Did you ever have audio that you listened to, even after editing it, and think “I can’t post this…”

Yes, that happened to us.

The Bird House and in-studio guest Nifty Tech Blog (but this time, recording through the wonders of Skype) after listening to our original review of TweetTime decided that a re-record was most definitely in order. So, basking in my Steampunk Castle afterglow, we did a second take on our first (and follow-up) look on this original client for the iPad.

Featured Links:

• The Nifty Tech Blog
• Castle (WARNING: Very loud audio/video ad plays on loading site)
• TweetDeck
• Twittelator
• Scrivener

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

This episode is part of the Bird House Rules-Nifty Tech Blog miniseries on iPad clients for Twitter. Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

With the jetlag and the plane crud behind me, the Bird House and in-studio guest Nifty Tech Blog are back with yet another, longer-than-10-minute review of Twitter clients for the iPad. Continuing with an “Old Friends Revisited” theme, Doc Coleman and I go deep with Twittelator, an old favorite of mine quickly becoming a favorite on this new platform.

Twittelator in Landscape mode, viewing Direct Messages

Accessing Profiles in Twittelator

Along with a review of Big Stone Design’s powerhouse, Doc and I also discuss pet peeves in application development, in particular the need to leave an application in order to change its settings. (Yes, I hate that.)

This episode is part of the Bird House Rules-Nifty Tech Blog miniseries on iPad clients for Twitter. For the next few months, we will be featuring reviews on iPad clients, some of which you might be seeing in the Second Editions of All a Twitter and Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes!

Guest introduction by Tom Racine.

Featured Links:

• The Nifty Tech Blog
• TweetDeck
• Twittelator
• Air New Zealand on Twitter
• TweetTime (coming soon in the next episode)
• Echofon
• Twitterific

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Welcome to the third of special, longer-than-10-minute reviews from Bird House Rules and in-studio guest Nifty Tech Blog. This time, we get honest and frank over TweetDeck for the iPad. Continuing with an “Old Friends Revisited” theme, Doc Coleman and I air our lack of enthusiasm for the 800-pound gorilla’s latest incarnation.

This episode is part of the Bird House Rules-Nifty Tech Blog miniseries on iPad clients for Twitter. For the next few months, we will be featuring reviews on iPad clients, some of which you might be seeing in the Second Editions of All a Twitter and Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes!

Guest introduction by Veronica Giguere.

Featured Links:

• The Nifty Tech Blog
• TweetDeck
• Twittelator Pro
• AussieCon 4 / WorldCon 68

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Following a deep dive into Tweet Flow, Bird House Rules, with special guest Nifty Tech Blog in studio, take a close look at Echofon for the iPad. This review is the beginning of “Old Friends Revisited” as Doc Coleman and I bring up some familiar names of smartphone clients now working to make their mark on Apple’s latest innovation.

click for a full-view of image

This episode is part of the Bird House Rules-Nifty Tech Blog miniseries on iPad clients for Twitter. For the next few months, we will be featuring reviews on iPad clients, some of which you might be seeing in the Second Editions of All a Twitter and Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes!

Guest introduction by Kreg Steppe.

Featured Links:

• The Nifty Tech Blog
• Tweet Flow
• TweetDeck

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

In the wee-small hours of the morning, Bird House Rules comes back with a series of podcasts all about the iPad. Alongside the Nifty Tech Blog, I review Tweet Flow, an iPad client that keeps it simple.

This episode is part of a Bird House Rules-Nifty Tech Blog miniseries. For the next few months, we will be featuring reviews on iPad clients, some of which you might be seeing in the Second Editions of All a Twitter and Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes!

Guest introduction by Meg Jarrell

Featured Links:

• The Nifty Tech Blog
• Tweet Flow
• Twitterific
• Captain’s Blog, from Pushy Pixels
• Radio Dentata

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

From @BrightEyedDyer who DMed me the breaking news and confirmed by both @LibraryCongress and USA Today comes an unexpected bit of news from Washington D.C. The Library of Congress has acquired Twitter archives dating back to 2006!

The Library of Congress go into details on their Facebook page, but USA Today reports the institution’s motivations in a nutshell:

The library notes that Twitter processes more than 50 million tweets a day and says its emphasis will be on the ”scholarly and research implications of the acquisition.”

Just a few examples of important tweets:

• The first-ever tweet from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey (http://twitter.com/jack/status/20)
• President Obama’s tweet about winning the 2008 election (http://twitter.com/barackobama/status/992176676)
• A set of two tweets from a photojournalist who was arrested in Egypt and then freed because of a series of events set into motion by his use of Twitter (http://twitter.com/jamesbuck/status/786571964) and (http://twitter.com/jamesbuck/status/787167620).

Expect a deeper dive into this topic on the next Bird House Rules; but for now, think of all the goofy things you’ve said and done since you’ve been flying about the birdhouse…and now think “Hey, my tweets are heading for the Library of Congress!”

Don’t you dare change a thing in how you tweet. After all, it’s that unabashed honesty that got you (and the rest of us Twitterakians) into these hallowed halls!

More to come…

Back with another Bird House Rules (and well under that ten minute window), I’m here to talk a bit about the evolution of Follow Friday. what started out as tweets like this…

Follow @digitalsista, a Social Media mistress and resource located here in Washington D.C. #followfriday

…many Twitter feeds are getting hit at the end of the week by tweets that look like this…

@digitalsista @chrisbrogan @geechee_girl @ITStudios @chrisabraham @sigmastudios @dananner @fishdogs @LindaVandeVrede @riznphx #ff

Take a deep breath, relax, and follow me to your Zen of the Follow Friday.

Guest introduction by Michael Spence

Featured television clips:

• Firefly
  
• Black Adder
  

Featured Links:

• Episode #7 of Bird House Rules
  
• CREATE South 2010

REMEMBER: Saturday April 17th, 2010, starting at 9 AM, will be the day of CREATE South 2010, held at the Horry Georgetown Technical College, Grand Strand Campus in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. CREATE is a meeting for those interested in blogging, podcasting, video, social networking or any other form of creativity and self-expression. Serving the residents of the Grand Strand and beyond, it is a venue to bring together like minded people to network, to teach and to learn. Follow @createsouth on Twitter for more!

