Twitter Fast Follow and SMS Tips

Twitter has announced that in the US, you can now get Tweets from people or user accounts you would like to follow. You do not need to signup and create an account on Twitter to be able to do this. So currently for if you are based in the US, you can now avail this service. In fact, sending a text was originally the only way users could tweet. This is why Tweets are 140 characters -- they need to fit into a text message. This service can also be turned on and off anytime you choose. This service is good for people who would like to keep track of a single account and be updated with the latest Tweets. 


How to follow a Twitter user using Fast Follow


Fast Follow. Anyone in the US can receive Tweets on their phone even if they haven’t signed up for Twitter. This is a simple way for people to get information they care about in real-time. For example, let’s say you want to get Tweets from New York City’s office of emergency management (@NotifyNYC). Just text ‘follow NotifyNYC’ to 40404 in the US.

Try it out the next time you see a Twitter @username at a restaurant or store, on a billboard or on TV, or if you hear one mentioned on the radio. If you want to appear in a user’s followers list or start to get followers, you’ll need to create a Twitter account. You can SMS by texting ‘signup’ to Twitter.

Fast Following without creating an account is currently available only in the US, but we're working with carriers to bring it to other countries.


How to follow a Twitter user via SMS


Set SMS alerts: From your computer, wherever you see a user on Twitter.com, you can hover over their name or avatar, and click on the phone icon that appears in the hovercard. Whenever they tweet, you'll get it as an SMS message on your phone.

It's just as easy to set alerts from your phone. Send ‘on [username]’ or ‘off [username]’ to 40404 in the US. (Tip: Check our list of numbers for each country and add the Twitter number to your address book.)
Tell Twitter to be quiet. Turn text messages on or off by sending ‘on’ or ‘off’ to Twitter. You can also go to the settings page if you want to turn off text message updates during a certain time period.
Keep up with the latest Tweet. If you text 'Get [username]’, that user’s most recent Tweet will be sent to your phone, even if you don’t follow them. There are a bunch of other fun commands you can use with Twitter on your phone.

Follow @twittermobile to keep up with the latest mobile developments.


[Via Twitter Blog Update]

An original post by

Sociolatte

Video: Predators now being Promoted on Twitter

Predators is now being promoted on Twitter. The movie is now playing in theaters and you can follow what people are saying about the movie with the hashtag #Predators.


You can also visit their official site here. The file stars Adrian Brody who plays Royce a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come together to realize they've been brought together on an Alien Planet as prey. Directed by Robert Rodriquez. 


You will find the Predators Trend right at the bottom of the Trending Topics on Twitter. 


Trailer

An original post by

Sociolatte

Sony's Twitter Cat Collar

Sony has designed a collar for your cat that can interact with Twitter. This way you can keep track of your pet's activities. The device is pre-programmed with 11 phrases that will be sent out as tweets each time your cat get up to something. "This Tastes Good" is Tweeted each time your cat eats something.

It's called Cat@Log . The scientists say that it is part of a new area of research on “human-pet interaction.”

The so-called 'lifelogging" device is a small camera, GPS and Bluetooth that is attached around the cat's neck.

[Image Courtesy myfoxny.com]

"These devices comprise various sensing units such as a camera, a GPS, an accelerometer, and a Bluetooth module. Here, we attempted to determine an optimum design of the devices such that they can be attached to a pet without causing discomfort to it; for determining this design, we considered parameters such as the device’s form factor and way of attachment."

Currently there are 11 phrases like walking, sleeping etc. Engineers have said there will be more upgrades that add to the interactivity. 

cat@log: human animal interaction platform from rkmtlab on Vimeo.

An original post by

Sociolatte

It happened Britney beats Ashton to become the most followed person on Twitter

About two weeks ago many websites and blogs began to speak about this Britney thing. How she was being followed by millions of people and at the rate it was happening at she would over take Ashton Kutcher. Well as predicted in less then two weeks it has happened and as this post is being written here are the official figures,


Ashton Kutcher: 4,938,625 followers
Britney Spears:   4,945,759 followers


Both of them are now on a race to the five million followers mark.


Britney has remained silent for the last three days and maybe not aware of this milestone. Both will reach the five million followers mark pretty soon and the race is on.


Twitter now no more has a king but a queen. These huge followings are proof enough that Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds.

An original post by

Sociolatte

From Earthquake to Boobquake

An Islamic cleric had this to say about Earthquakes happening in Haiti, Chile and the US.

Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi earlier this month warned worshipers:"Women who do not dress modestly . . . lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes."

And so one blogger, Jen McCreight, decided to test his claim. She is urging women on Monday to gather in their "most immodest outfit" and see what happens.

So for all the D.C. women who are interested in participating in this event, there is a gathering being organized for noon at Dupont Circle. According to one Facebook page, more than 30,000 are liking this.

Jen's Twitter page

Jen's Facebook page

This theory will be tested and if there are no seismic events on the 26th the cleric would need to prove why he is right or wrong. 

Jen McCreight says this on her Facebook page

Help fight supernatural thinking and the oppression of women, just by showing your cleavage!

"Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Sedighi is Tehran's acting Friday prayer leader.

I have a modest proposal.

Sedighi claims that not dressing modestly causes earthquakes. If so, we should be able to test this claim scientifically. You all remember the homeopathy overdose?

Time for a Boobqauke.

On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I'm sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn't rumble. And if we really get through to him, maybe it'll be one involving plate tectonics.

So, who's with me? I may be a D cup, but that will probably only produce a slight tremor on its own. If you'll be joining me on twitter, use the tag #boobquake!

Meanwhile male social networking users hope this turns out to be an annual recurring event. 

An original post by

Sociolatte

Twitter acquires Tweetie and drops the $2.99 price tag

Twitter announced on their blog that they have acquired Atebits (AKA Loren Britcher) to acquire Tweetie the leading iPhone Twitter client. Tweetie therefore will be renamed Twitter for iPhone and will be made free. Prior to the acquisition the app for available in the Apple App store for about $3 and will now be available for free.

"We're thrilled to announce that we've entered into an agreement with Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, a leading iPhone Twitter client. Tweetie will be renamed Twitter for iPhone and made free (currently $2.99) in the iTunes AppStore in the coming weeks. Loren will become a key member of our mobile team that is already having huge impact with device makers and service providers around the world. Loren's work won the 2009 Apple Design Award and we will eventually launch Twitter for iPad with his help.

As we work to provide the best possible Twitter experience on all of the major mobile platforms, momentum will increase dramatically. Millions more active, engaged, mobile users means more opportunities for all of us. Developers, services, and publishers will be able to leverage the Twitter iPhone and iPad applications to create additional innovative tools and integrations for users. We'll have more specific information on this once Loren is officially on board. In the meantime, please join us in welcoming Loren to the Twitter team."

Twitter for the iPad will also be launched with the help of Lauren. Other Twitter mobile clients need to see red as they may be soon out if business with Twitter now official moving into the mobile landscape and pushing it's service free of any costs to people who depend on mobile applications to use Twitter.

Loren had this to say about his experience and he seems to be more than happy to be a part of Twitter from the inside

"Now I’ll be working with them on the inside. I’m happy to say that as of today Twitter is the proud owner of Tweetie - and I’m joining their mobile team and starting work on turning Tweetie.app into Twitter.app, for iPhone and iPad."

An original post by

Sociolatte

Jim Carey shows his support for Tiger Woods on Twitter.

Jim Carrey who announced his split from Jenny McCarthy this week on Twitter has posted several tweets defending Tiger Woods and criticizing Wood's wife Elin. Jim has since toned down his tweets but here are the Tweets he posted regarding the Tiger Woods episode.


Tiger Woods owes nothing 2 anyone but himself. 2 please his father he gave up his childhood and his freedom in the world. That's enough!--->


No wife is blind enough to miss that much infidelity. Elin had 2 b a willing participant on the ride 4 whatever reason. kids/lifestyle ;^)


Whenever we form a consensus about some1 we envy, who's stumbling, our collective ego LOVES to flex it's unified muscle! S'ugly! }%^O


RT I want 2 make it CLEAR that I do not condone infidelity at all, but 2 some degree the responsibilty 4 it is shared by both people! ;^)


In any event, infidelity has never been an issue 4 me. If I tried to keep a secret like that, I would grow a tumor and devil horns! }:^<-


My people called and said I might have to tame my tweets a little. So here goes...I'm going to make a sandwich now. peanut butter.(sigh) ;^

An original post by

Sociolatte

Justin Bieber blacklisted by Twitter?

