The Future of Twitter, by Loic Le Meur

If nothing else, you’ll enjoy the way Loic Le Meur pronounces “Twitter.” Here are his predictions for the future of Twitter (h/t Mashable):

 

Not News: There’s no such thing as privacy on the web. (Google and Bing are ‘officially’ searching Twitter and Facebook, now.)

Google and Bing have been searching Facebook and Twitter for a long time, in case you hadn’t discovered this by doing routine vanity searches for yourself on Google, Bing, and 123People, etc..

But the search engines this week are announcing new deals and technology that make these searches easier. For more details on that, follow FHK’s Web 2.0 Reader.

Bottom Line

• If you’re using the social networks primarily to keep in touch with friends and family, and want to continue believing that you have some privacy on the web, stay off of Twitter, and use the “just friends” settings on Facebook. According to Facebook, it’s default settings are not supposed to be searchable…yet…I would recommend choosing your own settings.
• However, if you’re using the social networks primarily for online profile management, and WANT your posts, etc., to be viewed in the search engines, you’re in luck. This is happening automatically on Twitter, and on Facebook, you just need to adjust your settings to “everyone” under the privacy features.

 

UPDATE: No, that’s not you in the video, and don’t click on that link! (Twitter Worm – Now on Facebook, Too)

UPDATE 09/26/09: Same worm – now on Facebook – Don’t click that link! Mashable has more about what to do if it’s too late:

Immediately change your password, delete all of the malware posts, and post a warning to not visit the link in question.

 

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ORIGINAL POST – 09/23/09: This is from Mashable:

Unsuspecting users are receiving DMs [Direct Messages on Twitter] with the following text:

 

If you get this DM, DO NOT VISIT THE LINK. It takes you to a replica of the Twitter login page where the hackers will steal your account and use it to send out more infected DMs to your friends.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones to be fooled by this worm, make sure you change your password. Also delete any tweets or DMs that have the link. If you can’t log into your account, reset the password and contact Twitter Support…Continue reading WARNING: Twitter Worm Spreading via Direct Messages

 

Common Sense: Craigslist, eBay and Twitter

Click here to listen.

Could California’s budget crisis be solved by a triumvirate of Internet services, Craigslist, eBay and Twitter?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is raiding the state’s storage sheds to sell off unneeded items on eBay and Craigslist. His signature on a California fleet car adds, it is estimated, $400 to its auction value.

He got the latter idea from one of his million Twitter followers.

Wow. I have nowhere near a million Twitter followers. I’m told that I should envy the governor’s Twitter cred, but . . . I’m not the jealous type; I won’t seek any “Tweet” revenge. Still, I’d be happy if all my listeners joined, and I got some usable ideas for raising money.

Unfortunately, neither I nor my sponsor, Citizens in Charge Foundation, have a vast resource of unneeded inventory to sell off. Nor do I have the cachet of the actor-turned-governor: My signature won’t add much value to a Ford Focus.

Yep. Someone paid $1,625.01 for a state-owned Focus with over 110,000 miles on the odometer. The governor signed the visor.

That’s better than a car once owned by Jon Voight!

The only new thing here, really, is using Craigslist and eBay. This isn’t a singularity in the progress of civilization. From this no miracles follow. But it is a healthy sign of thinking slightly outside the proverbial box.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

 

If Ben Stiller can do this…

Yeah, so NOW, it’s official. The entire world is on Twitter and Facebook. We were all waiting for Ben Stiller, and he finally decided to join us. (’Bout time, Ben!)

I’m actually a fan of Stiller’s humor and movies, but I think it’s a little unusual that Ben has gone all of the way back to Dodgeball for his online persona. Oh, well, I’m sure he has his reasons, and it’ll be interesting to see what he does with his accounts.

Be sure to look for Ben Stiller on Facebook, and @RedHourBen on Twitter (”Red Hour Films” is the name of Stiller’s production company).

 

Hat=Tip, Mashable

 

AddATweet – Using Twitter as a threaded comment system.

This is an interesting new app that I found on Mashable today. Basically, it’s a way to use your Twitter account as a comment system on any webpage, and the comments are threaded (to one level). It will be more fun when more people are using it on a variety of websites, but you can check it out for yourself by following the simple instructions in the video below, then going to the Mashable post, to see it in action.

As a note of caution – whenever trying out a new third-party app like this which requires the use of your Twitter log-in info, temporarily change your Twitter password before logging into the app. You can go back and make the changes permanent later if you find the app to be trustworthy and problem-free.

 

Things You Need to Know about Twitter

Do you know what day of the week is the most active day on Twitter? (It’s Tuesday.)

Do you know which cities are the most active? (New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco, and Boston, in that order)

Do you know if there are more men or women on Twitter? (53% are women.)

