter turned their gaze on command towards Apple as their savior, the one sole entity that could deliver them from the clutches of the Twitpocalypse on black Saturday. True hope was finally within reach, but when would Apple save us all?
When The iCon Factory finally tweeted their less than 140 character resurrection news that read, "Free version of 2.0.2 now propagating through the App Store. Will take time to reach everyone. Still waiting on Premium. Our thx to Apple!", the Twitterverse knew, as did I, that Apple had indeed saved the entire Twitter planet from extinction!
Apple rose to the occasion in epic fashion to push through approval of the crucial Twitterrific update in record time. While most developers are having to wait for days or even weeks for an update to take effect in the App Store, this day was saved by Apple in less than 17 desperate hours. A legendary effort by a mythical mega brand who saved us from the Twitpocalypse.
Thank you Pete Cashmore, for giving us all a steady hand to hold onto. Thank you Apple for averting a total disaster while delivering us all from a fate worse than micro-death. I can't wait to see the made for TV movie recalling this harrowing event. It will go down in micro-history as a massive minor blip on the laptop screens of millions of certified Twits everywhere.
Merry Twitmas to all and to all a good night.
This is obviously satire.
However, I was, admittedly, saddened that Twitterrific would be the only Twitter client (of 3) that I have on my iPhone to fail.
What other clients suffered under the "Twitpocalypse?" This whole thing makes it a shame that the coding for one of the premier iPhone apps couldn't have been better executed.
Posted by: Dismayed Twit | June 15, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Kind of annoyed that Icon Factory wasn't forward thinking enough to see this coming. Have we not learned enough from Y2K? LOL
Posted by: mandingo | June 15, 2009 at 12:31 PM
So you must be getting a cut on that twitterific app right shit for brains? total hackery bullshit!
Posted by: sixto | June 15, 2009 at 08:56 AM
I love the fail whale being held up by apple logos!
Posted by: jean-paul | June 15, 2009 at 08:52 AM
"The entirety of Twitter turned their gaze on command towards Apple as their savior, the one sole entity that could deliver them from the clutches of the Twitpocalypse on black Saturday."
You've got to be kidding here, right? Please tell me it's a spoof and you're just having a laugh! ;)
Posted by: AllyRox | June 15, 2009 at 08:49 AM
Your satirical twist on that overblown day of Twitpocalypse micro-hysteria is so well done. You managed to capture the dumbness of that one app crashing in perfect order as it happened. The exaggeration of tweets making the twitterrific crash seem like some real catastrophe still has me LOL!
"Cashmore's perfectly timed tweet of destiny..." is just idiotic. Well done man!
Posted by: JAllen | June 15, 2009 at 08:41 AM
Granted, I agree they could write about the Twitpocalypse. But the whole article was a bunch of biased, overemphasised writing, praising people for doing something wrong.
Yes, it wasn't clearly as simple as 2 lines of code...but almost every other application managed it.
Posted by: YaManicKill | June 15, 2009 at 06:53 AM
I'll admit that the title of this news post is inaccurate and misleading. However, Twitterific was the biggest (but not only) example of a Twitter client that was affected by the Twitpocalypse. With over 40,000 apps in the app store, many which are undergoing revision for the impending 3.0 release on Wednesday, it was a rather gracious move on Apple's part to update (the free version) of Twitterific in record time. You'll note that the paid version of Twitterific is still in limbo.
Additionally, Twitterific stated that it had attempted to adjust the program to compensate for the Twitpocalypse. Somebody clearly made a mistake...so thus, it couldn't be as simple of task as editing only two lines of code.
I've got my own issues with IPS...I downloaded the Trek-like communicator, and found that it wasn't "dead on" to the series...and feel now that IPS's report on the program was a paid advertisement. So for the record, I'm not blindly supporting IPS or its editorial views. But I do think it is note-worthy to write about this event called the Twitpocalypse and how it affected one of the most popular iPhone Twitter clients.
Posted by: Doctor | June 15, 2009 at 04:51 AM
@Peter
I agree with what you said. This is just a hype. Read my blog about this. "Rant: Apple, our saviour!!!" This is a big stunt, to publicise twitterfic and apple.
Posted by: YaManicKill | June 15, 2009 at 03:34 AM
This is interesting that it almost seems like Twitterific is the only iPhone Twitter client.
That's not the case. Beside Twitterific isn't the most popular either. Checked App Store?
I have no idea how Icon Factory pulled off this stunt but they must have a lot of people on their payroll.
Posted by: Peter | June 15, 2009 at 02:49 AM