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Hey, everyone! It’s another Bird House Rules, and before anyone gives me heat, I went over my ten-minute limit in this episode…by twenty-two seconds. Get over it!

When you hear why I went over, you may understand. You see, I had a problem on Twitter when I unfollowed someone in my feed. Within 24 hours, I received this tweet…

(@TrueConservative) We auto-unfollowed @TeeMonster who stopped following you. www.thew.in twitter tools sponsored by ((insert sponsor here))

…and discovered Thew.in Twitter Tools.

Now those of you wondered why I was so mad last Friday know why. Better grab a flack jacket and a helmet. I’m wound up and I go, go, go, go….

Guest introduction by J. Daniel Sawyer

Featured movie clips:

• Forest Gump
  
• Fatal Attraction
  
• Tim Burton’s Batman
  
• Full Metal Jacket
• Iron Man
  

Featured Links:

• Qwitter
• Tweepi
• TweetDeck
• Twhirl
• DestroyTwitter
• CREATE South 2010

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

We had a blast on this interview, and I hope you enjoy the listen. Feel free to comment, post, and share!

From Twitter I heard from long-time-friend of the Bird House @Odin1eye who featured me in a particularly fun interview on his blog View From Vahalla. This blog features podcast reviews, commentary and rants on Social Media and the world it impacts, and (now) interviews. Odin1eye and I talk about about how Twitter has changed, where it is headed, and what went into the writing of All a Twitter. Here’s a selection from the interview:

I find that the Social Media Experts (a/k/a Evangelists, Mavens, Enthusiasts, Oracles, etc. a/k/a Social Media Douchebags a/k/a SMDs) are becoming less and less tolerated. Some of these self-proclaimed Twitter Messiahs are preaching their gospel to a flock in the hundreds of thousands, but tend to follow back less than a thousand or even less than a hundred.

What’s up with that?

I’m just going to call it like I see it: Everybody wants to be Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan)(respectful [ding]) but so few are achieving the balance between pro and personal. Chris isn’t perfect, but he is maintaining the genuine while managing the massive numbers. (One of many reasons I got that trust agent to write the AAT Foreword.) There are others like Jeff Sass (@sass) and CC Chapman (@cc_chapman) who are putting forward that effort to stay honest on Twitter. Between 2008-2009 there were SMDs left and right who nurtured the numbers and then stopped participating in their feeds. Oh sure, they would preach how they used Twitter to “connect” but look at their feeds and it would be RTs, quotes, and questions that linked back to their own site.

This interview was a real pleasure, and I hope you enjoy the read. Feel free to comment, post, and share; and expect more from my blogosphere-podosphere tour this month.

No, you’re not seeing things. I’m back, and I’m coming out of the Bird House swinging!

It’s been a long break, the first half of it expected and the other half completely unexpected; and I return to talk about foursquare, Please Rob Me, and the current concern sweeping through the Twitterverse. Adding to the debate of how much information is too much information comes FortheHack and their stand against sharing GPS coordinates for neat-o badges and free stuff from various vendors in the real world. Hear my own view of it from the Bird House and pick up a few twips in this episode on how to stay safe while sharing with your fellow Twitterakians.

Guest introduction by Starla Huchton

Featured movie and TV clips:

• Firefly
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
  
• Monty Pyhton’s “How Not to Be Seen” sketch
  
• Army of Darkness
  

Featured People and Stories:

• Security Expert Robert Siciliano
• Siciliano’s Twitter posting to CBS segment on “Please Rob Me”
• Siciliano’s tweet concerning “Please Rob Me”
• Exchange between me and Brand Gamblin
• Brightkite

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Numerous Twitter users are pointing out that Twitter forced them to change their passwords out of the blue. According to blogger Andrew Girdwood, these users have received an e-mail containing the following message: “Due to concern that your account may have been compromised in a phishing attack that took place off-Twitter, your password was reset,” together with a link for resetting the password.

Although the e-mail itself looks like a phishing attack, it’s genuine; it seems that admins at Twitter have discovered something fishy is going on, and they’re trying to prevent further damage before it happens.

I’ve been reading up on this all morning (with postings from TechCrunch and The Washington Post as examples); and while this situation shouldn’t be taken lightly, I am not scrambling to change my passwords on my accounts. Why?

1. I’m finding out about this scam via Twitter.
2. The people on Twitter are finding out via an “official email” from Twitter.com.
3. On Twitter’s Status and News blogs and on Twitter’s own feed, there is no mention of this phishing scam whatsoever.

Seeing as through email and social networks is how phishers work, this gives me a moment’s pause. And it should do the same for you, too.

Before concerning yourself with changing of passwords and falling prey to a malicious hacker, follow this simple checklist:

• Check your third party clients (TweetDeck, DestroyTwitter, etc.) and see how they are behaving. If they are connecting with Twitter, you are doing just fine.
• Check Twitter Status. This is one of two blogs that keep users in the know about what is happening on Twitter. This particular blog is more technically oriented, but reports outages and hostile actions such as DoS attacks.
• Check Twitter’s Blog. This is news and developments from Twitter’s home base, and usually developers will give commentary here on any hacker attacks, interface redesigns, or serious issues that Twitter is encountering at that time.
• Follow @Twitter’s feed. No, they might not answer a query, but with something as serious as this there may be some updates in their feed that can give you sound advice on how to fix a potential problem.

As of the posting of this column, there has been no solid confirmation from Twitter of this phishing attack. While many are tweeting and retweeting that something is up in the network, it does not necessarily mean that it is actually happening. Always check with Twitter before taking action. It may be a moment’s hesitation, but in that brief second you may be able to avoid unwanted stress and undue inconvenience.

Keep an eye on the Bird House for more as this develops.