These fun facts and more information about he behavior of Twitter users can be found on a comprehensive report by the An In-Depth Look Inside the Twitter World by the Sysomos Resource Library. Check it out!

(Hat-Tip @RohitBhargava of The Influential Marketing Blog)

David All Suggests: Make History – Tweet the White House

Just got this from David All – I think it’s such a great idea, I just did it:

Send a Tweet to the @WhiteHouse about health care and use the hashtag #handsoff

As you may know, President Barack Obama has been doing some extraordinary things online to better communicate his message. And, yes, I say that as a proud Republican.
 
Along with 126 Members of Congress and U.S. Senators, President Obama has started Tweeting (@WhiteHouse). In fact, with a mere 247 updates, the account has already grown rapidly to 550,253 Followers.
 
One of the issues the @WhiteHouse is Tweeting about is health care reform so we thought we’d have a little bit of fun with it and propose an experiment in online activism for an upcoming release of the next Twitter @101Guide.

 

 

So here’s the plan:

1. It is clear that a White House communications staffer is serving as a SpokesTwitterer and will read and perhaps even reply to our Tweets.
2. We are going to track and record all uses of the hashtag #handsoff for this experiment and report back our findings to you.
3. As long as you’re logged in to Twitter and using a web browser, just click here to load a draft Tweet and click “Update.” See below for more examples — please feel free to amend as you like.
4. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone orchestrating a coordinated Twitter advocacy strategy. You’re going to be a part of history and help redefine activism.

Thanks for helping us make a difference.

Revolution,

@DavidAll

DRAFT TWEETS (copy/paste/update)*:
 
@whitehouse a “public plan” would lead to a government takeover of health care #handsoff plz RT

@whitehouse a “public plan” would force millions of Americans to lose their good private health coverage #handsoff plz RT
 
@whitehouse a government-run health care plan would mean long, even deadly waiting time for patients #handsoff plz RT
 
@whitehouse a “public option” would lead to government rationing and lower quality of care for all Americans #handsoff plz RT
 
*These tweets are sourced here.

Links to Learn about the New Iranian Revolution…Online

As we all know by now, there is a dispute over who won the most recent presidential election in Iran, and this dispute has turned into the “last straw,” for many of the people who are fed up with the oppressive Islamic regime that has been in Iran for the last thirty years. As commonly happens in oppressive governments, Iran shut down the free media, and also the peoples’ access to social networking sites like Facebook and FriendFeed (very popular in that region), but they underestimated Twitter.

So, the Iranian protesters, along with help from Twitter and the rest of the world), have been able to continue to get the news out about what is happening inside Tehran, Shiraz, and other cities where students and other protesters are rising up within the country of Iran.

Following are some links to learn about how this incredible online revolution (the first of its kind) is happening. Feel free to add your own in the comments, and we’ll add them to the post as time allows:

• Mr. Arasmus: How to Turn Your Avatar Green To Show Solidarity with People of Iran (and learn the rules and etiquette for keeping the Iranian bloggers safe)
• Iran, Twitter, and Freedom
• Twitter Search Feed (#IranElection)
• Twazzup: Iran
• SC Magazine: Iran election protesters use Twitter to recruit hackers
• Twitter Links Iran Protesters to Outside World
• Anderson Cooper: State Department to Twitter: Keep Iranian tweets coming
• Mashable: We’ve Got Tools to Undo Censorship in Iran and China. Let’s Use Them
• TechCrunch: Twitter Reschedules Maintenance To Allow Iranian Protests To Continue
• TechDirt: Twitter, Data Center Delay Upgrades Rather Than Cut Off Iranian Communications

 

Twitter Not Always Annoying

Listen to the Audio

You’ve probably heard of Twitter, now that @Oprah has. It is a “micro-blogging” tool that lets you keep in touch with people by sending messages of 140 characters or less, maybe 30 words. Senders are supposed to answer the question, “What are you doing right now?”

This sounds like a lot of people telling each other they’re hunting for a renegade sock or catching the bus. But people and imagination being what they are, savvy practitioners assure us that Twitter has been put to a very wide variety of uses, not all of them snooze-worthy.

I was sold as soon as I heard how it was used last year to help get innocent men out of jail.

James Karl Buck (@jamesbuck), an American grad student, was arrested in April 2008 while covering an anti-government protest in Egypt. So was his translator, Mohammed Maree. Conciseness being the better part of valor, Buck sent a one-word “tweet” to his “followers” on Twitter. To wit: “Arrested.”

Recipients knew that Buck was in Egypt covering a political demonstration. So comprehension was immediate, action swift. Soon, Buck’s college hired a lawyer to represent him. Soon thereafter he sent another message: “Free.”

