ie8 fix

twitter

@SXSW: foursquare and the future of direct(ed) messaging

By Robert Fabricant

New inspiration always floods in after a speaking appearance is over. Kicking myself for not highlighting a couple of things that were right in front of me @ my SXSW panel. Perfectly timed gifts  as usual, in this case foursquare and tweetluck. Let me explain: in the world of social cohesion messaging rules. So, any conversation around behavior change needs to respect that role. Successful behavior change requires immediate feedback, and social relationships offer the best form of encouragement. But messaging platforms are direct, not directED. We spend a lot of time in them because they are … Read more

McCain gives his first Twitter-based interview

A clarification has been added to this story. See below for details.

John McCain has come a long way, technologically, since his days on the 2008 campaign trail.

Less than a year ago, the Republican presidential hopeful admitted that he needed help logging onto the Internet. Now the 72-year-old, four-term senator is practically leading Washington's foray into the Web 2.0 realm as the subject of what ABC News claims is the first "Twitterview"-- an interview conducted entirely on Twitter.

It might be better said that this is the first such high-profile Twitterview. Interviews via Twitter, … Read more

At SXSWi, Twitter is the new Twitter is the new Twitter

AUSTIN, Texas--A couple of days ago I wrote a story suggesting that the Twitter saturation level here at the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) festival was so high that the service's value was being affected.

Now, after four full days here, I think that conclusion is worth a reality check: Twitter is out-and-out dominating SXSWi.

To be sure, the massive numbers of tweets that are being posted using the "#sxsw" tag is making it more difficult for those using Twitter to find specific information than was the case at SXSWi 2007 or SXSWi 2008. But the reality … Read more

Twitter OAuth open to all developers

Twitter's OAuth interface is now open to all developers, enabling more secure access to the service via its application programming interface from third-party Web sites. Alex Payne, Twitter's API leader, made the announcement in--what else--a tweet Monday.

OAuth is an open standard for online authentication. It enables a user who stores information such as a password on a particular Web site to then authorize yet another site to access that data, all the while not sharing the user's identity with that site. Twitter OAuth had been offered to some developers in a closed beta a few … Read more

TwitPickr cross-posts TwitPic images to Flickr

If you're a Flickr user who delights in the simplicity of using TwitPic to take pictures in various mobile Twitter applications, you'll dig TwitPickr. This simple tool lets you republish any shots you've sent to TwitPic over to your Flickr account.

To begin, you simply drop in your Twitter username and it pulls up all the shots you've posted to TwitPic. Then you just check off the ones you want to publish to your Flickr photostream and it copies them over in one click.

As a future feature I'd love to automatically have photos from … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 931: Big butt small laptops

The Lenovo Yoga isn't a Netbook; it's a ripoff of the HP Jornada. It also apparently fits in a pocket, but it's a little long for all our pockets, even Jason's. We also cover iPhone 3.0 rumors and the truth about battery life lies.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 931

iPhone 3.0 to have copy and paste, Pre-like features — but no background apps http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/15/iphone-3-0-to-have-copy-and-paste-pre-like-features-but-no-b/

Lenovo Pocket Yoga http://i.gizmodo.com/5170542/shots-leak-of-lenovo-pocket-yoga-netbook-looks-like-it-actually-fits-in-a-pocket

AMD comes clean about battery stats http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/16/1447218Read more

The 404 299: Where I was into it more back in college

Back from the weekend, Justin watches "Watchmen" again, Wilson catches "Coraline" in 3D, and Jeff tries to kill himself when his parents and soon-to-be parents-in-law spend the weekend picking a place to get married and the font of the invitation envelopes.

Speaking of "Caroline" in 3D, it gave Wilson a massive headache. The film was incredibly imaginative and creative yet the story was a bit lacking. Reminds Wilson of "Alice in Wonderland."

In actual stories today, we talk mostly about Twitter. Jason Calacanis wants to pay the company $250,000 so that he can be at the top of suggested followers list. While we think suggested followers is a halfway decent idea (especially if they personalize the list), we don't especially think we want to follow Calacanis all day long. Also, Twitter may have caused a mistrial in a case where a juror tweeted the jury's finding. Twitter! Haven't you caused enough damage to people's lives!?!?

Tomorrow, we have Dr. Michael Breus, the Sleep Doctor, on the show. So please call into the show with all your questions about sleep. While it may sounds like a "snoozer"--Ha, get it?!?!--we promise the Sleep Doctor has never failed to entertain. Also, on the show on Wednesday is debbiefromtoronto, probably the hottest Canandian blonde fan of The 404. And ending the week is the composer of "Still Alive" from The Orange Box, Jonathan Coulton. As usually, the number is 1-866-404-CNET (2638). We need callbacks for the show. You know the part where we go, "Hey this is Jeff Bakalar from Hoboken, New Jersey, and you're listening to The 404, the show where [INSERT WITTY COMMENT]."

EPISODE 299 Download today's podcastRead more

WeFollow Twitter directory: Kevin Rose's latest

There's always a lot going down at the annual South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. As you probably remember, SXSW served as the original launchpad for Twitter, so it seems fitting that Kevin Rose's new Twitter directory, WeFollow, was launched there this year.

It's interesting, however, that Rose didn't choose to make his announcement during a talk at the conference, but rather through Twitter and Digg. At its core, WeFollow keeps track of different groups of Twitterers, as defined by tags, such as #tech or #celebrity and displays them in order of popularity.

Although current Twitter … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 930: Live from SXSW--day two

Blasted XP didn't warn me that my hard drive was full! Therefore, half of the podcast didn't record. Thankfully, I was able to salvage yesterday's episode from the Ustream recording, so here it is! Special guests include ZDNet's Andrew Mager, SXSW Event Director Hugh Forrest, and Blogger's Rick Klau.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 930

Happy Pi Day! http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/13/happy-pi-day.html

Facebook: It’s party time for the social Web…on the iPhone http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10196472-2.html

Facebook Adobe AIR application http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=23723376453#/apps/application.php?id=23723376453Read more

At SXSW, attendees confront Twitter saturation

AUSTIN, Texas--By now, the story of how Twitter exploded onto the scene at the 2007 South by Southwest festival is legend in technology circles.

But here at SXSW 2009, the notion of the perfect match among community, service, and event seems flipped on its head. Many people are discovering that a monumental oversaturation of tweets is reversing the value that Twitter offered at SXSW 2007 and SXSW 2008 for finding friends and great parties.

At SXSW, the standard is for everyone to include the tag "#sxsw" in their tweets. For example, on Friday, I was looking for sources … Read more