UPDATE, 12:58pm EST: With special thanks to Lila Scot, another resource to check is @safety, Twitter’s Trust and Safety account. They did have a post about this at 11:26 am, several hours after Mashable, The Washington Post, et. al. went live with their postings. However, there is still no mention of this being a phishing attack.

UPDATE, 3 February, 11:25am EST: I checked @safety this morning and saw that there was a posting in Twitter Status that mentions the importance of changing your password. While what they describe is a phishing attack, the situation from yesterday appears to be less of an attack and more of a preemptive strike from the Twitter Safety Team headed up by Del Harvey. Whatever the case may be, it appears that all is right in the Twitterverse and our status is at green. You are now free to tweet happily. Make it so.

This morning, a lot of things were explained.

Maybe these hackers were partially responsible for yesterday’s intermittent service. Maybe the odd behavior from Twitter was merely a precursor for what PCWorld reported early this morning. Maybe I was the only one thinking about the DoS Attack from this summer, but Twitter was once again under fire. A group referring to themselves as The Iranian Cyber Army redirected for a brief time all Twitter traffic to a landing page of their design. Sumner Lemon of IDG News Service reports:

Visitors instead saw a black screen with an image of a green flag and Arabic writing. The defaced site also included a message that said, “This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army,” and an e-mail address.

Twitter blamed the outage on changes made to the company’s DNS (Domain Name System) records, which match the company’s domain name with the IP addresses of its servers.

Meanwhile, the news from Twitter Status was that as of 11:28pm, last night:

Twitter’s DNS records were temporarily compromised but have now been fixed. We are looking into the underlying cause and will update with more information soon.

So far, nothing new has really surfaced apart from critics who are saying this is just another show of how vulnerable Social Media sites are. I, for one, applaud Twitter’s resilience. They only lost service for an hour (which was probably when I was engrossed in my weekly dose of Mythbusters…) and managed to bounce back. Yesterday had been a somewhat uneven day for Twitter, but they have seen worse. Much worse. I think yesterday’s performance is proof extremely positive that Twitter has learned their lessons from previous growing pains.

So as the dust settles from yesterday, just remember…

…and tweet happy!

(click image to view Full Size)

…and yet, no real reason given as to what happened with the Retweets this morning.

Anyone else thinking this?

It’s all about communication, Twitter. We just want to know what’s happening…

Changing its interface as one would change underwear, Twitter apparently pulled a back-handed “Give the People What They Want” by removing the new Retweet feature. This feature has been in Beta since the Fall of this year and Twitterakians were kept in the loop as early as idea conception. Sure, there was a slight learning curve and not everyone took to it, but third-party clients adopted it into their user interfaces and many like TweetDeck and Twittelator Pro added the functionality with their own flair. I even covered it in the last Bird House with a video addendum.

But this morning I got a tweet from John Merlin (@zard) from the UK:

Ahahaha! Wondering if @ITStudios will be recording a new vidcast for the lack of retweet

I asked what he meant by that, and he directed me back to my own homepage. (Click for a full view.) Notice anything missing?

And that is how I found out about Twitter removing the new Retweet option.

What angers me is not that Twitter removed the function. As I eluded to earlier, it was received with mixed reviews; but I’m wondering if enough of these so-called “Social Media Gurus, Mavens, and Experts” (which will be covered in a future podcast) rose a big enough stink to pressure Twitter in removing the option. Whatever the reason, that is Twitter’s decision in the end, and any changes they make I will roll with because I’m not paying for Twitter’s service. I appreciate what they do and that I’m getting it for free.

What I don’t appreciate is Twitter making these changes seemingly on a whim without notifying their network. I went to  Twitter Blog, Twitter Status, and Twitter’s Twitter feed. As of 11am EST there is no mention that the new Retweet feature will be removed from Twitter.com’s user interface.

So, if Twitter isn’t talking, what exactly is happening?

This lack of notification is not only inconsiderate to users that liked the new Retweet option, but it is downright rude to developers that have incorporated the new RT options in their programs. Attempt to retweet messages automatically in the new TweetDeck and you receive an error message. The incredibly handy RT icon featured in Twittelator Pro is now disabled. These options that developers spent time (regardless if it took a few minutes or a few hours) integrating into their apps are now rendered useless; and now they must return to their digital drawing boards to remove these options in order to keep their apps streamlined while maintaining stability and reliability.

And if this editorial/rant sounds as if I’m taking this slight from Twitter personally. I am. A bit. You see, the folks at Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes offered me the opportunity to write for the next printing a brand new chapter featuring many of Twitter’s recent changes. Guess what was one update covered in that new chapter…

Thanks, Twitter. Thanks a lot for the heads up.

I liken this Twitter trip-up (Go ahead, you can call it a “twip-up” if you want to!) to a news story I saw this morning on how United States military surveillance drones — you know, those multimillion dollar robots our tax dollars pay for — were being hacked by Iraqi insurgents with off-the-shelf video software priced at $26. Considering the amount of technology, design, and intelligence that goes into one of these Predator drones, that is just plain embarrassing. So is Twitter — a landmark in modern communication — failing to notify users and independent developers “Yeah, we’re changing our mind on that whole Retweet tool…” While Twitter does have the prerogative to make such a dramatic change, they should at the very least extend a courtesy to the people utilizing their network that such a change will occur. There is no excuse for this kind of disregard. They have two blogs, a new “Notifications” feature on users’ homepages, and of course they have a Twitter account. Would a quick message to the 2,763,628 people following have been so hard? First “password” and now this?

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Just when you thought I was done with TweetDeck v0.32.1…

TEE MORRIS’ TWEETDECK EPISODE
THE VIDEO PODCAST!

The audio is still the same, but now I have MOVING PICTURES to go with it! this is NOT going to be a regular feature at the Bird House, but when the mood strikes me, when the time allows, and when it is something that REALLY NEEDS the visuals, I will offer this kind of video addendum. I hope you all enjoy it!

Imagine That! Studios now presents to you the highlights of TweetDeck v0.32.1…in colour!

