Twitter: Bringing You Ever Closer to the Fame Flame

If you're on Twitter, you already know that it's a drug. It's like a big get-together where you can talk to hundreds of people without committing yourself too seriously and before you know it ... poof ... you've just spent three hours talking about your summer reading. I've made a concerted effort to not let it overtake my life and I've generally succeeded.

But one aspect of Twitter that I find so pathetically alluring is the celebrity follow. Now, my time on Cinematical has already introduced me to a lot of Big Names, and while it's always fun and exciting to meet someone you like onscreen, it's often just work. Often, it's awkward work. I say that not to brag or play down the experience, but to stress that chasing celebrities just isn't my thing. Except on Twitter.

Twitter is like this shadowy, secret party where Hollywood's creme de la creme are eating, drinking, laughing, and filming, and they're coyly letting you watch. They casually drop names and TwitPics, and there's something about that that's so alluring once paired with a timestamp.
Read More

readmore »»

Facebook: Twitter is “in the rear-view mirror”

Twitter may still be the media darling of the day, getting all kinds of attention amid its huge user growth earlier this year. But Facebook, once considered Twitter’s most fierce competitor because it also wants to let users post bite-sized updates online about their thoughts, apparently no longer thinks of Twitter as a threat.

Facebook’s executives aren’t really thinking much about Twitter these days and see it as a niche site which is unlikely to grow — or at least, so they say.

“Twitter is a great company,” said Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook’s vice president of growth, mobile and international expansion in an interview yesterday. “What they do is offer a way to publish information in a very consumable, public way.”

But, he continued, “they’re in the rear-view mirror.”

“To focus on a company with 40 million users that is not growing is not a good idea,” he said, citing Hitwise market share data as evidence of Twitter’s slowdown.

Palihapitiya said the last time he thought about the company was when Twitter board member Bijan Sabet looked him up in April and took him to coffee. (It’s amusing that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone used the exact same “rear-view mirror” language to describe the competition when we talked to him last month.)

Palihapitiya made the comments in a portion of the interview where we asked him about which company — Google or Twitter — is the bigger competitor to Facebook. Other Facebook executives, including Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, have also suggested that Google is more of a competitor than Twitter.

Read More

readmore »»

Twitter Goes for Broke, if Broke Means

Is Twitter a billion-dollar company? It is now, according to its investors. People familiar with the company tell me it has raised around $50 million in a funding round that values the start-up, which has no real revenue to speak of, at about $1 billion.

TechCrunch, which first reported the funding, says CEO Evan Williams informed his employees about the new deal at a recent companywide meeting. I’m told the round is all but finished: “If the money isn’t in the bank yet, it will be soon,” a source tells me.

No word on who has invested in the company in this go-round, but it’s almost certain Twitter was able to entice new backers to join its existing investors: Silicon Valley logic dictates that each successive funding round should attract new money.

In February, Twitter raised approximately $35 million in a round led by Benchmark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners that valued it at $250 million.

Twitter Goes for Broke, if Broke Means “A Lot of Money”: New Funding Round at $1 Billion Valuation

Posted using ShareThis

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: Twitter's New Terms of Service

At the start, critics often said, "Twitter is fun, but it's not useful." At one point @ev responded dryly with, "Neither is ice cream." Things have come a long way in a short time. We recognized potential early but users and platform developers would demonstrate how much more Twitter could be. Fostering an open and increasingly important network is not as easily dismissed as it once was—but it's still fun!

Now that we know more about how Twitter is being used, we've made changes to our Terms of Service—these are the basic rules that go along with using Twitter. The revisions more appropriately reflect the nature of Twitter and convey key issues such as ownership. For example, your tweets belong to you, not to Twitter. With these revisions, we expect some discussion so here are a few highlights from the updated page.

Advertising—In the Terms, we leave the door open for advertising. We'd like to keep our options open as we've said before.

Ownership—Twitter is allowed to "use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute" your tweets because that's what we do. However, they are your tweets and they belong to you.

APIs—The apps that have grown around the Twitter platform are flourishing and adding value to the ecosystem. You authorize us to make content available via our APIs. We're also working on guidelines for use of the API.

SPAM—Abusive behavior and spam is also outlined in these terms according to the rules we've been operating under for some time.

These updates complement the spirit of Twitter. If we've left something out, or the nature of the service changes, then we'll revisit the Terms—there's a feedback link on the page.



Twitter Blog: Twitter's New Terms of Service

readmore »»

All About Latest Sports Action: Twittering Hughes needs to learn lessons

There’s absolutely no harm in using the social networking sites as means of communicating thoughts to a wider audience but one has to draw a line what’s to be shared publicly and what’s to be strictly avoided.

Even the celebrities, besides the stars in the making, now consider such sites being of some use to them but the wiser ones are selective in sharing their thoughts because the idea, more often than not, is to gain popularity rather than start a controversy.

I am not too sure what exactly was in the mind of Phillip Hughes, a 20-year-old Australian opener into his first year in international cricket, when he chose Twitter, one of the most popular social networking sites, to ‘break’ the news of his axing from the playing eleven for the third Test against England at Edgbaston quite a few hours before the start of the game in wet conditions on July 30.

What Hughes had probably overlooked is the fact that the matters discussed in the team meetings are for their own consumption only and the stories need not to be told outside the dressing room or the hotel wherever they assemble for the brainstorming.

All About Latest Sports Action: Twittering Hughes needs to learn lessons

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: New Front Page!

New Front Page!

