Twitter API getting location data

Biz Stone from Twitter has announced that the service will soon get a new feature in its API: the capability to optionally put geolocation data into tweets.

Currently, geo-focused apps like Foursquare must hack location data into updates by linking them to Web pages. Once Twitter lets developers embed geo into tweets themselves, a new and interesting world for developers will likely open up.

As Stone says in his post, "For example, with accurate, tweet-level location data you could switch from reading the tweets of accounts you follow to reading tweets from anyone in your neighborhood or city--whether you follow them or not. It's easy to imagine how this might be interesting at an event like a concert or even something more dramatic like an earthquake."

By having the geodata available only to developers, though, and not via the general Twitter.com user interface, the company may also shift the economics of Twitter a bit. If geodata in tweets can only be written and read by apps and third-party Web services, those services will become even more valuable, possibly kicking off yet another round of Twitter client battles. Which I'm in favor of.

Another change this move may presage is an expansion of information that Twitter stores with tweets. Obvious items that developers could go to town with in an expanded Twitter API include conversational and retweet data (which Twitter is already working on), and of course embedded URLs. Twitter could, arguably, let developers put links directly into Tweets without relying on fragile third-party URL shorteners.

This move also may show that Twitter is willing to let its SMS roots go by the wayside. If a user reads a geocoded tweet in a text message, they will only get part of the message (the text, without the geodata). If Twitter is finally able to shed the SMS encumbrance, what might happen to the core of Twitter itself, the 140-character text limit, which itself is based on the limits of text messaging?

[cvaldes1831]

Geolocation is fine, but I'd rather that they focus on making the service reliable. It's dreadfully unreliable right now: the worst mainstream web service I've ever used. Atrociously administered.

[Tergon]

Why would it change SMS (phone based) idea. Check out Twee for the Palm Pre, it already allows you to find other tweeters in the local of your gps. This API intro will be great for Programs such as this and iPhone, Andriod, Symbian, WinMo

Actually 140 character isn't the limit. It's about 250. It's called a supertweet. http://www.seoconsultants.com/twitter/supertweet/

However, the geolocation in the API will be a nice addition.

[Pishkado]

And how much longer will that 140-character text message limit still be with us? It's a relic, kind of like 8.3 file names. Granted, those survived for a lot longer than technology limitations required, thanks to inertia. SMS likely will as well, for the same bad reasons, but constraining something like Twitter to stay within it seems counterproductive. (Readers of this geek-oriented site might be amazed to learn how many people think there is a fundamental principle of computer design that requires a system's main disk drive to be identified by the letter "C." If they've ever done any tech support, though, they probably wouldn't.)

[ca5ter]

Lame!

[mirTwitter]

It was time! and they could look at multimedia tweets like http://t.mirpod.com with geolocation.

[mbrouns]

Is the character limit really a problem? As with SMS, users are able to digest hundreds of tweets (what's in a name) because everyone is urged to chirp as short as possible. Getting rid of that limit would turn the service into an ordinary (aggregate) blog portal.

By the way, due to the 140 charater limit, SMS msgs could contain a short link to a mobile google maps screen showing the tweet's location easily. What's more, users can now also filter tweets (to be received over SMS) on location. Acision (company that enables over 50% of the worlds text messaging revenues) has nifty solutions for this.

[rayzoredge]

You'll be able to tweet from the toilet and everyone will know where you're poopin'...

Sweet!

[llungster]

Too bad it doesn't clean up the useless chatter! :)

[armorman]

just never got the twitter thing they wont have to worry about getting any location from me

[Julie Allen]

Twitter is getting out of hand. Everyone and their dog is on the stupid thing. It's no fun anymore and I'm not giving my location to anyone. That's a total invasion.

[sunon]

well, this geo positioning certainly plays into the hands of the conspiracists but then again aren't they always hoping something conspiratorial will come along.
i joined twitter early on and nearly immediately came to my senses. as is the case with the cell, i don't need to be (would rather not be) in contact every waking minute.
in addition, how long will it be before we're in contact during rem cycles?
i think twitter, like 9 1 1, has its uses but is rather limited regarding rational discourse, no?

[palmprehacks]

Here's something that might interest you guys, a hacked app that lets you tweet your Palm Pre's GPS location to Twitter:

http://palmpre-hacks.com/palm-pre-hacks/how-to-tweet-palm-pres-gps-location-to-your-twitter/

[web2boy]

Tweetmundo is fun, but it's only on one device as far as I've seen. But unsure if it only runs on android at present [shrugs].