Featured movie and TV clips:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
  
• Iron Man
  
• Monty Python’s “Spanish Inquisition” sketch
  
• Firefly

Featured Resources on Twitter:

• “What’s New on v0.32″ from TweetDeck’s Support Forum
• Camtasia for the Mac
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• YouTube.com

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Finally….after several attempts…after daring the Fates…after waiting for just the right time…and weathering an unseasonal snowfall in Washington, D.C.

TEE MORRIS’ TWEETDECK EPISODE!

This has been a long time coming, and I have decided to pull out all the stops and not only post a longer-than-usual BHR, but in the feed tomorrow and posting on YouTube as well will be an accompanying video companion to this podcast, filmed and edited on both Camtasia and the Final Cut Suite, bit-cheeezzz!

A labor of love and a lot to take in, here comes the highlights of TweetDeck v0.32.1!

Guest introduction by Coach Ian Scott

Featured movie and TV clips:

• Six Million Dollar Man
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
  
• Iron Man
  
• Monty Python’s “Spanish Inquisition” sketch
  
• Firefly

Featured Resources on Twitter:

• “What’s New on v0.32″ from TweetDeck’s Support Forum
• Camtasia for the Mac
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• YouTube.com

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

A question I get a lot on Twitter is what the “RT” preceding a tweet is all about? That’s the “Retweet” and this episode spends some quality time talking about a popular method of making 140-character posts a viral sensation. I retweet. Many Twitterakians retweet. It’s a part of Twitter. This means that, of course, some users really abuse the retweet.

So for this particular Bird House Rules, take your shoes off at the door, assume the Lotus position, and breathe in deep. We are here to explore the Zen of Retweet.

Guest introduction by Viv

Featured movie and TV clips:

• Star Wars
  
• Aliens
• Farscape
• Stripes

Featured Resources on Twitter:

• “Why the Retweet Will Kill Twitter” from Jenner Web Design Blog

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

As promised, here’s a completely off-the-beaten-path episode of Bird House Rules (which will also appear on Imagine That Studio’s In Your Right Mind and the New Zealand podcast Whispers at the Edge. Three times the size of a usual Bird House Rules, this special edition features special guest Philippa Ballantine, and is part-Social Media discussion/part-Arts Review of Cirque Du Soleil. Cirque offered to Blogworld attendees free tickets to any of their shows in exchange for reviews of whatever show they saw.

Pip and I are reviewing three:

• Zumanity
• O
• Ká

Yes, Ká was that good!

We wanted to say “Thank you” and go above and beyond what Cirque asked of us. Enjoy this special edition of Bird House Rules and Whispers at the Edge, and make plans to catch a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas.

Guest introduction by Philippa Ballantine

Featured Links:

• Imagine That! Studios
• The Official Website of Philippa Ballantine
• Erotica ala Carte

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

I’m back in the Bird House after a period of downtime, and I am coming back to talk a little bit about Phishing Scams that are popping up left and right on Twitter. What is with these scams popping up in our Direct Messages? Have a listen to pick up a few tips on how to avoid phishing scams on Twitter and resources on staying safe in the Twitterverse.

Guest introduction by Chooch Shubert

Featured movie clips:

• The King & I
• Serenity
• Spaceballs
• Army of Darkness

Featured Resources on Twitter:

• Social Media Security
• The Command Line
• IDGuardian

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

We’re currently researching reports from users who are locked out after trying to reset their passwords or change their email address or user names.  This seems to affect new users as well as long term users; we do not advise changing your user name, email address, or password at this time.  We will update Status with more news as it becomes available.

That was yesterday evening, and still no updates at the time of this posting.

As I will be talking about at Blogworld this week, we all have to be careful concerning Phishing scams, spammers, and password protection. This recent development has me curious as to what is happening back at the Mother Ship but also reinforces exactly how important it is to check and double-check the Twitter Status blog. It remains one of the best ways to keep track of how the Twitterverse is behaving.

I am also breathing a bit easier, knowing Twitter is on top of this serious issue. With their incredible popularity and for offering this service for free (and keeping it so), security is an issue that must be address. It is rarely talked about (until something goes wrong), and this report from Twitter.com assures me as a user that they are not taking this lightly.

Some quick tips until this matter is resolved:

• Do not click on links from people you do not recognize nor follow in your networks
• If you are using TweetDeck, use the URL preview function as a precaution to see where the link leads
• If a link asks for your password, don’t give it. (Common sense, you would think, but…)

We all must think smart and remain safe when tweeting. Sure, it’s only 140 characters; but a lot can happen within a tweet exchange. Hang on to the password for now; and make sure you keep hanging on to it, especially when someone is asking for it.

Are you using Power Twitter? I am continuously surprised how many of my friends from the Bird House are not taking advantage of this fantastic add-on for Twitter. Power Twitter takes Twitter to the next level, and keeps your eye on the Twitter.com homepage.

What exactly does Power Twitter do to your browser? Click on the image below for a Before-After shot of a browser armed with Power Twitter:

Quick reminder: Next week, I’m at Blogworld, so please come on out and say “Hi!” I also encourage tweeting from my speaking events.

Other articles and cool links cited in this episode:

• 83 Degrees, the developers of Power Twitter
• TechCrunch reports on Bit.ly cracking down on malicious links

Guest introduction by Shannon or akaMonty out in Cyberspace…

Drop-in from this episode are from:

• Star Wars
  
• Iron Man

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

When I clicked on the link, I was asked for my Username and Password.  Ummm…no. So I attempted to ping my Twitter contact here and ask if this was, in fact, a real URL. I could not get a DM reply to appear.

And then on the main feed, I saw this from @spam, Twitter’s Spam Hotline:

You might think this is common sense, but it may surprise you how easily people surrender their passwords, particularly from DMs coming from friends and acquaintances.

Be careful!
Someone is out there get phreaky with the phishing.