Today we're trying a redesigned front page for folks who are new to Twitter.com. If you're a regular around these parts, then you won't notice the new look unless you sign out of your account. Helping people access Twitter in more relevant and useful ways upon first introduction lowers the barrier to accessing the value Twitter has to offer and presents the service more consistently with how it has evolved.
Twitter Blog: New Front Page!

readmore »»

Emerging Best Practices For Institutional Use of Twitter

In today’s rapidly developing technical environment there is a need to gain experience of the diversity of new networked services which can be used to enhance institutional objectives. There is also a need to document and share emerging best practices - whilst avoiding the temptation to develop constraining policies too soon - a danger which public sector organisations may be prone too.

As an example I have recently started to record videos of my talks at conferences and publish the videos soon after the event. I am pleased to have received positive feedback on this, including this comment:

Many thanks for providing the video and the Slideshare of your #CILIP-CYMRU09
event. I missed your presentation because I was “on a mission” for the following
speaker at the conference, so I greatly appreciate this opportunity to catch up!
…
You’ve done a lot to dispel this misunderstanding and fear here, in a very
balanced and helpful overview. Joeyanne’s page provides a useful example of how
Web 2.0 isn’t just about Facebook and Twitter, but is the working integration of
a number of tools, all enabling dialogue and sharing. The examples you provide
of the NLW using social web tools also add credibility and weight to these
services.

Such feedback will help in the formulation of best practices and, at a later date, policies on being videoed at events.

Read More Here

readmore »»

Twitter to Launch Verified Accounts to Help Prevent Impersonation

When public figures and celebrities have people pretending to be them, the self-important get all bent out of shape. Twitter has been ripe for impersonations, despite the ban of such accounts via the Twitter Terms of Service. While Twitter is aggressive in suspending fake accounts, I would argue most people are able to spot these fakes a mile away. That doesn't prevent the impersonated from getting their egos bruised.

For these celebrities and also for the rare down-to-earth ones, Twitter is launching Verified Accounts. It will begin as an experimental offering this summer. The experiment will begin with individuals, though Twitter sees potential in extending verification to businesses in the future.
You'll know if an account is official by a notification on the user's page. Twitter also suggested checking out the official website of the public figure you're interested in to see if they link to their Twitter account.

In the meantime, continue using that brain of yours to spot the fakes. Usually, they're as obvious as the Prado street vendors in New York City.

Posted here

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: Twitter Goes Hollywood?

The web is abuzz today with talk of a "Twitter TV show." I'm even getting folks asking me if they can audition. Indeed, there are a lot of interesting developments happening in the television space—MTV, G4, CNN, E! and various independent production companies are all leveraging Twitter for fun new projects. There are probably a bunch we don't even know about yet.

Is There An Official Twitter Show?

There is no official Twitter TV show—although if there were it would be fun to cast! In dealing with networks and production companies we sometimes have simple agreements. Regarding the Reveille and Brillstein project reported today, we have a lightweight, non-exclusive, agreement with the producers which helps them move forward more freely.

Our Openness Is Extensive

Twitter is very open. As a result, thousands of different applications, web sites, and mobile interfaces have been created by developers. These different approaches add variety and relevance to Twitter and in general make the ecosystem more interesting. However, Twitter's openness is not limited to the web or even to mobile phones.

During the 2008 presidential elections, Hack The Debate showed us how Twitter could make television interactive and possibly even have a democratizing effect on the medium. The power of Twitter was harnessed to create new, compelling, and engaging programming. CNN was an early innovator with Twitter too. Our openness made it all possible.



Twitter Blog: Twitter Goes Hollywood?

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: Does Twitter Hate Advertising?

When we speak publicly about how Twitter might become a profitable business, we talk about the idea of commercial usage and then explain that we're still exploring what that means—that's true. We also say traditional web banner advertising isn't interesting to us which is also true. However, to say we are philosophically opposed to any and all advertising is incorrect.

For a long time, we've said that we think there are interesting opportunities related to commercial usage. Businesses and individuals are getting value out of Twitter and we may be able to enhance that. We've just begun exploring in this area—early ideas include account authentication, management tools, and discovery mechanisms. We'll keep you posted.

The idea of taking money to run traditional banner ads on Twitter.com has always been low on our list of interesting ways to generate revenue. However, facilitating connections between businesses and individuals in meaningful and relevant ways is compelling. We're going to leave the door open for exploration in this area.
Twitter Blog: Does Twitter Hate Advertising?

readmore »»

Four stages of the average Twitter users

There’s a strange phenomenon that happens almost every time someone joins Twitter. They hate it. At least at first.

But many of the people who once hated Twitter — or at least, didn’t quite get it in the beginning — are now many of its most active users and raving fans. So what’s going on here?

There seems to be four natural stages that the average Twitter user goes through from the point of first trying it until the point of fully embracing it and making it a part of daily life. Obviously, not everyone sticks with it and becomes a Twitter devotee, but there’s definitely a growing cadre of people who believe that there’s some magic happening in the Twittosphere

Because I think Twitter can be used as a valuable business tool, it’s worth talking about the four Twitter stages in order to help recognize users in these stages when you’re choosing who to follow and to keep new Twitter users from getting discouraged and missing the opportunities available on Twitter. So here they are:

1. Confusion and indignation

When a person first signs up for Twitter, the first challenge is figuring out who to follow. Twitter now has its “Suggested Users” feature to help people get started. I’ve put together a list of technology personalities worth following on Twitter to help new techies when they sign up for Twitter.

However, even when they find some people to follow, new Twitterers usually look at their Twitter stream and start wondering, “Why would I care what my colleagues are eating for lunch?” or “What’s interesting about a software engineer posting that she’s walking her dog?”

