Twitter Philippines

Twitter dating for tech-savvy singles & 5 Best Free Twitter Clients & 5 Free Tools to Spring Clean Your Twitter Account

2010-06-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

Click the headline below to read the complete article

Twitter dating for tech-savvy singles
5 Best Free Twitter Clients
A Visual Tool to Track Olympic Tweets
Google Message Feature Moves Beyond Twitter
If You Can’t Take the Heat, Don’t Read Me on Twitter
#Spon, #Paid and #Samp: New Tags for Shilling on Twitter
TweetSwitch: Send and Receive Tweets from IM and Email
TweetStats: See Statistics of your Tweets
Getting the Most Out of Twitter
White House tweeting spreads Obama message
5 Free Tools to Spring Clean Your Twitter Account
Mixero: Best Twitter Client to Keep Track of Relevant Tweets
Twitter Gets a New Homepage-It's a Whole Thing
Twitter to use own Web link shortener this summer
Twitter Makes Itself More Useful
Google One-Ups Twitter, Adds Search Across Entire Tweet Archive
Twitter as History: Library of Congress Signs Up
8 Must-Have Twitter and Facebook Add-Ons
Don't Click That Tweet!

Twitter creates list of 'tweeting' Olympians & Taming Twitter’s Stream With an Automated Web Site

2010-02-12T15:03:00.001-08:00

Click the title below to read the complete article

Microsoft icon Bill Gates starts tweeting
Twitter creates list of 'tweeting' Olympians
Twitt Updated, Now Supports Multiple Accounts
The First Tweet From Space and Other Twitter Firsts
Taming Twitter’s Stream With an Automated Web Site

Tweeting from behind the wheel expected in a year

2010-01-08T13:51:00.001-08:00

John D. Sutter, CNN January 7, 2010 Ford says new technology will include Twitter feeds read to drivers. It also has a partnership with Pandora, Stitcher. Company says they are just taking what people already do "and make them safer"

The debate over distracted drivers ramped up a notch on Thursday as Ford Motor Co. announced technology to let computers read their Twitter feeds to them while behind the wheel.

The company has not formally announced technology to let drivers post tweets verbally from behind the wheel, but such an announcement likely will come in the next 12 to 18 months,

Continue reading here http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/07/ford.twitter/index.html

Twitter top list of weird stories in 2009

2009-12-29T14:25:00.001-08:00

From ABSCBN News From the American who interrupted his wedding to update his Twitter accounts, the world was full of weird stories in 2009.

In New York, five "restroom ambassadors" got jobs tweeting from the toilets at Times Square: greeting tourists and shoppers -- and then sending short dispatches on their encounters.
Britain's High Court ordered its first injunction via Twitter to stop an anonymous Tweeter impersonating someone else.

The U.N.'s World Food Program sent text messages to Iraqi refugees in Syria so they could redeem the virtual vouchers for fresh food in local shops. A U.S. survey found that one in five drivers read or sent text messages from behind the wheel.

"The new technologies that help us multi-task in our everyday lives and increasingly popular social media sites present a hard-to-resist challenge," said U.S. motor club head Robert Darbelnet -- a fitting description for the whole year. Continue reading here http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/technology/12/29/09/facebook-twitter-top-list-weird-stories-2009

Google Adds Twitter Results to Searches & Facebook, Twitter influence holiday gift buying–survey

2009-12-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

Read the whole article by clicking the title below

Google's New Real-Time Search Streams Breaking News and Live Twitter Updates

Google Adds Twitter Results to Searches

Facebook, Twitter influence holiday gift buying–survey
Snap Bird Helps You Find the Tweets That Got Away

Google Adds Twitter Results to Searches & What's Up With Twitter's Random SMS Tweets?

2009-12-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

Click the headline to read more

Twitter Debuts New Mobile Page for All Those Users Avoiding Apps

Twitter Previews New Mobile Site

Groom 'tweets' marriage from altar

Snap Bird Helps You Find the Tweets That Got Away

Google Adds Twitter Results to Searches

Dell sells $6.5 million via Twitter

Facebook, Twitter influence holiday gift buying–survey

What's Up With Twitter's Random SMS Tweets?

Buying, Selling and Twittering All the Way

2009-12-09T21:05:00.001-08:00

The New York Times Jerry DeFrancisco twitters to a Best Buy customer. Retailers twitter to attract shoppers.