Will Twitter's awful decision cost them. Everyone who looks at the worldwide trends every day on Twitter has to know the name of Justin Bieber. The 16 year old entertainer is always Trending on Twitter. Easter morning saw something different on the Twitter landscape. Bieber was not on the trending topics,  apparently being taken down by Twitter, because a few Twitter business people did not like it. Beliebers were not to be taken down that easily though. "Beliebers" was the new trending topic a combo of Bieber and those who believe in him.


So why has Twitter started playing big bully. Does the site really have to bow to pressure. Twitter is about what people are talking about right now and Teens are talking about their favorite Idol Justine. Will Bieber ever be back on the trending topics again. It will happen but his name for now has been blacklisted by Twitter. 


Wrong decision since it he should not be blamed for something he did not even start. 


Twitter trending topics that emerged and soon taken down were


- #letbiebertrend
- #Beliebers
- #letjbtrend


Twitter does not even have a hint of Justine Bieber on the trending topics anymore.


What do you think. Is Twitter's decision right.

An original post by

Sociolatte

Twitter turns 4

Yes it's Happy Birthday Twitter once again. March 21st 2006 was when Twitter saw it's first Tweet. Jack Dorsey sent the first Tweet " Just Setting up my Twttr". 4 years on and Twitter is totally becoming a global phenomena averaging 50 millions Tweets a day.


Hated by some loved my many Twitter attracts some sort of response. Being lukewarm towards Twitter is not something you see.  Twitter has changed the world 140 characters at a time.


Happy Birthday Twitter.

An original post by

Sociolatte

Video: Stars Help in Twitter Suicide Try - New York Post New York Post

Nia Vardalos calls 911 after seeing suicide threat re-tweeted on Demi Moore's Twitter page. 

An original post by

Sociolatte

Conan O'Brien: “I've decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.”

Conan decide to follow one of his followers and so he followed his first followee. Sarah Killen was that lucky person. Her life has already changed. From three followers she has now gone to 14,457 and has already been interviews by various news channels. Conan is still only following Killen. 


After he followed her this is the Tweet that he posted


I've decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.


Well did he post only one Tweet about Sarah, Oh no, there is now another one


Sarah likes Twizzlers and craves cantaloupe. I like Raisinets, but melon feels creepy in my mouth. Twitter pals 4 eva! :)


Looks like Conan is now making sure he does justice to the person he is following. 


Follow Conan here and maybe he will also follow you back....


Pic of Sarah from her Twitter account

An original post by

Sociolatte

Astronaut sending beautiful pictures from Space on Twitter.

A Japanese aeronautical engineer  aboard the International space station has found a new way of filling time. After the treadmill and going to the loo in zero-gravity what is an astronaut supposed to do. Well, maybe entertain your followers on Twitter, hey thats noble. For us lowly ones still stuck on planet earth wondering how to get into orbit Astro_Sochi is sending us the pics. We all love to see. Does our earth really look like a blue marble from far out there?

If you would like to read his official NASA bio here is the link SOICHI NOGUCHI

But no matter how far you are out there this is what his last latest Tweet to eart read.

How is Super Bowl? I mean, all the commercials...


Here are some of the newest pics sent via Twitpic by Soichi Noguchi

Pico De Orizaba,the highest mountain in Mexico.

London, England - first time that I saw the whole city without any cloud.

An original post by

Sociolatte

Astronauts to answer questions from Twitterverse.

NASA is wanting space buffs on Twitter to interact with their astronauts. 


Mike Massimino also known as Astro_Mike had asked the public to post live questions to him via his Twitter account till Feb 11, which he will take and reply to the crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor 


From his Twitter account. 
Send your ?s to me and I will ask the next shuttle crew while they are in space.

Officials at Kennedy Space Center said liftoff is go for 4:39 AM EST (9:39 AM GMT, 1:39 AM PST), with an 80 per cent chance of good weather early sunday morning on Feb 7th.

During their stay, NASA is inviting stay-at-home space cadets to send questions for the Endeavour crew via Twitter and have them answered live from space.

Astronaut Mike Massimino will be accepting questions for the STS-130 mission crew through his Twitter account, astro_Mike, until Thursday, February 11.
At 8:24 AM GMT (12:24 AM PST) Thursday, Massimino will host a live 20-minute web event from his console at Mission Control, where he'll ask the Endeavour astronauts as many submitted and live questions "as practical." The shuttle will be docked to the station during the Q&A session, which will be aired live on the NASA TV website.

An original post by

Sociolatte

Twitter's new hovercard feature.

