I'm curious why Twitter are OK with this: it seems like a core bit of functionality for them to control. Is there a backstory to Gnip? This is the first I'd heard of them.
Gnip has been around for a few years, but re: backstory, this post from our CEO Jud lays things out pretty nicely: http://blog.gnip.com/we-believe/ (disclaimer: I work for Gnip).
GNIP has been reselling the real-time Twitter stream for well over a year now. Presumably, part of what you pay for the service actually ends up in Twitter's pocket.
Yeah, I assumed they weren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts - just that analytics seems like something they'd want to keep a handle on themselves.
Here's the initial Gnip announcement from almost 2 years ago where Twitter somewhat explain their rationale:
"The Gnip Historical Power Track product is a job-based system and usage is reliant on a multiple-request API. Generation of data via the Historical Power Track product requires two distinct steps: requesting a job quote/estimate (including projected cost, data volume, and time) and accepting or rejecting a job quote/estimate."
I thought it was awesome until I read "publically" on their site, and then clicked away. If they can overlook a spelling mistake on their website, how can they be trusted to archive PUBLICLY available tweet since 2006?
"Publicly is certainly the commoner version, but publically is a logical alternative, mentioned in the OED with half a dozen citations from 1727 to 1998, so it can't really be called a mistake."