On Black Friday, retailers and their customers used the social networking site Twitter to talk to one another about bargains, problems, purchases and shopping strategies. Continue reading here
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.html

Listen Up for Twitter Tunes

2009-12-09T21:03:00.001-08:00

Tweets from around the world create the first album of Twitter music,
compiled by a British composer. Continue reading here
http://lm.pcworld.com/t/767886/5419529/31155/0/

Groom 'tweets' marriage from altar & Tiger 'transgressions' top Twitter

2009-12-09T00:15:00.001-08:00

Click these headlines to read the articles

Tiger 'transgressions' top Twitter

Polish your old twitters before looking for a new one

How and why I use Twitter

Groom 'tweets' marriage from altar

Iran, Twitter and the new media world

Twitter, Facebook and Web sites getting people involved & Birds of a Feather Tweet Together

2009-12-06T15:36:00.001-08:00

READ INTERESTING HEADLINES BY CLICKING THE LINKS BELOW

Twitter, Facebook and Web sites getting people involved

Google & Yahoo! Bow to Facebook & Twitter

Birds of a Feather Tweet Together

2009: the Year of Twitter & A Twitter Founder Turns to Electronic Payments

2009-12-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

Click the headlline below to read the complete article

2009: the Year of Twitter

A Twitter Founder Turns to Electronic Payments

Screenr Shares Screencasts on Twitter, YouTube, and More & Worth the Wait: New Version of TweetDeck Features Lists, Geolocation and LinkedIn Support

2009-12-03T01:51:00.001-08:00

READ INTERESTING HEADLINES BY CLICKING THE LINKS BELOW

Yahoo’s 2009 Searches Topped by Michael Jackson and Twilight, Not Twitter

Screenr Shares Screencasts on Twitter, YouTube, and More

Lifehacker Readers Are Split on Twitter

Worth the Wait: New Version of TweetDeck Features Lists, Geolocation and LinkedIn Support

How SMBs Can Capitalize on the Twitter Woes of the Fortune 100

2009-12-01T15:27:00.003-08:00

How SMBs Can Capitalize on the Twitter Woes of the Fortune 100
click the title to read the complete article

Twitter age gets mixed reception in sports & Twitter eyes acquisitions, sees making money in 2010

2009-11-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

READ INTERESTING HEADLINES BY CLICKING THE LINKS BELOW

Twitter eyes acquisitions, sees making money in 2010

Twitter age gets mixed reception in sports

Twitter Inspires More to Go Mobile

2009-11-29T03:39:00.001-08:00

Click the title below to read the complete article

Twitter’s Stone Could Go Public, but No Interest in Selling

Twitter Inspires More to Go Mobile

Twitter Inspires More to Go Mobile

2009-11-29T00:17:00.000-08:00

Increasing numbers of tweets are being sent from mobile devices, researchers report.Continue reading by clicking this link http://lm.pcworld.com/t/776116/5419529/32777/0/

Tweets or bleats? Twitter tool measures one's 'importance'

2009-11-26T15:23:00.003-08:00

Tweets or bleats? Twitter tool measures one's 'importance'
click the above headline to read the article

Listen Up for Twitter Tunes

2009-11-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

Listen Up for Twitter Tunes

click the headline above to read the complete story

Twitter, Facebook, Friendster Unlimited with Globe Tattoo

2009-11-25T15:59:00.001-08:00

CLICK THE HEADLINE TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Twitter, Facebook, Friendster Unlimited with Globe Tattoo

Globe Tattoo special DNS for faster connection

Tweets or bleats? Twitter tool measures one's 'importance'

2009-11-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

You’ve got followers and post regularly, but ever wondered how popular you are on Twitter? An online tool that evaluates "tweets" can tell. Continue reading here
http://itmatters.com.ph/news.php?id=112409b

Listen Up for Twitter Tunes

2009-11-25T15:28:00.000-08:00

Tweets from around the world create the first album of Twitter music, compiled by a British composer. Continue reading here

http://lm.pcworld.com/t/767886/5419529/31155/0/

Twitter’s Stone Could Go Public, but No Interest in Selling

2009-11-24T13:20:00.001-08:00

Twitter’s Stone Could Go Public, but No Interest in Selling
click the headline to read the full story

Yahoo adds photos, tweets to news search, A Friend’s Tweet Could Be an Ad

2009-11-23T16:51:00.001-08:00

Click the headline to read the article

Yahoo adds photos, tweets to news search

A Friend’s Tweet Could Be an Ad

Tweeting with the vampire "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."