Twitter officially announced the new feature via their blog. The usefulness of this feature is that you can check out the profile of a person by hovering over their tweets. This means you do not need to leave the page your on to go and check out a person's profile.

Found on their blog

One way we've found these cards to be useful is to find out more about retweeted people and follow them right there. You can also see more information with an expanded view of the card.

Sending direct messages to people you follow will also be possible with Hovercards so you can interact with tweeters without having to move off the page.

Hovercards will be rolled out in stages so not all of you will be seeing them right away. 

An original post by

Sociolatte

CEO of Sun resigns via Twitter.

On Wednesday night Sun Microsystems Jonathan Schwartz resigined from the company and did it in the most unique way via Twitter.

This is what he posted on his Twitter page. To follow him on Twitter @OpenJonathan

Today's my last day at Sun. I'll miss it. Seems only fitting to end on a #haiku. Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more

Just days after Oracle consummated its $7.4 billion acquisition of struggling Sun and announced an aggressive plan to hire some 2,000 employees, the embattled Schwartz called it quits.
"Today's my last day at Sun. I'll miss it. Seems only fitting to end on a #haiku. Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more" said Schwartz, who has effectively used a blog and Twitter to communicate with employees and Sun followers.
Then again, Schwartz didn't have much of a choice. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison told one interviewer last week that he expected Schwartz to resign.

An original post by

Sociolatte

"Twitteros", Mexico's Latest Outlaws

Yes in Mexico that's what there called "Twitteros" people who use social networking sites life Twitter and Facebook for illegal activities. It is feared in Mexico that drug cartels are using social networking sites to aid their operations.


Found on CBS news.

That's right. Twitter users are fast becoming public enemy No. 1, at least in Mexico City, where they have angered authorities by warning one another of roadside "alcoholimetro" - or Breathalyzer - checkpoints set up by the police.

"It's a way for drug cartels to locate targets," said Ghaleb Krame, a security expert at Alliant International University in Mexico City.

"Facebook and Twitter have lots of weaknesses," he said. "For instance, criminals can find out who are the family members of someone who has a high rank in the police. Perhaps they don't have an account on Twitter or Facebook, but their children and close family probably do."

Indeed, a recent string of killings suggest drug cartels are more web-savvy than the police. In December, a marine was killed during an operation to capture one of Mexico's most wanted drug lords, Arturo Beltran Leyva, who also died in the shootout. Less than a week later, gunmen attacked the marine's home, killing his mother and three relatives.

"How did they know where his parents lived?" Krame asked, suggesting that the cartel could have used websites like Facebook to track down the family. "Drug traffickers have an intelligence network and, as far as I know, at this moment in time it's more effective than ours."

While he seconds Rep. Norberto's call for police to mine Twitter and Facebook for data, Krame said any attempt to restrict social networking websites would be a mistake.

With the rise and popularity of social networks criminals seem to be taking to it faster that police forces. Which brings out the need for forces to get more acquainted with what's happening around them in virtual social worlds. It could also be a boon to police forces as social networks actually makes their jobs easier with a little bit of expert snooping cops around the world are finding that social networks are allowing criminals to fall into their hands with such easy they do not have to leave the comfort of their chair in front of their PC's to do their investigating.

An original post by

Sociolatte

Gang Members taking to Twitter and Facebook.

According to an AP report gang members are flocking to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Twitter gives them the chance for instant bragging right and instant messages to let other members know what's going on. Facebook allows them to easily share videos and pics with friends. They are able to now share information in real time and warm other members of dangers and to also brag of recent achievements. 


There are also goons who use social networking sites from inside join to post threats to rivals. It is also an avenue for some of them to become famous. Like the UK fugitive who kept appearing on Facebook and had a large fan following.


Found the below extract on the Washington Post



Authorities can also seek help from the Web sites. Representatives from Twitter and Facebook say they regularly cooperate with police and supply information on account holders when presented with a search warrant. Neither company would discuss specifics.
Gang use of Twitter and Facebook still lags behind use of the much-older MySpace, which remains gang members' online venue of choice.
The Crips, Bloods, Florencia 13, MS-13 and other gangs have long used MySpace to display potentially incriminating photos and videos of people holding guns and making hand gestures. They also post messages about rivals

