Twitter is more than just a tool for spouting 140-character prose--it's also a platform. From desktop and mobile Twitter clients to picture sharing to URL shorteners and scheduled tweeting tools, an entire cottage industry sprung up around Twitter. Since Twitter was built as a platform that others can tap into, users can create their own services that run on Twitter, rather than having to wait for an official update from the service. These third-party tools and services quickly evolved into full-fledge businesses and were an integral part of helping Twitter become mainstream.

But what happens when Twitter starts to compete directly with the third-party services that helped make Twitter attractive to users in the first place? FastCompany explores just that issue in an article looking at Twitter's new analytics product.

Read more: Twitter Shows Third-Party Services Its Dark Side