2009-11-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

From CNN news : Among a certain (mostly young, mostly female) segment of the population, this weekend's news is all about one thing and one thing only: the opening of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."

Twitter related sites for this new movie. Whichever vamp camp you find yourself in, you'll find fellow fans of the fang on Twitter. Here are five:

@kalebnation (Kaleb Nation)
@annericeauthor ("Interview With the Vampire" author Anne Rice)
@sookiebontemps ("True Blood" character Sookie Stackhouse)
@vampirediaries (Official feed for the "Vampire Diaries" books)
@MdellW (Meredith Woerner)

Contine to the details here http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/19/follow.friday.vampires/index.html

Also read 'New Moon' banks at box office

Dating in the dark

Are you twittering too much? hehe

2009-11-22T13:50:00.001-08:00

The next Twitter? It's Foursquare & Yahoo jumps on Twitter bandwagon to improve search

2009-11-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

CLICK THE HEADLINES TO READ THE COMPLETE STORY

What Twitter's New Geolocation Makes Possible

Yahoo adds photos, tweets to news search

Yahoo jumps on Twitter bandwagon to improve search

Twitter Geotagging: What You Need to Know

The next Twitter? It's Foursquare

Tweetmeme Launches Buttons for Re-Tweetable Advertising

TWITTER NEWS HEADLINES

2009-11-17T03:28:00.001-08:00

CLICK TO READ

Twitter to scrap controversial suggested user list

Obama says Twitter should be open in China

Obama: 'I Have Never Used Twitter'

Multimedia Messaging Comes to Twitter in the U.K. Thanks to Orange

Has Twitter's Finest Hours (Seconds) Come and Gone?

Twitter worth about $600 million, Travel travails? Social media like Twitter are your friend

2009-11-15T15:14:00.001-08:00

Analyst: Twitter worth about $600 million Read the whole complete story here

http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/2009/11/analyst-twitter-worth-about-600-million.html

Travel travails? Social media like Twitter are your friend
Read the complete article here

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-11-12-social-media-help_N.htm

Help! My boss is on Twitter: three rules to avoid social media catastrophes

2009-11-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Updates on social media sites can be dangerous if workmates see them – and can erode the line between work and social life

Twitter users should exercise caution.

Yes, my boss follows me on Twitter. And it's no use denying that this makes a difference to what I tweet. For example, I always feel bad about not tweeting, because I report on digital media and a tacit part of my job description is to maintain an online presence. However, I don't tweet if I am in a bad mood or am simply too busy. On the other hand, we should examine where the line should be drawn for social media and our private lives.

Our after-work life is rapidly disappearing, and being replaced by a non-working life. It remains to be seen if increased transparency regarding our private lives will make employers more tolerant - or make employees better behaved. "The business use case in Twitter is turning out to be very important," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said yesterday as the company announced the possibility of cross-posting tweets to the professional network LinkedIn. Fine. But careful with that.

Think twice about tweeting that you hate your new job, but are grateful for the fat paycheck. And you might want to consider changing your job if you want to express your sexuality but you are a teacher. Those people with a second, non-work-related, Facebook account or Twitter identity can do a lot anonymously, but yes, they have to manage their identities. And the London Underground worker who left his job after rude comments he made to an elderly passenger were circulated on the internet might struggle for sympathy. Continue reading here http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/nov/11/rules-if-boss-follows-you-on-twitter-etiquette

tags: twitter rules to avoid catastrophes with boss

Does My Tweet Look Fat?

2009-11-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

As the velocity of communication approaches realtime, language compresses.

Think about it. When people originally started talking about Twitter, the first thing they'd always mention was the 140-character limit that the service imposes on tweets.