That experience usually leads people to shake their heads and not come back to Twitter for a few days, or even weeks or months.

2. The first “Aha!” moment

Eventually, the user comes back periodically to check Twitter out of pure curiosity. During those casual forays, the person often has a first “Aha!” moment, where they find something really interesting or timely on Twitter that wasn’t available from news, RSS feeds, or word of mouth from their friends.

This could be a piece of news that someone reported on Twitter before it actually hit the wires, it could be a rumor about something that a company like Apple is doing, or even something like NFL teams announcing their picks for the draft on Twitter before they even went up to the podium to make the official selection.

Read More

readmore »»

How to use Twitter Business Directories

If you use Twitter for your business, have you made sure that your business has been added to the different business directories that are associated with Twitter? Did you know that there were Twitter business directories? Well, I’m glad that I’m sharing this information with you just in case you didn’t know.

Image: Newscom.com

Twitter business directories are websites that have intergrated their business listings with Twitter so that you can search and find businesses in specific industries. It is also a way for business owners to share about their businesses or find other businesses to cross-market with.

Below are a few of them:

• Twibs: shares on their website that it was created by a small group of people with one purpose: “Give twitter users a place to find businesses on twitter”. We are big believers in the power of twitter to connect customers with businesses. We’re working on making it easy for consumers to find businesses, both local and national. Keep in mind, we’re just getting started, so there may be small glitches and features missing, but don’t worry, we’re working hard for you to keep helping consumers find your business on twitter!
• Twellow: according to their website, Twellow.com has been designed from the ground up to help you “cut through the clutter”. Twellow.com is currently grabbing publicly available messages from the Twitter.com micro-blogging service. We then analyze and categorize each of the users responsible for those messages into the various categories found at Twellow.com. By adding these people to specific categories we help you narrow your searching into specific niches where you can find who you are looking for. In addition to Twitter, we’re actively working on adding more social media services to broaden your capacity to find people who matter.
• TwitBiz: is a business directory for Twitter. There you can find companies, entrepreneurs, employees and investors who are on Twitter. Besides the tweets from the companies, you can learn more about the people behind the company, its investors and see who the competitors are.
• Twitterati: Alltop has a section that lists the top Twitter users although it’s not technically business directory for Twitter. I thought it would be go to share as a resource from the Alltop family.
• WeFollow: according to their website, the premise is simple: anyone can tweet to @wefollow hashtags that represent what categories they would like to be listed under. WeFollow sees these @replies and then organizes users based on those hashtags. Common hashtags include #blogger, #entrepreneur, and #socialmedia. WeFollow only allows for three hashtags per person, assuring the directory does not become overly cluttered.

Originally Posted here

readmore »»

Your Guide to Job Search and Personal Branding on Twitter

Twitter--the 140 character social networking site--is becoming increasingly useful for job seekers. It doesn't work for everyone, of course, but it can certainly turbo-charge your networking, a key strategy for successful job hunting. It can also be an effective part of your personal branding campaign.

Here, then, is a (somewhat) definitive link guide to getting a new job (or losing your current one) through Tweeting. (I put this together for a client, so thought it would be nice to share).

Getting Started on Twitter--If you're new to Twitter. . .

• Newbie's Guide to Twitter
• Getting Started on Twitter in Plain English
• Surviving the Twitter Learning Curve
• An Illustrated Guide to Using Twitter
• 13 Twitter Tips and Tutorials for Beginners

Twitter Skills & Culture--You'd think it would be easy to type 140 characters and go, but like all social networks, Twitter has a culture that requires some skill to navigate. Ignore this section at your own risk.

• Twitter Vocab--note that using "tw" in a word (as in "tweeps" instead of "peeps" or "twirting" for "flirting") is a fundamental Twittering skill.Or at least it shows you're one of the cool kids.
• 10 Twitter Etiquette Rules
• Top 7 Twitter Commands Everyone Should Know
• How to Use @Replies
• How to Retweet
• To Follow or Not to Follow: That is the Question
• 9 Useful Sites for Finding People to Follow on Twitter
• Find the Right People to Follow on Twitter
• How to Unfollow with Class
• The Twitter Hashtag: What is it and How Do You Use It?
• The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Hashtags

Pimp Your Profile--Think of your Twitter profile as your "digital interview suit." First impressions count.

Read More

readmore »»

The Value Of Twitter As Compared To Google

I recognize that it's becoming fashionable among many to bash Twitter, but for those who have learned how to use Twitter well (as opposed to many who use it poorly), the value of it is quite impressive. I now spend a lot more time using Twitter to find news than I do my feed reader -- and that's amazing to me. However, I think Mark Cuban actually has made the strongest point, noting that in many ways, Twitter is becoming more useful than Google. This isn't to say that Twitter is "killing" Google (x killing y stories are lame), but that many people are finding information via Twitter now, where they used to find it via Google.

Cuban gives an example of trying to buy a car, where there may be a lot of value in being able to message a guru on the type of car he wants to buy via Twitter (or, better yet, finding a few of them). I know I've found Twitter to be useful in this manner. A few months ago, I was looking for a new backpack for my computer -- and I had very specific requirements (such as the ability to carry both a laptop and a netbook at times comfortably). It was quite difficult to come up with a Google query that made sense for such a thing, but I could ask it easily in 140 characters and plenty of people could easily understand it, and then provide thoughts and recommendations. It comes back to two points:

• Having real humans respond to a query works well for more specific queries that simply aren't well automated.

