Quickie: Trackthis tracks packages on Twitter

While I try to get Web 2.0 Expo darling du jour Fireball working (still no luck), I thought it'd be worth covering another location service for Twitter: Trackthis. You tell it a package tracking number from FedEx, UPS, USPS, or DHL, and it will Twitter you back whenever there's an update from the shipper.

90 miles to go...

Yes, there are other ways to get this data, but there are advantages to using Trackthis: First, you can attach a descriptor to your query (like "lamp shade"). Second, you can use Twitter to easily change your message delivery options: you can quickly turn on or off SMS updates for Trackthis alerts, for example. This may be useful.

Trackthis is from mashup master Phillip Brand, aka PB30, who also created the WatchBOL site that aggregates our uStream videos when we record podcasts like Buzz Out Loud and Real Deal.

[azareus]

now there's a useful feature, having been involved in launching/optimizing tracking in web 1.0.
at one point this was going to be a fee-based service, but the free chorus won out