Read the rest of this post on the original site
http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2009/11/does_my_tweet_l.php

Tags: Internet, Twitter, Voices, digital, Nicholas Carr, Rough Type, Twitter | permalink

How To Make Free Phone Calls Via Twitter

2009-11-11T04:16:00.003-08:00

This is from the website spotcoolstuff. Ever expanding functionality companies are bringing to Twitter. Some hotels offer concierge services via Twitter. Some take-out restaurants allow customers to place orders via Twitter. And now at least one VoIP company, Jajah, is launching a service that places telephone calls via Twitter.
Here’s how Jajah’s Twitter calling works:

1) You sign up for a free Jajah account and input your Twitter username and your phone number (VoIP, landline and cell numbers all work).
———————
Visit my Twitter blog now http://twitterph.blogspot.com/
————————————————–
2) The person you want to call must have a Jajah account with the same information. Also, you must each be following each other on Twitter.
3) You tweet “@call @_________”, with that blank filled with the Twitter username of whoever you want to call.
4) Your telephone will ring, your callee’s telephone will ring, and Jajah will connect your call.
The call is completely free and there’s no need download software or have any special equiptment. The catch—and isn’t there always a catch?—is that your call can be no longer than 2 minutes long. Also, because you are tweeting your call request you have to be okay with informing all of Twitterdom of who it is you are calling.
Given these limitations does Jajah’s Twitter calling service belong in the Cool But Ultimately Useless category?
-
Maybe.
There are already multiple ways to place phone calls for free or nearly-free (such as Skype). With a tweet you can plan out your 140 characters but it isn’t always predictable whether you want your call to last longer than two minutes or not.
-
On the other hand, there may well be people you don’t want to talk to for longer than two minutes. [Insert mother-in-law joke here]. Another advantage: Jajah keeps the phone number of all their users confidential, which might make their Twitter service idea for some form of phone speed dating or for issuing ransom demands.
Jajah http://www.jajah.com/
-
As of September 2009 the Jajah Twitter calling service was in a beta testing mode. Any Jajah user can ask to take part by emailing twitter@jajah.com.

This posting is from the blog http://tech.spotcoolstuff.com/voip-jajah/make-free-calls-via-twitter

Tags: free phone calls twitter, how to make free phone calls twitter.

Tweets Are Coming to LinkedIn

2009-11-10T14:05:00.001-08:00

Twitter and LinkedIn have struck a deal for tweets to be shared on LinkedIn, boosting the efforts of both services to be a hub for professional conversation. Read the article here http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/tweets-are-coming-to-linkedin/?ref=technology

Twitter to Support Location-Based Trends With New API

2009-11-10T14:02:00.001-08:00

Twitter is adding what could become a powerful new source for news and things to do. The company is going to support location-based trends with a new application programming interface, so that users can learn about what others nearby are tweeting about. That could make mash-ups like the one pictured above from Trendsmap quite powerful. (Trendsmap shows the most buzzed about terms on Twitter fo different cities around the world.)

The one feature request that we’ve heard over and over, however, is “what’s going on where I am?”. To answer that, we wanted to give you all a heads up regarding the new “Trends API” that we’re launching. This API will open up trending information that is specific to a number of locations around the world.

Twitter’s using Yahoo!’s Where on Earth IDs (WOEIDs) to name locations, because the company’s markers are language-agnostic and stable. Based on the company’s documentation, it looks like the API will return ten trending terms for a given location

Read the complete article here http://www.nytimes.com/external/venturebeat/2009/11/09/09venturebeat-twitter-to-support-location-based-trends-wit-29748.html

Refining the Twitter Explosion

2009-11-09T14:08:00.001-08:00

DOES Twitter have a T.M.I. problem?

And, no, I don’t just mean the Twitter users who share too much information about their lives, social, medical or otherwise.

Simply put, there is way too much information on Twitter — lately, it defies navigation. In January, there were 2.4 million tweets a day, according to Alessio Signorini, a researcher at the University of Iowa. By October, he reports, there were 26 million tweets a day.
Why should we care about information overload at Twitter? Isn’t Twitter about the individual experiences — a Tweeter and her followers — not the totality of millions of Tweeters around the world?

------------------------------------------------------

Read all the latest news on Twitter and twittering at my blog http://twitterph.blogspot.com/

---------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps this is true for most users. But the promise of Twitter — the reason Google and Microsoft have paid to be able to search millions of Tweets — is that it gives the best approximation of the pulse of the world: How popular is the new iPhone? Did Kanye West make a spectacle of himself at an awards show? Or, more ominously, what is it like when there is a shooter loose on an Army post?