Read Full Post here

readmore »»

NYTimes Twitter Account Hacked

Another day, another high-profile TwitterTwitter reviews account gets hacked. This time, it’s one of (many) New York Times’ Twitter accounts, The Moment, which brings news from their fashion blog of the same name.

Well, as noticed by the folks over at Valleywag, at one point a suspicious, spammy tweet showed up on that account. Sure enough, a couple of hours later the NYTimes admitted they were hacked, and apologized to the public.

So, no big damage done, and the issue seems to have been quickly resolved, but it’s another warning for all you tweeple: keep your computers clean and your Twitter passwords safe.

Originally Posted here

readmore »»

Twitter Passes NYT, WSJ in Unique Visitors

Where do you get your news from? While there's a lot of reasons to visit Twitter online, it's essentially a place to learn about what's going on in your world. For the first time last month, the site saw more unique visitors than the websites of both the New York Times and the Wall St. Journal. Tameka Kee noticed the numbers via traffic analysts Compete.com and posted about them briefly on PaidContent today. Traffic numbers are fickle but Compete competitor Quantcast puts Twitter even further in the lead.

Kee attributes the surge to last month's Oprah, Ashton, CNN lovefest for Twitter. We suspect that is just one of a number of factors. Twitter is also really useful, fun and captivating.

Of course Facebook is much, much bigger - but for some reason non-users tend to take Facebook more seriously than Twitter. It's probably the Harvard connection and the similarity with MySpace. Twitter is a different animal. It's more interesting.

Read Full Story

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: Twitter Search for Everyone!

Every public update sent to Twitter from anywhere in the world 24/7 can be instantly indexed and made discoverable via our newly launched real-time search. What was that loud noise outside your apartment? Did you just feel an earthquake? What do people think about your company, your product, or your city? With this newly launched feature, Twitter has become something unexpectedly important—a discovery engine for finding out what is happening right now.

Searching Outside the Box

Twitter teaches us new and amazing things every day and a big lesson learned is that search is so much more than a box and a button. As public tweets fly in from around the globe, we analyze them to detect when certain words or phrases occur with higher frequency. These trending phrases are surfaced in the Twitter home page just under the new search box and they're updated throughout the day. Built on our search technology, trends are a compelling if rudimentary way to explore a collective global consciousness.

Twitter Blog: Twitter Search for Everyone!

readmore »»

Tweet Penguin: Infinite chain of your followers

I ran into a neat site called Tweet Penguin today. Apparently Tweet Penguin is supposed to be a free way to help you find more followers that have similar interests as you.

You can think of Tweet Penguin as another way of doing a chain letter or chain e-mail. That’s is what Tweet Penguin reminds me of anyway. I referred you, someone else referred me, and someone else referred the person that referred me, and so on.

Tweet Penguin is totally free to join so there is no risk involved. In order to sign up, Tweet Penguin just needs your Twitter log in information along with a few of your interests. Don’t worry about providing your Twitter log in in information. This is a standard way of business for the Twitter era. No one is going to hack into your Twitter account and make you tweet crazy messages or anything like that. It’s perfectly safe.

Once you are all signed up Tweet Penguin will automatically send a tweet out to all your current followers. This will notify them that Tweet Penguin exists. Doing this will also expand your current Social Network to new boundaries.

The last thing Tweet Penguin does is give you a personalized link to spread the word about Tweet Penguin. It’s that simple. Tweet Penguin is one of those things you sign up for and then totally forget you ever signed up. The good thing about Tweet Penguin is that even though you don’t remember you signed up, your chain of Twitter followers will be ever growing behind the scenes.

readmore »»

Twitter Telepathy: Researchers Turn Thoughts Into Tweets

Early on the afternoon of April 1, Adam Wilson posted a message to Twitter. But instead of using his hands to type, the University of Wisconsin biomedical engineer used his brain. "USING EEG TO SEND TWEET," he thought.

That message may be a modern equivalent of Alexander Graham Bell's "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you." Brain-computer interfaces are no longer just a gee-whiz technology, but a platform for researchers interested in immediate real-world applications for people who can think, but can't move.

"We're more interested in the applications," said Justin Williams, head of the University of Wisconsin's Neural Interfaces lab. "How do we actually make these technologies useful for people with disabilities?"

The researchers built upon the BCI2000, a software tool pioneered by Williams and Wadsworth Center neural injury specialist Gerwin Schalk. The software translates thought-induced changes in a scalp's electrical fields to control an on-screen cursor.

The BCI2000 is already used by 120 laboratories worldwide, but its communications applications have been largely restricted to messages appearing on a nearby screen.

"A lot of these have been scientific exercises, geared to writing things out but not really doing anything with it," said Williams. "We wanted to say, that's not how a person would want to communicate, especially with the advent of online communications."

The work is special because it meets the immediate needs of locked-in people, said Purdue University biomedical engineer Kevin Otto, who was not involved in the project.

Posted Here

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: Wily Weekend Worms

On a weekend normally reserved for bunnies, a worm took center stage. A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program sometimes introduced by folks with malicious intent to do some harm to a network. Please note that no passwords, phone numbers, or other sensitive information was compromised as part of these attacks.

The worm introduced to Twitter this weekend was similar to the famous Samy worm which spread across the popular MySpace social-networking site a while back. At that time, MySpace filed a lawsuit against the virus creator which resulted in a felony charge and sentencing. Twitter takes security very seriously and we will be following up on all fronts.

