What is Twitter all about?

A few weeks ago, someone asked, “Twitter. I don’t get it. How does it work? And what’s the point?”

I’m not going to pretend to be any sort of expert here but here’s what I had to tell them at the time. Perhaps I’ll elaborate more later, but I’d be happy if those of you who use Twitter would post your thoughts and answers to this question in the comments area below.

Anyhow, on to my answer.

Tweetdeck

There are many ways to use Twitter. One great thing is it is free to use. You can use it to keep in touch with friends or you can use it as a simple business communication tool. You can SEND and RECEIVE short messages either with your cell phone (SMS Text), from the Twitter web site, or from stand alone tools such as TweetDeck.

Twidroid

The mobile phone option is great if you’re on the go and can’t get to a computer. Some people worry that they’ll get too many text messages, but Twitter allows you to control who can contact you, what sort of messages get through, what time of day they are sent, and what’s the most messages you want in a day. Personally, I find SMS aspect to be too slow, so I use the Twidroid app for Android on my T-Mobile G1 smartphone. On the iPhone, Twitterific is a popular choice.

Twitterrific

Plus Twitter allows you to receive messages through an email account in addition to or as an alternative to your cell phone.

Another advantage is there’s no address book to manage with Twitter and no need to update addresses. Twitter coordinates the connections between you and your followers for you. And people can opt in or out whenever they like. And your contact info is private.

Services like TweetLater.com allow you to have a summary of your daily messages and replies emailed to you.

Using the friends and cell phone option, let’s imagines you’ve registered your cell phone with your Twitter account. Then your friends could choose to “follow” your Twitter account. So let’s say you’re meeting a group of friends one day, and you have a change of plans, you could send one text message to your Twitter account, and then Twitter would forward a copy of that message to all your friends.

Or let’s say you’re producing a play, and you want to create some “buzz” about your latest production. You could tell people to “follow” your Twitter account to receive updates about the show on their cell phone or by email. So let’s say 300 people are following your Twitter account, you send out one message to Twitter and it forwards it to all 300 people. And if all goes well some of them will forward or “Retweet” to their friends and followers.

There’s more to it. You can send messages to everyone or to specific people.

But you can only communicate with people who chose to follow you, and whom you permit to follow you.

So if you want to talk to strangers, you can, but all they know about you is your user name and what you say in your messages. Even if you are sending messages from your phone, no one sees your phone number.

Some celebrities use Twitter to let their fans hear what they are up to. Many of them setup their accounts so their fans can receive messages from them, but can’t send messages to them.

So readers and Tweeters, what have you to say on the subject?  Please comment below or send me Tweet. List your Twitter address, if you like.

Got a story to share? Have a question? Post Comments or Questions with the link below. Keep up-to-date with Skylarking: By Email or RSS Newsfeed or on Twitter. You can also send questions with Skylarking’s email form.

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Pogo iPhone Stylus from Ten One Design

Pogo Stylus

Some people are neat and tidy. Some people have large fingers. Some people have large tidy fingers.

The former don’t like to get fingerprints on their iPhone’s touch screens, and the latter hit too many keys on their screens.

Enter the Pogo Stylus from Ten One Design.

This light aluminum stylus has an anodized finish and laser-etched graphics.   It soft tip won’t mar the display surface of your iPhone or your iPod Touch; and it provides greater accuracy, preventing time-consuming typos common to those with large digits.

Stylus and iPhone

In Ten One’s own words:

“Eliminating fingers has the added benefit of keeping the screen free of smudges and grease. Designed to firmly hug the contours of the iPhone 3G, the Pogo Stylus travel clip will keep your stylus close at hand. A second clip is included for the original iPhone and iPod touch.

Why not use a pen or other stylus?

The iPhone screen isn’t a standard pressure sensitive screen, but was designed with finger use in mind. A standard stylus’s point is too small to make an impact or to be sensed accurately by the iPhone or the iPod Touch. A tool with a larger surface area is needed.

Post Comments or Questions with the link below. Keep up-to-date with Skylarking: By Email or RSS Newsfeed or on Twitter. You can also send questions with my email form. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

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You can also find the Pogo iPhone Stylus at ThinkGeek.com.

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Hello from the Grand Canyon’s rim

Grand Canyon

Hello, friends, followers, and readers!  Though I’m on vacation this week (and will be returning very soon) I’ve got blogging on my mind.  Sounds like a song, “Blogging is my business, and I’ve got business on my mind.”

So what could I possibly write about, technology-wise, while sitting beside one of the seven natural wonders of the world?

Well, it’s sitting right next to me, my Netgear SPH200D Internet phone with Skype.

The Netgear SPH200D

What a wonderful device Netgear has made!  I’ve had it for almost a year now. It’s a cellphone-sized unit, plus a box about the size of a small paperback, and two power adapters. It’s so portable I’m able to fit it all into a shaving case sized bag.

The phone system can be plugged into any high-speed Internet connection allowing me to make and receive call just as if I were home. Much like a cellphone, the phone number goes wherever I go.

So What?

Netgear

… You might say, “I can take my cell phone anywhere, too, and I don’t have to plug into anything except a wall outlet from time to time.”

That’s true, but how much are you paying for that convenience?  $50 per month?

My Netgear phone with Skype is costing me $50 a year! Yes, a year!

I admit, it’s not a replacement for a cell phone, but I have been able to reduce my cell phone usage significantly, by using the Internet phone instead when possible.

Like now, from the edge of the Grand Canyon with my hotel’s free Internet service. Or tomorrow, when I get to my sister’s home, I’ll connect it to her home network’s router.

My cellphone usage has dropped far below my provider’s lowest level service plan. I’m half tempted to get rid of it entirely, or switch to a pay as you go plan. I used to pay $1,200 a year for cellular service. That dropped to $600 a year shortly after getting the Internet phone, and I may very well be on my way to getting it as low as $240 per year if I play my cards right.

I’d get tired of all that setting up

Again, I agree, and Netgear has a solution for that, too. They have a unit that operates without the box. It’s just a single cellphone sized device that works with any wireless Internet service you may be near. So I could use it with the hotel’s wireless internet service, or the airport’s wireless serice, or my sister’s wireless router, or the wireless internet at the local Starbucks’ or Borders bookstore.

Sounds better, doesn’t it? You bet.  That’s why I’m getting ready to pick up one of those, too.

Enough, how much does the Netgear phone cost?

The SPH200D I have goes for $149, and can be purchased at your local Best Buy, or from Skype. The wireless capable unit goes for $199, and can be picked up at the same locations.

It uses rechargeable AAA batteries that you can buy anywhere, and it comes with a recharger base.  You can also purchase two more handsets, and use them with the box base.

Skype?

I’ll talk more about Skype (www.skype.com) later. They have plans that run from FREE to $20 to $60 per year. That’s yearly, not monthly. The free service enables you to connect with other Skype users, while the pay plans enable you to make and receive calls with anyone else. They even have software which can be installed on your computer.

Talk to you soon!

Post Comments or Questions with the link below. Keep up-to-date with Skylarking: By Email or RSS Newsfeed or on Twitter. You can also send questions with my email form. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

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