Until lately, the main way to make sense of an urgent outpouring of tweets on a particular subject was to use text searches: look for the phrase “Fort Hood,” for example, or maybe an agreed-upon label, “#fthood,” within tweets. Yet during events like the shootings on Thursday at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead, this method is useless. Hundreds of “relevant” tweets pop up every minute, most repeating the same news reports over and over again or expressing concern from far away.
Which is why a new feature that Twitter says it could unveil in the next few weeks — “geolocation” — holds such potential to make the Twitter rapids navigable.

The idea is to take advantage of global positioning systems on cellphones to allow Twitter users to include a precise location with each tweet. Users would be able, right off the bat, to limit their searches to tweets from a particular location.

“Proximity can be this proxy for relevance,” said Ryan Sarver, the director of the Twitter platform, who led a “fairly small team” of programmers who after a few months are close to completing the geolocation project. “We are about delivering the right information to the right people.”
Even now, before the geolocation feature has been released to developers, visitors to Twitter.com have been able to limit searches by location based on the profiles that Twitter users provide when they sign up.

That simple filter made a huge difference in what a visitor to Twitter’s search engine discovered about the Fort Hood shootings. After limiting searches to those from within 15 miles of Killeen, Tex., a town near the Army post, you easily find messages sent by soldiers describing what it is like to be on lockdown or worrying about their children at school on the post.

The tweets from one, RicoRossi, can suddenly leap to the top, even while Fort Hood remains locked down — “a soldier i treated here said he was waiting in line @ SRP when another soldier stood up and started shooting,” one early tweet read, using an acronym for the Soldiers Readiness Program, where the attacks occurred.

In response to questions from his Twitter followers, he quickly replied with “idont want 2 b 2 graphic so ill stop there, he was there ... it was like something out of a movie he said im paraphrasing of course.”

Another Twitter user, JKsTinkerbell76, described the scene at Scott and White Hospital in nearby Temple, Tex., during her lunch break (around midnight late Thursday): “Still on Lockdown. Police and Security everywhere.”

And DaTriggerMan, Killeen, Tex, tweeted Thursday afternoon, “We just got cell phone services back here on ft hood! And I am good thanks for all the concern!!!” And then, four minutes later, “what happen cuz I aint been in front of a tv? We had some shooters on post we good now tho!”

Improvements like geolocation have the potential to make the Internet suddenly relevant to society as it is lived, not just relevant to what happens online. Mr. Sarver imagines features like “local trending topics,” a list of subjects popular in a particular area; or searches for happy hour in a neighborhood of Dallas that will intelligently link tweets about happy hours to the place they were sent from.
Because GPS will provide the ability to become very “granular” with locations, you could mimic through Twitter the banter at the local diner or a barbershop, by limiting a search of tweets to a two-block radius.

There is also the fear of loss of privacy and loss of security as once-local chats become globally public. That is why Mr. Sarver said Twitter would require two “opt in” decisions — at the profile level and again through the application.

For the technological optimists, the cures for information overload, in essence, are better filters and greater context. The more you know about a message — who sent it and why — the better you understand it.

The open-source project Ushahidi, which takes its name from the Swahili word for “testimony,” was quick to understand this. The software allows text messages to be mapped by time and location. It was developed to track reports of ethnic violence in Kenya in 2008. Suddenly mere words can create a moving picture of where violence started and where it intensified.

More recently, through a program called stopstockouts.org, the Ushahidi software tracks a range of medicines for shortages across Africa.

Creating navigation tools for digital information is the next big challenge, said Erik Hersman, a co-founder of Ushahidi who has been in contact with Mr. Sarver’s team at Twitter.
“We have more update-type of information,” he said. “The stream is getting wider and wider.” Read the original article here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/business/09link.html?_r=1&ref=business&pagewanted=print

Twitter Tries Luring Users Back

2009-11-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

Interface fixes and usability tweaks are clearly aimed at pulling Twitter subscribers from their slumber or away from third-party apps.

Twitter made its new retweet function available to a limited number of users on Thursday, as it tests the new feature before rolling it out across its entire network. Retweets are just one part of what looks like a larger push by the self-proclaimed "information network" to make Twitter.com just as usable as the multitude of free Twitter clients out there like Tweetdeck, HootSuite and Seesmic. In addition to Retweets, the company also announced on Thursday that it would start editing its trending topics to make the feature more relevant, and last month Twitter launched a Lists feature allowing users to organize their Twitter streams.

