Almost every single feature of Twitter (including its logo!) was created by third party devs or users. Not surprising that when the API is severely restricted, the fun stops.
This is misleading-to-false, particularly regarding the logo.
The logo was created by Simon Oxley. It's misleading because while Oxley is a Twitter user, he didn't create it for Twitter: he created as stock imagery, and Twitter purchased the rights to use the image via iStockphoto: http://www.wired.com/business/2009/03/twitter-designe/
It gets into false territory because subsequent versions of the logo were developed by designers either Twitter employed or contracted with.
Even if you're talking about the "T" logo variant, it's also not true: the "T" logo was simply the "T" from Twitter's original wordmark, which was simply the Pico Alphabet font designed in 2001 by a Japanese design firm, Maniacker's Design: http://www2.wind.ne.jp/maniackers/pico.html
buying doesn't equal creation, so webwielder would seem to be correct. Derived versions of the logo are new creations, see all the arguments or derived works and software licensing. Also, "original artwork" and "simply the Pico Alphabet font designed..." doesn't match either.
To go for functionality, the hashtag and retweet were developed by users not Twitter.
The sense I meant "original wordmark" (not artwork) was that it was the first wordmark, not that it was novel. It was not created by a Twitter user or dev: it's just the name "Twitter" in the Pico font, which predates Twitter by several years.
Moreover, it's misleading to claim the bird logo was created by third-party Twitter users (or devs): the fact that Simon Oxley has an account on Twitter played no part in the acquisition of the rights to use his work. They purchased the rights to use stock imagery.
That is to say, its association with Twitter is due to Twitter buying the rights to the image and using it in their branding, not due to Oxley's involvement in the Twitter community or his offering it up as a community take on Twitter branding (which he did not). It's not in the same category as borrowing from or being inspired by the Twitter community as was the case with hashtags and retweets.
The subsequent logos were created by internal Twitter designers or contractors. While I'm sure they are Twitter users, they are definitely not third party Twitter users and their usage of Twitter is incidental to their design work.