Twitter Blog: Wily Weekend Worms

readmore »»

Cool Collection of Twitter Windows Desktop Apps

Desktop apps

Windows

• Ada - Ada is the perfect little Twitter app with a clean, simple design. It doesn't hog up your desktop or distract you with a million crazy features. See and send tweets, replies and direct messages. Ada runs on both PCs and MACs.
• AlertThingy - AlertThingy v2 brings the very latest updates from your favourite social networks direct to your desktop. Plus send Tweets, update your Facebook status, upload photos to Flickr, post to Tumblr and more. With v2 AlertThingy makes it faster and easier to manage the online you. Plus you get the coolest looking RSS reader on the interweb.
• BigTweet - BigTweet installs as a bookmarklet and allows you to post to Twitter from any web page. Choose a classic 140 character update, or a 240 character tweet. Insert special Unicode characters and shorten URLs with the Bit.ly API right from the bookmarklet window. Automatically capture the current page title, URL and any highlighted text. No registration is required - only Twitter login credentials are needed.
• Bitter - A free social networking client that supports Twitter, Friend Feed, Plurk and Pownce. It is fully featured including the ability to follow hash tags, do Twitter searches, auto-shorten URLs, has color schemes, spell checking, intellisense, and lots more.
• BMS Twitter Client - A Windows Twitter Client written in VB .NET based on work by the Yedda Dev Blog. Just unzip and run the executable. Automatically breaks long messages into pieces, including replies. Uses Google to translate your language into one or more other languages - additional multilingual support can be added. New updated version coming soon! By myklami
• BMS Twitter Export: - A Windows Twitter Application that exports all Tweets for a given Twitter Account within a given date range to an HTML file and also downloads associated twitpic images. A bit heavy on the API calls so avoid calling it repeated within a given hour. By myklami
• Chirrup - A simple Windows client for Japanese
• Digsby - A multiprotocol IM client that lets you manage all your IM, email, and social network accounts from one easy-to-use application. For IM, it brings all your buddies into one merged contact list with support for AIM, MSN, Facebook, Yahoo, ICQ, GTalk, and Jabber. For email, it offers notifications of new emails with message previews, as well as, the ability to perform actions such as "Mark as Read" and "Delete" right from the notification with support for Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL/AIM Mail, POP, and IMAP. For social networks, it provides a newsfeed of events on the network and the ability to set status with support for Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.
• DX Monitor - An amateur radio application to report worldwide DX activity and alert amateurs to activity from rare countries. Alerts and status reports can be automatically tweeted based on reception reports from DX Summit and telnet links to DX Clusters.
• FAROO - A Peer-to-peer Web Search Engine, that integrates Twitter search to discover discussions and people related to the query.
• feedalizr - A free deskptop application that allows you to view, rate and comment on what your friends are sharing online. Tweet, upload pics to Flickr, update your Facebook status, keep up to date with your friends’ Google Reader, Digg, Tumblr, YouTube and Last.fm posts on Friendfeed. Use unique filters to reduce the noise. Duplications are filtered out. -- by MIH SWAT
• Flotzam - A Mash Up of Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and blogs, completely configurable -- by Karsten Januszewski and Tim Aidlin
• Found.im - The Twitter/Facebook client for the person always on the move! Automatically tracks your location (Home, Work, Starbucks, etc.) and combines the information with status updates. Super discreet interface that doesn't bombard you with messages. Microblog and get back to what you were doing. Check out the intro video.
• Friendbar- A Firefox toolbar that is the best way to follow Twitter & Facebook updates, and post to Twitter and Facebook
• GeoTweeter - Puts the 'where' into your tweets! Messages automatically include a 'schmap.me' link, showing followers your exact location with a configurable map icon: say more about places you visit with an optional photo and star rating.
• JabberTwitterBridge -- Java application to update Twitters, Jabber's status (google talk gtalk) and Google calendar together (for example : In a meeting until 15h12) (Twitter to google talk, google talk to twitter, google calendar to google talk and google calendar to twitter) MrCba
• jata - jata stands for just another Twitter App. Jata is a Google Talk like Twitter Application which was developed using VB.net and Twiteroo Twitter API framework. This application automatically checks for new messages periodically. You can post your status right from jata post message screen. You can also reply to tweets using this windows application.
• KlipFolio - World's smallest personal dashboard to track Twitter Updates, with instant notifications.
• L0K8 - a tiny app that auto-updates your Twitter location when you move from place to place. Written by the founder of PBwiki, David Weekly.
• MadTwitter -- a clon of Twitterrific for Windows which doesn't require .NET -- by Sacha Fuentes
• Media Center Status Application - Updates your Twitter status according to what you do in Windows Media Center and displays your Twitter friends' status updates in Media Center. Requires Windows Vista or 7. By Jussi Palo
• Nearby tweets - Find twitterers nearby (or anywhere for that matter). Add to the fun by searching new locations and using keywords. By Brian Cray
• OutTwit - OutTwit (Outlook + Twitter = OutTwit) Use Twitter from Outlook.
• Post To Twitter - Post tweets from Microsoft Excel. VBA-based add-in for Excel 2000-2007.
• Public Timeline Screensaver - Screensaver that shows the public timeline.
• Pwytter - Free open source Twitter client written in Python by PJ Coudert. User Interface in 14 languages.
• QckTwit -- A simple Twitter app that you can activate anytime by Shift+Alt+T and it would pop up presenting a text box to enter your update quickly. As soon as you press Ctrl+Enter, it will send update to Twitter and get out of your way. Separate box for URL. If your message exceeds Twitter's limit then it will automatically break it down in multiple twits and color those extra chars differently. Open source, requires .Net 3.5 -- by Shital Shah
• QKTwit - Super lightweight Twitter client, Written on the Abobe AIR Platform, aims to be feature rich but small and low memory footprint. By Daniel Rivers