His Egyptian translator, Mohammed Maree, was not so lucky. Buck worked hard to help his friend. Twitter was one of his tools. Three months later, Mohammed was free as well.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Listen to the Audio

 

How to Manage all of those Twitter Accounts

Those of you who are still planning to someday try “that Twitter thing,” don’t need to read any further. Also, if you “only” have one Twitter account, this post is not for you.

Some folks, however, have found it necessary to have more multiple Twitter accounts, which they use for different reasons. For example, if you’re a blogger, you may have one which is an auto-feed of your blog posts, and one that is for general discussion. Or, you may also have different Twitter accounts for different groups of friends, say one for your political activist network, and one for your personal friends, etc..

If this is you, then go check out 25 Twitter Apps to Manage Multiple Accounts by Jennifer Van Grove on Mashable. She’s done some great research about which ones will work from your mobile or or from your desktop, and what each is good for. Check it out, here.

Can Reliance on Twitter Make Emotional Cripples of Us All?

The following is an interesting perspective on the potential dangers of an overreliance on micro-blogging sites like Twitter.com:

By Jackie O’Neal

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (ANS) — Among the most important voices suggesting Twitter has the potential to numb human senses and create indifference to human suffering is University of Southern California researcher, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang.

Her inquiry into the dangers of Twitter is worth exploring. Most people when confronted with moral decision making need time to digest the information in order to reflect. But the fast pace of Twitter, the researchers say, can cause harm.

What is most interesting is that the study’s new findings show that the streams of information provided by social networking sites like Twitter are too fast and furious for the brain’s “moral compass” to process , and could have a deleterious effect on young people’s emotional development. Like most people, I believed Twitter was a great way to stay in touch with friends and colleagues and get news updates, although I quickly found it time consuming. And as Christians, God intends for us to submit our wills to Him, as well as not be influenced by the “spirit of the age.”

Is it possible as the researchers say, that before the brain can fully grasp the anguish of a news story, it is too swiftly being inundated by the latest Twitter update and thereby be impeding an emotional response?

The unanswered question is whether there is a high emotional cost when one relies too heavily on being swept up in an ocean of news delivered by Twitter or online feeds.

A surprising idea emerges as well, because Twittering allows users to exchange messages of 140-characters or less, and the creators intended Twitter to be a solution to information overload.

On balance, the most convincing point made by researchers is that we still need to work on understanding how “social experience shapes interactions between the body and mind, to produce citizens with a strong moral compass,” as Immordino-Yang put it, lest we become a society emotionally dead in a world of fast news delivery.

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Jackie O’Neal is a freelance writer and regular contributor to The Press of Atlantic City and she also wrote for The New York Amsterdam News among others. She holds an M.F.A. in Poetry and Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College. O’Neal teaches Developmental Writing as a Senior adjunct professor at Atlantic Cape Community College where she was nominated for an Excellence in Teaching Award 2007. Originally from New York, O’Neal taught at York College, C.U.N.Y. for several years. Currently, she is an ordained priest and the only woman in 126 years to be nominated at her former parish, The Church of the Ascension in Atlantic City, N.J. She recently expanded her business and opened O’Neal Media Group to offer non-profits and small business affordable public relations services. She is engaged in several pro-bono projects via Nabuur.com. To learn more, search Google for ONealMediaGroup.info

What do you think?

 

Twitter on Nightline

This segment of Nightline discusses Twitter, what it is, how it works.

 

Twitter in Plain English

A quick and plain English intro the micro-blogging service Twitter.

 

Promote your Blog with TwitterFeed

(Updated from July 22, 2007)

Mario, of London, has created an application to automatically update Twitter with your blog feed called TwitterFeed.

The sign-up process is quick and easy. You’ll need a Twitter account, an OpenID, WordPress or Yahoo account, and the address of the feed on your blog. Once you have those three things, go to TwitterFeed, and follow the quick sign-up process.

Voila! TwitterFeed will check your feed, and update Twitter as often as you like, with as many posts as you like.

TwitterFeed is a third-party application, and is not affiliated with Twitter.com.

Prolific bloggers (who update several times a day) may want to consider having one Twitter account for their blogs, and a separate one for personal updates to avoid “over exposure,” and the loss of followers on Twitter. As an example, @FortHardKnox is for blog updates, whereas several of the regular bloggers on Ft. Hard Knox (several of whom also have their own blogs) also have their own Twitter accounts, and individual networks of followers and friends, such as @Goodwyne (Ron), @GhostRanger (Tex), @StephenKruiser, @ZackRawsthorne (Diversity Lane), @TheDrakingPoint (Drake Dunnaway), @ArlenWilliams, @FaultlineUSA (Barb), and @JennSierra.