Last week, officials in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, announced the arrest of 50 people in a crackdown of a Latino gang they say was engaged in drug sales and hate crimes against black residents. Prosecutors say some of the evidence was pulled from MySpace and YouTube, including rap videos taunting police with violent messages.
While some members are wising up to the police attention such postings can bring, gang information remains publicly viewable online.
Dozens of Facebook accounts are dedicated to the deadly MS-13 gang, with followers from around the globe. At one site, a video displays pictures of dead members of the rival 18th Street gang, and some users have left disrespectful comments.
The toughest part about tracking someone on Twitter is finding the alias or screen name they are posting under. And many tweets are nonsensical or pointless, so cutting through the clutter can be difficult.
"It's tricky," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy David Anguiano. "If you find out what they go by, you are good to go."
Anguiano tracks the online activity of graffiti vandals - the so-called tagging crews that sometimes morph into gangs. They post tweets saying they are heading out to spray paint and sometimes post links to photographs of their work.
Often, they cannot resist bragging about their handiwork, and the electronic trail they leave is frequently used as evidence.
"They talk about it too much," Anguiano said. "You want the fame so you've got to go out there and talk about it. That's when your mouth gets you in trouble."

An original post by

Sociolatte

Twitter launches what's trending locally.

Twitter has added a new feature on it's website. You can now find out what is trending locally. Currently 7 countries and 12 US cites have been added. We expect the to add lot's more soon.

How to find local trending topics near you. Under the search bar on the right hand column of your Twitter home page you see the topic "Trending" with a small upward pointing arrow. Click on that arrow to be show there current local trending topics by regions. As see below.

Countries

• Worldwide


• Brazil


• Canada


• Ireland


• Mexico


• United Kingdom


• United States

---

Cities

• Atlanta


• Baltimore


• Boston


• Chicago


• Dallas-Ft. Worth


• Houston


• London


• Los Angeles


• New York City


• Philadelphia


• San Antonio


• San Francisco


• Seattle


• São Paulo


• Washington, D.C.

An original post by

Sociolatte

Astronauts are busy sending updates to Twitter and enthralling their fans.

TJ Creamer who was the first person to Tweet from space has been busy. His account that was at about 5,000 when the first tweet from Space came in is now being followed by 26,412 people as this post is bing written. Thanks to him a of information is now being shared and people are able to follow life as it is going on, on the space station. Creamer and his buddies have been updating their Twitter accounts with the latest news and even what they have for breakfast etc. Some of the Tweets are listed below.

@Space_Pete 1st time seeing the Earth, my thought & feelings were: how inspiringly beautiful & peaceful. All should see...
.
@maartenmg Bedtime is about 10pm GMT usually, and we get up by 6am, usually, unless we have a shifted sleep schedule.

@Romain_David Our Earth pics go here: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ & our mission pix: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

It's late now.Will tweet as time allows;much work (science,maintenance,preps 4 next Shuttle).Glad we can share the adventure w/u. Night all.

What do you call an Astronaut that Tweets. Tstronaut.

An original post by

Sociolatte

How to find a job on Twitter

Recent studys have show that if you have been very busy and spending a lot of time on Twitter you probable need a job. So we have compiled the latest offerings to help you find a job right here on Twitter.

1. TwitterJobSearch.com . or also know as twitjobsearch.com
 This is a job search engine based on Twitter. There are hundreds of recruiters and companies out there on Twitter that a right now advertising for jobs. This site lets you search for jobs based on parameters. e.g you can search for executive job New York and it will list all the Tweets mentioning executive search based out ao NEw York. They also have a list of advertisers that have already been posting their jobs on the site

• 
  Ernst & Young


• 
  Wavex


• 
  Hanover Fox


• 
  SecurityCleared


• 
  CRF


• 
  KFC


• 
  Circle


• 
  AccountancyAge


• 
  PAJobSite


• 
  IncisiveCareers

2. The latest tool that job hunters can use to find openings is called JobDeck, a new product from TwitJobSearch and TweetDeck, a desktop Twitter application.
TwitJobSearch scans Twitter for job postings by paying attention to the context in which employment-related keywords appear. For example, if a Tweet links to a story about the construction industry losing jobs, that should not show up on the list. If a Tweet says there is a job listing for an assistant to the vice president, the search engine needs to categorize it under openings for assistants, not vice presidents.
"If someone has 20 followers and they say, 'We're thinking of hiring a new sous-chef' and a link to the restaurant blog, their 20 friends would know," said William Fischer, co-founder of WorkDigital. "But somebody could come to our Web site, put in 'restaurant work Bay Area' and see it."

An original post by

Sociolatte