I’ve been testing the new web-based Trillian Astra and it looks pretty damn nice. The interface will be familiar to anyone who has used the Trillian desktop application. I’ve been able to connect to the AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! and MSN networks just fine.
There are no frills, but its in a nice package and works pretty damn good. It uses Flash, so in theory, it should work on any OS that can support Flash, including OS X and Linux.
For more on Trillian Astra web edition, visit BigBlueBall.
What better way to slack on a Sunday afternoon than by playing with a new mashup? David Troy has created a nifty little mashup for Twitter fans that shows the stream of tweets on a Google Map. It’s called Twittervision, and it’s a fascinating to watch the geek-world spin.
Of course, Jaiku also has a similar map on their homepage, that seems to be a little faster. The really weird thing is that in order to see it, you have to sign out of Jaiku. Dumb.
Visit Twitter, Twittervision and Jaiku.
Rafe Needleman at Webware has written a great introduction to Twitter titled the Newbie’s Guide to Twitter. If you’re curious about Twitter, Needleman provides a pretty good overview. He compare’s it too Google’s Dodgeball service, but easier to use.
Personally, I think Jaiku is the better Twitterer. It reads everything, including my new del.icio.us tags, Flickr photos, tunes played and more. As someone over there tweets: “Twitter is so March 2007…” Mashable even pokes fun at the buzz with the Evolution of Blogging (the cat version).
Check’em out, and you can follow me either here on Twitter, or there on Jaiku.
Wow, who woulda thunk it? Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards uses Twitter — or at least — it appears that he does. If it’s really him, it’s sure to boost his tech cred.
Performance art meets technology in Flussgeist. This excellent mashup brings feeds from Twitter and combines them with photos, video and an ambient soundtrack. The tags driving the imagry are fished right out of the Twitter stream.
It’s a fascinating way to watch the world spin right before your eyes. Go there now.
There are plenty of near misses in the dot-com world. The Hits are difficult to predict. It helps to have a good idea, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be original. Having a well-connected team is a plus, and appears to have really given Twitter a shot in the arm.
Twitter is one of those up-and-comers that’s getting an inordinate share of buzz. Of course it doesn’t hurt when you have some rather high profile techies playing with it. Of course, I had to give it a test drive.
So what is Twitter? The story is best told from the horse’s mouth:
Twitter is a community of friends and strangers from around the world sending updates about moments in their lives. Friends near or far can use Twitter to remain somewhat close while far away. Curious people can make friends. Bloggers can use it as a mini-blogging tool. Developers can use the API to make Twitter tools of their own. Possibilities are endless!
Clear as mud?
In many ways, it reminds me of the rather crude shoutbox I’ve seen on sites for ages. The premise is that you tell your friends (or the world, if you choose) what you are doing — all in 140 characters or less. Why the character limit? Because text messaging is one of the primary methods of posting your activity. Of course, you can also use instant messaging, or the web site, or something like The Icon Factory’s Twitteriffic (if you’re running OS X).
You can also put a badge on your blog or website so others can see what you and your friends are up to. I’m using Sarah Issacson’s Twitter sidebar widget for WordPress — you’ll see it in the right-hand column under the heading What am I doing?
Aside from sharing what I’m doing (as if anyone really cares), you can also see what I’ve done, or what other people are doing.
Of course, Twitter couldn’t be a self-respecting Web 2.0 project without some dimension of social networking or community. Yes, you can link yourself with other Twitter users, establishing contacts, and following their activities. The activities of the people you are following (the language is eerily stalker-ish) are sent to you according to your preferences. They can be displayed on your blog via a badge, or sent via IM or even text message to your mobile phone.
You can also send private messages to your contacts, or nudge them when they haven’t shared what they’re doing in a while. Hmm… maybe parents could use this to keep tabs on their txt-crazy kids.
Twitter began as a side project at Odeo less than a year ago, and had grown by leaps and bounds. There isn’t any apparent monetization yet, although it’s easy to picture the updates including targeted, 140 character adverts. “Your friend Jeff liked this… you might like it too! Click here to buy now.” For now, they are building market share, and really creating a new market where none previously existed.
My friend Tintin in Shanghai took a look at Twitter and her initial comment was “What a waste of time.” And yet, she signed up. What’s the attraction? Equal parts of buzz factor, simplicity, and fun. After all, we all need to waste a little time now and then.
Take a look at Twitter and let me know what you think? Does it pique your curiousity?