Just remember these safety twips when you are out in the Twitterverse:

• Never give out your password, even if it’s to someone you know or if they are promising you a bucketload of followers.
• If you do get a DM asking for your password, try to contact the friend on the open feed asking why?
• If someone is, in fact, DMing others with your account, immediately change your password, log out, wait a few ticks, then log in with the new password.
• If you can, change your password for Twitter every 30-60 days.

Twitter is on the case, but make sure you let your fellow Twitterakians know that something  is afoot. Stay safe, everyone, and tweet happy!

So, I turned my back for a moment, and Twitter went on and changed their interface on me. Hello! Well, maybe it’s not that dramatic, but it did need to be addressed, especially if you are using All a Twitter as your guide though beginning steps.  It may not seem like a big deal, but here’s a quick glimpse of what someone’s page on Twitter.com looks like now…

Thank you, Dan Sawyer, for loaning me your Twitter.com page as a show-and-tell!

Let’s take ten for this Bird House Rules to talk about some of the tweaks that have taken place on your Twitter homepage.

Quick reminder: I’m going to be speaking at Blogworld this year, so please come on out and say “Hi!” I also encourage tweeting from my speaking events. Keeps things lively!

Guest introduction by Katherina

Drop-in from this episode are from:

• Stargate SG-1
• Black Adder
• Iron Man
• Army of Darkness
  

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

What’s the topic of the day at the Bird House? Inspired by an August 20, 2009 article entitled What People Are Tweeting About, the marketing magazine eMarketer and Pear Analytics took a closer look at the traffic on Twitter in order to answer the question “What is the purpose of Twitter?”

I ask the question “Does Twitter — or Social Media on a whole — need a purpose?”

Other articles cited in this episode:

“One Blog Created Every Second” (Aug 2, 2009), BBC News

Chris Brogan’s “Birds on a Wire”

Chris Abraham’s “All a Twitter is Twitter for Smarties”

Linda Vandevrede’s “Finally a Very Readable Book about Twitter” (for Valley PR Blog)

Guest introduction by Chris Lester

“That’s a fact, Jack!” from Stripes

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Chiming in from out west is a review from Linda VandeVrede of Valley PR Blog who said:

What I like best about “All a Twitter” by Tee Morris is his conversational style. He’s not trying to be a lofty author, speaking from on high.   He’s just sharing what he has learned since he first started tweeting in spring 2007.  He covers a lot of ground, and in fact the book is 280 pages long, and includes a section that explains tools for twitter as well as twitter speak.

SocialMedia.biz’s Chris Abraham gives a delightfully eclectic review of All a Twitter. While he calls the opening (What is Social Media, how do you set up a Twitter profile, how do you tweet, etc.) boring, he turns on a dime and raves:

The second half of the book is not only interesting but has Tee written all over it and offers up the who and the why with quite a dose of subjective opinion…

…he tells it like he feels it.  He even sacrifices our beloved-but-on-our-shit-lists Guy Kawasaki in a nationally — possibly internationally — published book about Twitter.  I mean, I am not only amazed but snap, he really has an opinion not only on Twitter but on how it can and should be used — and his advice is good.

Rounding off the reviews is the man behind the Foreword, Chris Brogan, in this video review of Twitter books:

In the podosphere, Bird House Rules — after two shows — is making a name for itself, appearing in “New & Notable” under both Technology and Software How-To, and breaking into the Top 15 “Technology > Software How To” list alongside many tech podcast favorites:

Click to enlarge

And if you didn’t notice the change in the sidebar, I hope to see you all out at Blogworld in October! I’m officially on the guest list and will be presenting two talks, one on Podcasting and another on security in Social Media. If you head out to Sin City for this Social Media Mega-Event, please stop me and say “Hi!”

Thank you again for the wonderful reviews, everyone! If you have your copy of All a Twitter or have your media player plugged in for Bird House Rules, make sure to leave a review on Amazon.com or iTunes. I’d love to hear what you think.

Welcome to Birdhouse Rules, the Official Podcast of All a Twitter and Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes.

I know on Twitter i have been promising to cover TweetDeck and my bad habit of double-posting (which on writing these show notes I just did…) but then when working through my follow requests, I got hard hit by the avatar you see with this post. Yes, if you see that image (and the variations on it) you will have been hit by a spambot that prefixes all their IDs with “STi_”. These useless accounts will fill your feeds with random links that serve no other purpose other than to annoy the crap out of you.

But what really bakes my birdhouse about the various “STi_” accounts is that they are posing as real people.

Welcome to spam on Twitter.

In this episode I cover the ways to tell if you are being spammed on Twitter. The offending tweets are broken down into three categories, and we also take a look at how some spammers are working into your feeds in order to use you and a delivery mechanism. Take a look at these screen captures from Stephanie Lloyd‘s account…

If you click-and-enlarge the left image, you will note that Stephanie’s tweets are coming from her feed are coming from recognizable applications. The right image, though, is a tweet coming from an API. That is just one (of a few) ways to tell that the spam your getting from friends isn’t their fault.

So tuck in and get ready — it’s a Feast of Spam at the Bird House.

Guest introduction by Indiana Jim

“Spam” from Monty Python’s The Final Rip Off

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Welcome to Birdhouse Rules, the Official Podcast of All a Twitter and Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes.

I promised that the show was going to post on a fortnightly schedule; but in light of recent events, I decided to shuffle the schedule around and make the first episode something timely. I wanted to talk about what happened on Twitter (and elsewhere) all day Thursday, August 6, 2009.

Just in case you missed it, you can hop over to the link I provide here in the show notes, but safe to say, it was a really busy day. It has taken Twitter a few days to recover. From the looks of things and according to the Status blog, there are still a few pieces needing to be picked up but Twitter — on a whole — is running smoothly.

This show was imspired not only by the events of last week but also by a comment left behind by our Guest Voice. Take a look at the blog, have a listen to this episode, and take a moment to send a “thank you” note to Twitter.com. They really managed to hold things together, and we should all be appreciative of their hard work for this free service they provide.