• sociagami -- sociagami allows you to manage your multiple social network statuses from one beautiful Windows application. sociagami currently supports Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter status.
• StickyTweets - An open source, lightweight client written in Win32 C/C++ for Windows XP SP2 or greater. No additional frameworks required.
• TeleTwitter - A Windows Twitter application that tries hard to be simple and beautiful, like its web 2.0 name sake.
• Threeter Open source Twitter client that makes updating your status easy as 1-2-3: press the hotkey combination, enter your message, press Enter. Easy and really fast, worth a try :-) by Devv
• Togi Twitter Client (Update) -- Togi is developed on .NET 2.0 with C# and is a open source software by Oguzhan
• triQQr -- Twitter Client for Windows v0.2 with posting, profiles, direct messages and link to homepage of user
• TheTwitterBot -- Twitter client for windows. It is an automated robot that can follow by keyword new friends, can stop follow those who don't follow, can update your status by your pre-made messages, can follow those who follow you, can send massive DM, can auto reply to those you follow, etc.
• Twadget - A Windows Vista sidebar gadget by Rod Begbie
• TwApp! for Windows -- by Harper Reed (Requires .NET 2.0)
• Twair a twitter desktop client powered by extjs & adobe air
• Tway a simplistic windows client which doesn't disturb you so much
• Tweet-SQL is a Twitter Client for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and above. Over 30 procedures allow you to leverage the Twitter API with standard TSQL.
• Tweet All About It! -- Tweet any snippet of text directly from your browser (Internet Explorer and Firefox supported). By iElectrify (@sherice on Twitter)
• Twessenger -- a Twitter add-in for Windows Live Messenger 8.1. Sets your personal message to your latest tweet! -- by Kunal Kundaje
• Twibble for the desktop is a twitter client built on top of the new Adobe AIR platform. It provides easy twitter access in a user friendly way.
• Twidget for Konfabulator/ Yahoo! Widgets Post from your desktop.
• TwiPing Twitter Contact Management Software. Follow and unfollow large batches of friends and followers with a single click.
• Twit4Live -- A Messenger Plus! Live Script that adds twitter interaction to Windows Live Messenger
• Twit4Trivia -- A trivia application for twitter featuring more then 64000 questions and various statistics.
• Twitsy - Twitsy is a open source, VB.NET Application which shows basic integration of twitter API and .NET Framework 2. -- by rui(JumpByte)
• Twitter CLI - Easy to use Command Line Interface allows submitting tweets to Twitter from the Windows CMD Prompt or 'Run' box -- by Jason Fowler.
• Twitter Desktop - A How-To for making TwitterVision your desktop background, watch live tweets while working.(not an app)
• Twitter Gadget - A Windows Vista Desktop Sidebar Gadget that helps you keep track of all the sweet tweets! Fetches tweets from twitter.com and updates them every 10 seconds.
• Twitter It! - A Windows .NET Desktop Application created by Travis James, currently on Version 1.0.
• Twitter Submitter - now available. For Windows 95/98/2k/XP (tested) Submit Twitterings to Twitter.com without using a web browser! Submit Private messages as well! (D username message)Kenneth Udut (simplify3@aol.com)
• Twitter-Sync (Yahoo Messenger Plugin) - Keeps your Yahoo! Messenger status and Twitter in synchronization. Update your Yahoo! Status to create a new tweet. Your new tweets update your Yahoo! status. Also keeps track of your twitter friends from the main messenger window with alerts, pop-ups + more... -- by WackyB.
• Twitterbox -- Twitter client for Windows made with beon widget technology.
• TwitterIM -- Get/post updates on twitter using your google chat account (gtalk). Works just like Twitter IM functionality which is currently disabled. Sends message to you on chat if you friends post updates. You can message it and it will update your twitter status. By itsfrosty.
• Twitterlicious -- Twitterlicious is a small app that makes using Twitter more fun. It handles all the hard work, leaving you to read and write tweets with the minimum fuss. Best of all, *Twitterlicious is free*!
• Twitterlights -- Twitterlights is an integrated feature of i-Lighter 2.1 allowing one-click tweeting and content saving with your mouse -- all free!
• Twitteroo 1.4 for Windows released on 13 March 07 (by RareEdge Design Group) - *new* features include font resizing, transparency, sound notifications, built-in URL shortening. Programmable API!
• TwitterYM - a tiny ruby script that updates your Yahoo Messenger status with your latest Twitter one (requires Windows and Ruby) - by Alex Brie
• Twittget Twitter Vista Gadget, that features a small docked mode, a large float mode and Direct Messaging support. by mayu
• TwittIt - A system tray application for easy posting to Twitter by Denis Briel
• Twittle - A lightweight Twitter client for Windows (XP, Vista). Clean un-cluttered UI written in WPF. Updates automatically. by Twittle.
• TwittMe! - A new Twitter Windows Client 1.0.4. Updates itself directly without user input, keeping it always as bug free as possible. Will open source it when client it's more feature complete.
• TwitTray -- A minimalist approach to a desktop Twitter status updater. The program sits silently in your system tray until you want to update your Twitter status. Very tiny and written in old school bulletproof C++/MFC. By kwitcherbitchen.org.
• Twtview 1.4 NEW FEATURES: 'pm' lets you see your private messages, 'u twittername' will show any public users homepage. (Jan 27 07). For Win32. View all public timelines and personal timeline without needing web browser. Can be used at the same time as Twitter Submitter W32 to instantly see your submissions. Kenneth Udut
• Visual Twit -- a simple Twitter posting client for Windows -- by Andy
• Witty -- A Twitter client for Windows Vista and XP powered by the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) by Alan Le
• WittyTweets -- A cute Twitter client for Windows Vista and XP by Tweet Feeds
• Yakkle! - A free application that integrates together a twitter client, IM client, multi-user voice conferencing, and group desktop sharing services. -- by ZenViva
• TweetIE - CloudBerry TweetIE is a Twitter plug-in for IE that helps you to post quotes from the websites you visit with a click of the button and attach a short Chilp.IT URL to the source page.
• pbtweet - bookmarklet enhancer for twitter.com on Safari and Chrome. pbtweet shows conversation chain, media badge and RT/via buttons. Other feature: Automatically update timeline. Automatically adding next page when scrolling down to bottom up to 40 pages stable. Many interaction are animated with using CSS3. -- by t_trace

