Thumbs Down – TwitterPeek

Earlier this week, a rumor buzzed around that there would soon be a new hand-held mobile technology strictly meant for twittering.  Well, the rumors were true as the creators behind Peek, an email-only mobile device, have now created TwitterPeek, the mobile device meant for the sole reason of twittering.  Not for checking email, sending text messages, or making calls, but just twittering.

I know that Twitter has exponentially grown as a very valuable social media tool since its beginning; I realize that the popularity of Twitter itself gradually increased over time, as people didn’t realize its potential until later; however, I don’t believe that a device only meant to read, send, and receive tweets will gain much popularity.  With the growing capabilities of cell phones like that of the iPhone and BlackBerry, what’s the need and/or desire of carrying another gadget around that has limited use.  The TwitterPeek doesn’t have a web browser so one wouldn’t even be able to click on the numerous websites and other links that are shared via tweets.  With all of the various Twitter applications accessible through phones, there is no viable use of the TwitterPeek.  I don’t see this technology going very far or being very successful.  With all that cell phones can do today, people won’t mind paying the more expensive bills rather than paying less for a device that does so little.  I guess time will tell if the TwitterPeek device will succeed or not.

Historical Tweets – Thumbs Up

Do you like history, Twitter, and/or jokes?  If so, you’ll probably enjoy this humorous site: historicaltweets.com.  It takes famous historical events and supposes what the figure in the event would tweet about it.  While not every historical tweet is very funny, there are quite a few good ones on the site.  If you’re not familiar with Twitter, the things to look at besides the actual tweet (message) are where the person is tweeting from and the date (small text below the tweet), the historical figure’s username (at the bottom of each image), and if they are replying to someone else (you will see an @ before the other person’s name).  Here are some examples:

Thumbs up – tweleted.com

Have you ever been on someone’s twitter page, seen a horribly embarrassing tweet and gone back later to find it deleted when you try to show your friends? Have you ever accidentally deleted your best tweets? Well have I got a website for you.

Tweleted.com allows you to search, based on username, recently deleted tweets. According to the site’s creator, the search can reach back “about 1000 messages or four months, whichever comes first” though results may vary. Also, it allows you to search in good or evil mode, which doesn’t do anything but makes you feel better about the real reason you’re using the site. I personally don’t twitter, but I could see this site being very useful for those of you who do. So go forth and enjoy, and maybe find some really embarrassing tweets one of your friends thought they’d gotten rid of.

TweetDeck – Thumbs Up

TweetDeck, the popular Twitter desktop application, came out with an iPhone application this week.  The most valuable part of TweetDeck, is the ability to separate users into groups, which are displayed in side-by-side columns.  Using this tool, I am able to make a group of people that I know well, and want to read every update, as well as making a group of companies that I follow, where each update isn’t quite as important to me.  It’s a way to cut through the noise of Twitter to get exactly what you want.  TweetDeck also has additional functions of updating every minute to alert you of new tweets, allowing you to sign into multiple Twitter accounts at once, update your Facebook status, and more.

Having TweetDeck for the iPhone is a huge step for TweetDeck desktop users.  The ability to sync their accounts on the desktop application and the iPhone application allows Tweeters to unify their experience with Twitter.  Before I switched to TweetDeck, I was using TwitterFon, but TweetDeck blows it out of the water.  TweetDeck looks and performs better than its competitor and having the same groups that I have on my computer is great too.  While TweetDeck and TwitterFon are both offered for free, the most popular iPhone application on the market is Tweetie at $2.99.  While I don’t have any experience with Tweetie directly, Mashable’s comparison between the two services gives the slight edge to TweetDeck, but mentions that dedicated Tweetie users, and less experienced Twitter users will prefer the simpler functions and interface of Tweetie.

Thumbs Down – Tony LaRussa

Thumbs Down: The St. Louis Cardinals manager, Tony LaRussa, sued Twitter recently because someone had a Twitter account under his name and was posting fake updates. Tony LaRussa decided to sue because he claimed he “suffered significant emotional distress” and “damage to his reputation.”
Here are some of the Twitter posts:
-Lost 2 out of 3, but we made it out of Chicago without one drunk driving incident or dead pitcher… I’d call that an I-55 series.
-Fortunately, Ian Snell sucks now… when Molina and Duncan Jr. go deep off of you it’s time to look yourself in the mirror, have an ice-…
-drinking a cold Zima and wishing fucking Hancock was alive, I bet he could’ve gotten Jack Wilson out.

The account was obviously a joke and wasn’t even being updated very often, so I don’t know how Tony LaRussa could claim that it damaged his reputation. However, he’s a lawyer and I’m not, so he probably knows more than I do on the subject.

On the bright side, Twitter recently announced that they will be starting a program to “verify” accounts of public figures and organizations. When an account is verified, a seal will appear in the top right corner of the user’s profile page to let everyone know the page is legit. The people at Twitter haven’t specified how they will do this exactly, but it will be a valuable addition to the site, as now there is no way to determine if someone is who they say they are.