Guest introduction by Fred Castaneda

“All is Well” drop-in’s from National Lampoon’s Animal House.

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

It all started this morning when, from Twitter Status, this nugget of good news arrived, explaining the odd, intermittent service:

We are defending against a denial-of-service attack, and will update status again shortly.

For those of you (like me) who didn’t know what a Denial-of-Service or DoS Attack was at the beginning of the day, you probably know what it is now. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) defines a DoS Attack as the following:

In a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, an attacker attempts to prevent legitimate users from accessing information or services. By targeting your computer and its network connection, or the computers and network of the sites you are trying to use, an attacker may be able to prevent you from accessing email, web sites, online accounts (banking, etc.), or other services that rely on the affected computer.

The most common and obvious type of DoS attack occurs when an attacker “floods” a network with information. When you type a URL for a particular web site into your browser, you are sending a request to that site’s computer server to view the page. The server can only process a certain number of requests at once, so if an attacker overloads the server with requests, it can’t process your request. This is a “denial of service” because you can’t access that site.

This attack didn’t stop with Twitter, though, as Wired Magazine gave confirmation that Facebook was also under a DoS attack…

Facebook has confirmed to Wired.com that — like Twitter — it was the victim of a denial-of-service attack Thursday morning.

“Earlier this morning, Facebook encountered network issues related to an apparent distributed denial-of-service attack, that resulted in degraded service for some users,” responded Facebook spokeswoman Kathleen Loughlin via e-mail.

And now from several news sources, Epoch Times cited in this column, the popular blogging site LiveJournal is also being hammered and hammered hard…

Popular blog site LiveJournal also confirmed that it had been hit by a DoS attack. The company said that an attack had occurred at approximately 6 a.m. Pacific time.

The denial-of-service attacks are the latest in a round of such attacks. In July of this year, several websites run by the U.S. government, the New York Stock Exchange and websites in South Korea were taken down by similar attacks. While North Korea was suspected to be involved in those attacks, analysts have indicated in interviews with The Epoch Times that it was most likely the Chinese Communist Party helping North Koreans with the technology to launch the attacks.

In no way am I suggesting that the sky is falling, but I will give a bit of thought to what David Grizzly Smith asked me after my original posting on this morning’s assault on Twitter:

Given the whole thing with #iranelection, think the State Department will investigate the DDoS?

I’m hoping that someone up on Capitol Hill is paying attention. No, I don’t think this is Social Media’s 9-11, but something is most definitely afoot. This isn’t just a fluke happening. To hit Twitter, Facebook, and LiveJournal is impressive in a particularly scary way. It will be some time before the dust clears until we discover the responsible party behind these attacks, but right now we must all remain patient and (above all) calm. The creators and developers of these Social Media outlets are all working to keep their services online. I also have faith that other administrators to other popular sites are preparing for similar attacks. We, as the consumers, must keep our own heads about us and not flip out.

Today’s a weird, weird day…but consider this: Tomorrow’s Friday.

UPDATE

From the Twitter Status blog:

Thursday, 4:14 p.m. Site latency has continued to improve, however some web requests continue to fail. This means that some people may be unable to post or follow from the website.

From the blog comments, Aline sends in word from the New York Times that Google was also hit in the DoS onslaught. The article goes on to comment:

But Bill Woodcock, research director of the Packet Clearing House, a nonprofit technical organization that tracks Internet traffic, said the attack was an extension of the conflict between Russia and Georgia.

It was not clear who initiated the attack, Mr. Woodcock said, but it was likely that “one side put up propaganda, the other side figured this out and is attacking them.” He said he found evidence that the attacks had originated from the Abkhazia region, a territory on the Black Sea disputed between Russia and Georgia.

Twitter is still a tag sluggish (although TweetDeck is running like a champ), but they are online and running. Remember, if your account starts acting squirrely, swing by Twitter Status and see what is going on back aboard the Mothership.

From Twitter Status comes this nuggest of good news:

We are defending against a denial-of-service attack, and will update status again shortly.

Okay, that doesn’t sound good.

What exactly is a Denial-of-Service or DoS Attack? Heck — I’d never heard of it and I’m a geek, passionate about his Social Media. So, I turned to Google and started the research. In a nutshell, it’s bad. REALLY bad. From the files of U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) comes a definition of what a DoS Attack is all about:

In a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, an attacker attempts to prevent legitimate users from accessing information or services. By targeting your computer and its network connection, or the computers and network of the sites you are trying to use, an attacker may be able to prevent you from accessing email, web sites, online accounts (banking, etc.), or other services that rely on the affected computer.

The most common and obvious type of DoS attack occurs when an attacker “floods” a network with information. When you type a URL for a particular web site into your browser, you are sending a request to that site’s computer server to view the page. The server can only process a certain number of requests at once, so if an attacker overloads the server with requests, it can’t process your request. This is a “denial of service” because you can’t access that site.

So yeah. This is bad.

Right now, according to Twitter, they are back online and picking up the pieces of this malicious assault on their servers; so if you feel like coming on to the network and complaining about them, think twice. As I mentioned last night (and probably will, again, in an upcoming interview), Twitter has been growing like Kutzu on steroids, and trying to come up with adequate security is an ongoing challenge. I applaud them for keeping us all in the loop and for handling this as well as they have, but sadly this is a reminder of how their security should become an issue of highest priority.

I’ll have more information here as the day progresses, but remember you can keep tabs on Twitter’s Status by clicking here. See you all on the tweet side.

UPDATE at 3:14pm EST

Doesn’t look like Twitter is the only one getting slammed by hackers. From Wired Magazine comes confirmation that Facebook is also under a DoS attack:

Facebook has confirmed to Wired.com that — like Twitter — it was the victim of a denial-of-service attack Thursday morning.

“Earlier this morning, Facebook encountered network issues related to an apparent distributed denial-of-service attack, that resulted in degraded service for some users,” responded Facebook spokeswoman Kathleen Loughlin via e-mail.