Source: Twitter Fan Wiki

readmore »»

One Lucky tweet can make you $500 Richer

I came across this interesting new site www.twitchance.com, which is a free Twitter lottery! Yes you heard me free, and I mean FREE CASH! How is that possible you ask? Well, it’s pretty simple; TwitChance gives away money (lottery style) to those who pass along a message (from a sponsor).

TwitChance has been launched silently and the first lottery draw took place on April 6, 2009. The inaugural lottery was sponsored by 6S Marketing (who provided a $500 prize) and the winner was @benjaminluk

I would like to share his jubilant tweets: -

"The payment just came through. Thanks to @twitchance and @6s_marketing, I won $606.01 CAD ($500 USD)! Twitter contests, ftw. Literally."

The idea is to get people to post a message containing a link to a sponsor on Twitter in exchange for the chance to win the TwitChance lottery. Following the run of each message, a winner will randomly be selected and awarded the prize. Consumers make the choice to pass along the message on their own terms and their own time and the sponsor in turn receives amplified outreach to the online world.

Here are a few things to consider:

* Anyone with a Twitter and PayPal account can join TwitChance - it’s free and requires no registration.
* Prizes and sponsors will be new and exciting and changed on a regular basis.
* TwitChance is safe – it doesn’t require the user’s Twitter password.
* Twitter currently enjoys 12 million and growing user ship.

So what are you waiting for...simply visit www.twitchance.com and count yourself in for this free lottery....

I'll be happy if you win $500. Its difficult though :-)

readmore »»

Who think Twittering and watching YouTube videos makes you more productive?

As I was reading a very interesting study published at dailymail.co.uk which says: - (I have added my comments in blue..)

"Have you been caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? Yeah at times!!! Well now you can tell your manager it actually makes you a harder worker. OK!! Sounds Great to me...but who will be responsible for delay in official tasks?

An Australian study found surfing the internet for fun during office hours actually increased employees productivity by nine per cent. Damn!! that's too much.. so my total productivity will be somewhere around 19% if I use twitter and youtube during office hours :-)

Study author Mr Coker said surfing the net helps workers to rest their brains That's the Catch right there!!!...you need to have a brain for that...hmm

Study author Brent Coker, from the University of Melbourne said 'workplace internet leisure browsing,' or WILB, helped to sharpen workers' concentration.

'People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration,' he said. People then need to "Zone in" back again and how to do it? ...i need a tutorial for that too.

'Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity.' What's the definition of "short and unobtrusive" by the way..

According to the study of 300 workers, 70 per cent of people who go online at work engage in WILB. (workers? ...it can by any worker...janitor..data entry operator...list goes on)

Among the most popular activities are reading online news website, playing online games and watching videos on YouTube.

'Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity,' said Mr Coker.

'That's not always the case.' Whats the probability? 1% may be

However, Coker said the study looked at people who browsed in moderation, or were online for less than 20 per cent of their total time in the office.

'Those who behave with Internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without,' he said."

A lot of people including me now have an excuse of using twitter and youtube in the office and having fun at work and all the responsibility goes to the above research....

Guys...don't be serious...just kidding!!

I seriously think my productivity at work is diminishing using twitter and social media at work and I am now going back to work you guys must not read this article while you are at work..and Don't work too hard...lol

readmore »»

Breaking News: Twitter Search Goes Crazy

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: Replies Are Now Mentions

Twitter Blog: Replies Are Now Mentions

readmore »»

Twitter Blog: Salesforce Integrates Twitter

Twitter Blog: Salesforce Integrates Twitter

readmore »»

#longmarch: A Story of Revolution from Twittering Pakistanis

The longmarch in Pakistan will be remembered forever as a revolutionary successful movement which took place in a critical situation in Pakistan. The world was watching Pakistan as the million of people came out on the roads, marching towards the capital city to restore the Judiciary.

While the traditional Pakistani media was covering the longmarch to its full potential, the twitter was again the quickest medium to share your emotions with international media. Once again @drawab led from the front in using the twitter to update the entire world with current happenings related with #longmarch.

