Bird House Rules » Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in Ten Minutes

Episode #13: Review of Echofon (with Nifty Tech Blog)

Twitter's Tee Morris — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:15:09 +0000

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.

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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.

Episode #12: Review of Tweet Flow (with Nifty Tech Blog)

Twitter's Tee Morris — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:21:05 +0000

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

Bird House Rules — Episode #9: Location, Location, Location

Twitter's Tee Morris — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:15:55 +0000

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

@Twitter, Please Share Your Feelings with the Group…

Twitter's Tee Morris — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:15:06 +0000

Twitter, as you hear me say in Speak Geek to Me, is being hailed as one of the greatest innovations in modern communications. What does it mean, then, when a tool that revolutionizes how we exchange ideas and share thoughts suddenly decides shut its users out and make a change without notification?

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.

Bird House Rules: Episode #8a — Keeping Up with TweetDeck (Video Addendum)

Twitter's Tee Morris — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:13:43 +0000

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

Bird House Rules: Episode #8 — Keeping Up with TweetDeck (v0.32.1)

Twitter's Tee Morris — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:15:43 +0000

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

Bird House Rules: Episode #7 — The Zen of Retweet

Twitter's Tee Morris — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:30:52 +0000

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