Facebook seems to be weathering the storm, but Fan Pages have been reported offline and their response time on other pages slow. Twitter has been on and off, and some folks in my networks have been voicing their ire abut their inconsistency. Remember that while, yes, Twitter is awesome, it is also dealing with people today that are not-so-awesome and are making life in 140-characters-or-less close-to-near impossible. Be patient with Twitter. It’s not going anywhere, but it is getting hammered by hackers today.

If you are by your computer or thereabouts, make sure to swing by BlogTalkRadio as I make the return visit TONIGHT, August 5, starting at 9pm EST. With Phil Rossi and Philippa Ballantine rounding out the PodioRacket pandemonium, it’s going to be a very exciting night of audio delight for your ears on PodioRacket.com! See you there!

July 27. 2009 was one crazy night! I had PodioRacket on Blog Talk Radio All a Twitter over my upcoming appearance. Host Rhonda Carpenter was all kinds of excited to talk Twitter with me, but you might notice in the first ten (yes, as in one-zero-10) minutes, Rhonda is flying solo…while LIVE on BTR…

Why? Two words: Vonage Fail!

When I finally did get into the mix, the talk turned to All a Twitter and other aspects of the Twitter lifestyle and culture, and the time got by us so fast that we schedule a return visit for Wednesday, August 5, starting at 9pm. With Phil Rossi and Philippa Ballantine rounding out the PodioRacket pandemonium, tune in this week for my return visit! Until then, have a listen to Part One!

Feel free to syndicate this audio (making sure the link is pointing back to PodioRacket), and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, on Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Welcome to Birdhouse Rules, the Official Podcast of All a Twitter and Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes.

This is the Pilot Episode or more commonly referred to as “Episode 0″ in podcasting. I’m introducing myself and my podcast to you, just so you know what you can expect in the next ten minutes, give or take a few minutes. With special thanks to Andrew Stone and TweetDeck for the inspiration, enjoy this informal formality of a new podcast’s first step.

Guest introduction by Phlippa Ballantine

Album Artwork by Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios

Feel free to syndicate this audio, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on Bird House Rules at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, on Twitter, or here at the Bird House Rules Blog!

Just yesterday I found out that Megan is also All a Twitter!

Joining the ranks of images, videos, and reviews, Megan posted this TwitPic representing California in All a Twitter sightings. With her critical eye on all things Social Media, I can’t wait to hear her feedback on my Twitter takes. Remember to tweet your TwitPics and 12seconds videos, and leave a review at Amazon.com, letting me know exactly what you think. I’d love to hear from you!

And if Megan looks familiar to you… 4th row, 7th from the left, just under the SciFi Channel’s logo. (A key featuring the book cover’s Rogues Gallery will be coming soon…)

Thanks again for picking up your copy of All a Twitter, Megan! I hope you learn something new.

In one week, All a Twitter has appeared in three countries overseas! (Guess New Zealand set the pace in its First Strike!) It’s hard to believe the book has only been out since 13 July 2009, but already word is spreading fast overseas. TwitPics, 12seconds video, and even a cracking good review have come to my attention between Monday and today!

Representing the United Kingdom is Coach Ian Scott of Coach Ian Scott’s Podcast. An author and podcaster as well, Ian was gracious enough to offer a blurb for the opening and his likeness for the book cover. (4th row, 3rd from left) With the help of All a Twitter, he mastered the Fu of TwitPic and has started posting images, including this one featuring the man and his Social Media manual of choice!

Switzerland chimes in with a fantastic review from David Mantripp. This is a two-part review as his first impression of All a Twitter was met with a hint of skepticism. After his Friday blogpost, he returned the following Monday to comment:

“All a Twitter” is actually rather good. Tee Morris explains the mechanics of Twitter as a web application, and critically examines various tools you can get hold of to enhance your experience. But beyond that it takes a reasoned, balanced view of the “why” of Twitter, and encourages readers to decide for themselves what benefit they could get by joining in – or not.

This was the reaction that I’ve wanted from the moment I set out to write a book on Twitter, and I hope this is not the last review of its kind. Thank you, David, for giving my book a chance and enjoying my candid perspective on the Social Networking site.

Finally, we hear from Austria’s Katharina Maimer who launched a 12seconds.tv account to celebrate the arrival of her All a Twitter. if you’re not familiar with 12seconds.tv, think of it as “Twitter T.V.” as you are given twelve seconds to share a bit of video with the world. (You can find me there under TeeMonster. In Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes, I’ll be going into a bit more detail on it.) Kat fired up her webcam when a box from Amazon arrived on her doorstep, and….well, why don’t you see for yourself…

Remember to leave a review at Amazon.com, letting me know exactly what you think; and feel free to TwitPic yourself with your copy of All a Twitter and tweet me with your questions. I’ll gladly share your comments and images here!

Progress Report on Bird House Rules: I’m aiming for the first episode to drop next week, barring setbacks. More news to come!

Thanks again, all of you, for picking up your copy of All a Twitter. I hope you learn something new.

You remember my friend Gregory Lemon who was anxious to find out the status of my upcoming podcast for this blog? Well I found out why he was so anxious about my still-in-the-works iTunes link…Sigma Media is All a Twitter!

Greg posted that his copy arrived and shared with me and his relative networks this TwitPic. I am anxious to hear what he (and those of you also receiving your copy) has to say about my tutorials and observations on Twitter. Remember to leave a review at Amazon.com, letting me know exactly what you think; and feel free to TwitPic yourself with your copy of All a Twitter and tweet me with your questions. I’d love to hear from you!

Oh, and Greg…production on Bird House Rules starts this morning. More news to come!

Thanks again for picking up your copy of All a Twitter. I hope you learn something new.