@guppu took the lead in using the #longmarch for the first time and which was the top ten twittering trend those days. Following are the collection of tweets which tells the entire #longmarch story: -

guppu: got tears in my eyes after listening to an emotional song produced by GEO TV in which BB was urging everyone to participate in #LongMarch
Mar 10, 2009 08:00 AM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Retweeting @longmarch: A list of 380 people has been prepared for arrests in Karachi - beginning tonight or tom #LongMarch

Mar 10, 2009 08:59 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

Jamash: Allah Reham karay, @DrAwab #LongMarch. .. This is so not good :(
Mar 10, 2009 09:04 PM GMT · from TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet

awaisnaseer: Raids on the houses of the most of the activists of PTI in Rawalpindi #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 02:57 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

LongMarch: We were tasked by Establishment to create violence in Long March - Sheikh Waqas (PMLQ) tells Parliament - Geo Ticker #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 03:01 PM GMT · from TwitterFox · Reply · View Tweet

SanjeevBery: Pakistan TV anchor says Prime Min. Gillani will resolve Long March issue. #Pakistan #LongMarch RT @kashaziz
Mar 11, 2009 05:42 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

sophasnain: Sahiwal Distt Nazim refuses to implement 144..yayy!!! #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 07:16 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

kalsoom82: #LongMarch Police have been ordered to place under house arrest the Sharif brothers, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Imran Khan.
Mar 11, 2009 07:31 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: PM IS READY TO LEAVE IF HIS DEMANDS ARE NOT ACCEPTED BY PRESIDENT. Sources #longmarch

Mar 11, 2009 08:20 PM GMT · from TwitterBerry · Reply · View Tweet

awaisnaseer: Raid on PTI chairman Imran Khan's Home #LongMarch
Mar 11, 2009 08:49 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

awaisnaseer: Rumour of attacks on #longmarch by Al-Qaeda.But I think, this is being spread by govt. and has no reality. What Al-Qaeda has to do with CJP?
Mar 11, 2009 10:14 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

jasminerafique: Long March: Zardari on Collision Course http://is.gd/mYE2 (expand) - #longmarch
Mar 11, 2009 11:58 PM GMT · from twhirl · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Status update #Longmarch about 35 in new town 40 in malir booked for either MPO (nonbail) or 144 (bailable) appearing tom for bail
Mar 12, 2009 06:13 PM GMT · from TwitterBerry · Reply · View Tweet

sajahq: PAK: reading all the amazing coverage of #longmarch online http://cli.gs/LongMarch http://marchforjustice.wordpress.com/ etc...
Mar 12, 2009 07:11 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

longmarch09: #LongMarch09 Fareed Jan DPO Jakobabad says we will provide dinner to the protesters! #LongMarch http://tinyurl.com/cu847l (expand)
Mar 12, 2009 07:40 PM GMT · from twitterfeed · Reply · View Tweet

adnanbwp: 144 declared in NWFP too. Preparations for arrests of activists and lawyers underway. #longmarch
Mar 12, 2009 09:12 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

pakpoint: Shereen Rehman Resigned http://tinyurl.com/b968oo (expand) #LongMarch
Mar 13, 2009 08:28 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

ammaryasir: Sherry aunty resigns ;P Presidential spokes person Farahat ullah Babar denies the resignation of the information minister #LongMarch

sophasnain: containers with even chemicals are being used to block the long march at Jehlum #LongMarch
Mar 14, 2009 09:26 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

fan0o: Police brutally torturing lawyers this is totally insane #longmarch
Mar 14, 2009 10:31 PM GMT · from fring · Reply · View Tweet

fan0o: Idiot lahories celebrating basant most areas are calm but in some areas it is at its peak 2 deaths reported #longmarch
Mar 14, 2009 03:40 PM GMT · from fring · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: While other leaders [Lawyers and other political leaders] cant move a mile in a city - Shahbaz and Nawaz roaming free - hmmm ??? #LongMarch
Mar 14, 2009 11:21 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Nawaz Sharif will hold the fort in Lahore tomorrow and Shahbaz will hold the fort in ISB on 16th - strategic move - #Longmarch
Mar 14, 2009 11:19 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: Shahbaz Sharif breaks through a police barrier to go to ISB - seems like it was deliberate attempt to allow him to reach ISB #LongMarch
Mar 14, 2009 11:17 PM GMT · from Endless Tweets · Reply · View Tweet

twendly: 10 Most pop. last hr #sxsw, Watchmen, Austin, #blogger, #tech, Aig, At&T, Selection Sunday, #kebab, #longmarch
Mar 15, 2009 10:00 PM GMT · from Twendly · Reply · View Tweet

pakistanigirls: #longmarch This longmarch was actually a challenge to that feudalism. Now we need a new constitution that will bring in real democracy
Mar 15, 2009 10:06 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

guppu: wow - ex MQM member Jaahil online is back with a new 'Insaaf Assalaam' song #LongMarch
Mar 15, 2009 10:23 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

durrani3: farhatullah babar just said on Dawn news that zardari is asleep now #LongMarch
Mar 15, 2009 11:49 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

DjFlush: Pakistan is the awaiting the decision that will make its history and Geo is showing ads on 'Slumdog Millionaire' #LongMarch Mar 15, 2009 11:45 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet

guppu: Its getting crazy now.. I haven't slept for 2 days already :( #LongMarch
Mar 15, 2009 11:52 PM GMT · from web · Reply · View Tweet

DjFlush: Great job by @guppu @DrAwab and @awaisnaseer for covering the #LongMarch
Mar 16, 2009 05:20 PM GMT · from DestroyTwitter · Reply · View Tweet


hasham2: Pakistanis are singing songs of victory tonight #LongMarch
Mar 16, 2009 06:56 PM GMT · from TwitterFon · Reply · View Tweet

drawab: 16 March, a new dawn in Pakistan #LongMarch http://cli.gs/trTub2
Mar 16, 2009 09:37 PM GMT · from WP to Twitter · Reply · View Tweet

readmore »»