The difference between Twitter and Twilio or Stripe is that Twitter has a product that exists outside their API. In the case of Stripe or Twilio their API is their product, the dynamic between developers and the Twitter vs. Twilio is going to be far different.
Agreed, but this distinction isn't made when bashing API opportunities. The haters on this thread and others state developers are fools for depending on APIs...not just APIs who have products that exist outside their APIs.