This was my first official interview for the title, and a terrific kickoff in promoting this latest title concerning Social Media. If you would like to have me on your podcast or would care to host a guest blog column with me, feel free to contact me here! Thanks for listening.

http://twitter.com/DLockhart/statuses/2706298331

Follow the TwitPic link to this, a confirmed All a Twitter arrival! Thanks so much for picking up a copy of the book…and for picking up a copy of The Case of The Singing Sword. (That’s a bonus!) Keep the TwitPics coming, and feel free to pose with your copy of the book, post a YouTube video (like this one), and drop a blog or Amazon review. And don’t forget the hashtag…

#allatwitter

Thanks again, @DLockhart! I hope you learn something new.

This just in from Wellington’s @RangerRorry who tells me in 140 characters or less…

Auckland Libraries [City Central] NZ have 2 copies allatwiter on order for the library. You have some loyal Followers!

I was also given the head’s up by Technical Editor @PhilippaJane (Wellington) and @jeanettemarsh that All a Twitter orders were submitted for their local libraries, as well. All this in the first week of the book’s release! What a great eway to start the morning!

Hold on a second…All a Twitter pre-orders, Twitter’s Vodafone deal…from my seats in this New Zealand v. Australia test, the score is 14 – 0 with two successful tries from the All Blacks.

Your move, Oz….

UPDATE: I just discovered that Pip is now on 12seconds.tv and recorded a terrific video of when her copy of All a Twitter arrived. Take a look:

…but in light of recent events, Twitter has shown their human side. Or more to the point: when Twitter screws up, it is on an epic scale.

From TechCrunch, Robin Wauters reports that on July 15, 2009, a security issue plagued the Twitter servers unexpectedly. It was a technological Black Death of the worst kind: user error. Someone had made the password to Twitter’s servers the following: password.

Wow.

Wauters continues in TechCrunch’s “Another Security Tip for Twitter” article:

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, responding to our email, said “this bug allowed access to the search product interface only. No personally identifiable user information is accessible on that site.” Although no user accounts were compromised or accessible, the vulnerability speaks to a greater culture of lax security at the startup, and may be indicative of how earlier breaches possibly occurred.

With that in mind, we have some friendly advice for Twitter. For instance, it would be wise if in the future Twitter insiders do not use the password “password” for the back ends of its systems or one of its co-founder’s names (Jack) as a username.

What makes this cock-up truly frightening is that this particular incident is in no way related to another security breach Twitter was addressing on their blog that same day. This has kicked up a lot of speculation and criticism both here and at other sites like the earlier cited TechCrunch and Mashable.com concerning the security measures at Twitter.com. Mashable’s Stan Schroeder, in his own commentary, thinks:

One thing is certain. Twitter needs to burn everything security-related down to the ground and build it all anew to make sure this won’t happen again. Employees should adopt stricter security practices; services that don’t offer adequate security should be replaced with better ones; in short, Twitter needs to seriously rethink its attitude towards security and privacy in all aspects of their work.

Twenty-four hours later, people are still asking a lot of hard questions concerning who is keeping the gates at Twitter.com. These are questions I’d love answers to, but as of the posting of this article there is no new chatter either at the Twitter Blog or at Twitter Status.

From the reassurances of Biz Stone, Twitter appears on top of this; but I remain stunned that using “password” as a password to access servers got by their checks and balances. For the love of tweets, Twitter, you’ve been on the cover of Time Magazine and have been hailed as one of the innovations of modern communication. The backlash has been flying and flying hard in comments for these cited articles, and Twitter should respond. This is no longer an issue of “growing pains” but more concerning a careless, lacidasical approach to what should never be taken lightly: the security of their membership.

It occurred to me that in the first week of All a Twitter being released, many in my circles are talking it up and giving it a nice, solid introduction to the world. I am both honored and humbled by the support I’m receiving from the Twitter community. I’ve been treading lightly when it comes to promoting the book on Twitter. One of my dilemmas is wanting to tap into Twitter’s promotional power without becoming “yet another huckster” who is turning Twitter into just one more place to push their crap on to people. I so do not want to be “that guy” on Twitter. However, the book won’t sell itself.

Then it dawned on me…well, okay, maybe not “dawned” as that can be subtle, beautiful, and gradual. No, this was more like accidentally cutting the rope Wile E. gave me thereby releasing the ACME anvil suspended over my head: hashtags. (You know, Tee — hashtags? From Chapter Six, page 123?)

Regardless of what side of the argument you are on concerning them, hashtags are a nice way of raising awareness without being obnoxious about it. Hashtags (a keyword preceded by a pound sign, such as #allatwitter, for example) are convenient tracking devices for tweets. If enough people use them, All a Twitter could easily creep into the Trending Topics of Twitter alongside Harry Potter, Firefox 3, and New Zealand. This way, I can promote (and so can you) in a fashion that won’t be considered abusive or obtrusive.

So please, when you are talking about All a Twitter or if you have a question for me concerning Twitter, use this hashtag:

#allatwitter

And don’t be embarrassed by a question and ask me in a DM. Share with the network! There’s a good possibility a few people are wondering the same thing you are, but have not quite mustered up the courage to ask me.

Thank you again for all the support, kind words, and “At-a-boy’s” for this week’s premiere. Keep talking, keep tweeting, and if you would care to have me on your blog or podcast to talk Twitter, drop me a line!

I also came up with an easier-to-circulate link, thanks to Bit.ly. Go to http://bit.ly/AllaTwitter and order your copy of All a Twitter today! And feel free to share this video across the blogosphere.

To give this new blog a proper kick off, I offer up Part One of an interview featured at Imagine That! Studios. Enjoy!

Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand, introduced me to Radio New Zealand who, in turn, introduced me to Chris Laidlaw of Sunday Morning. RNZ is the “National Public Radio” for the Land of the Long White Cloud. Chris opened his mics up to talk about being geek, the impact of podcasting, and a few things concerning Twitter.

This was a fun interview; and while you can find the audio here, Imagine That! presents (with gracious permission from RNZ) exclusive video of a morning on the air in Wellington, NZ.

Feel free to share this video, and provide feedback or topics you’d like to hear discussed on In Your Right Mind at 703.791.1701, tmorris (at) imaginethatstudios (dot) com, on Twitter, or here at Imagine That!