Retweets
Retweeting is just a fancy way of saying that one user has re-posted the message of another user. If you were following PC World on Twitter, for example, a typical retweet would look something like this: "PC World: RT @ianpaul trying out Twitter.com."

Twitter is aiming to improve retweets by highlighting the message creator as opposed to the user who is re-posting the message. So instead of seeing a tweet from the person you follow, the original tweet would show up in your Twitter stream with a small credit at the bottom to let you know who, among the people you follow, retweeted the message.

The new format will look something like this: "Ian Paul: trying out Twitter.com.--retweeted by @pcworld and three others." This is a great format since it will make it easier for you to discover other interesting people to follow based on what appears in your Twitter stream.

Curating Trending Topics and Lists
Trending topics allows you to see the ten most popular discussion topics on Twitter in real time. The problem is, this list can easily be overtaken by useless memes or pranks--remember the gorilla penis fiasco? Twitter wants to take a little more control over what can get onto its trending topics list by cutting out the noise and highlighting particularly useful or timely discussions. The company says you won't really notice anything at first, but it hopes to improve the relevance of this feature over time.
Another feature that recently became available to most users is Twitter Lists. This allows you to organize your incoming Tweets into categories like profession, subject matter, family members, and so on.

Twitter Wants You Back
While Twitter's new features like retweeting and the newly added lists feature are being made available to developers of third-party applications, Twitter's newest improvements also look like a serious effort to convince users to use Twitter.com instead.

Metrics firm ComScore consistently reports that about 20 million users visit Twitter every month. Add to that information from Tweet Stats (a third-party Twitter metrics site), which typically reports Twitter's Web traffic hovering around 30 percent of all Twitter usage, and you can see there's a huge base of regular Twitter users out there that never, or rarely, visit Twitter.com. If Twitter's future plans for monetization include increasing its Web traffic, it's not hard to see why the company has been so busy tweaking its own user interface in recent months. Read the original article here http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,181588/printable.html

Amazon Turns Twitter Into a Marketplace-Are You Concerned?

2009-11-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

Last night, Amazon sent out emails to their Amazon Associates members touting the latest addition to the company's affiliate program: a new feature called "Share with Twitter." According to the email, participants can generate "tweetable" links to any Amazon product after first logging into their Associates account. By clicking on the "Share with Twitter" button from any Amazon product details page, members are delivered to the Twitter.com website. Here, a shortened link and a bit of auto-populated text are automatically filled in Twitter's "What are you doing?" text box. The included text can be edited to say whatever they want before posting or they can choose to just post as is. After updating Twitter, any person who clicks through on the link and makes a purchase will earn the participant referral fees payable through the Associates program.

Amazon Associates is Amazon's affiliate program whose original purpose was to help website owners generate links and banner advertisements which they could embed on their sites in order to generate additional income. The links could be text, images, or combinations of both while the banners were always full-color ads branded with Amazon.com's logo. For the most part, these sorts of advertisements are relatively easy to spot on participating blogs and websites. Save for the image links, which are just a picture of a product, everything else is clearly some sort of standard ad referring you to a particular product or service provided by Amazon.

The new Twitter links, however, are a whole new story. If an Amazon Associates member takes the time to re-write the text into their own words, there's virtually no way to know by looking at the post that the Twitter update is actually an ad.

Is Amazon Spamming Twitter?
In the past, several legitimate companies have diluted the Twitter stream with promotions and contests encouraging Twitter users to "tweet to win" so to speak, by pasting in some sort of marketing message into the "What are you doing?" box or by appending a promotional hashtag to their everyday messages. But unlike these company-run Twitter promotions, there's not a hashtag to use or any specific wording that has to be tweeted in order to participate in the Amazon Affiliate program. All anyone has to do is tweet links along with the message of their choosing.

Because Amazon's marketplace is extensive in terms of the products it sells, there's a wide variety of things which can be promoted. No matter what a Twitterer's particular interest is: music, politics, technology, etc., there's bound to be hundreds of things that could be mentioned in their Twitter stream without the posts appearing to be an ad. In fact, there's a good possibility that they would have been talking about these products anyway throughout the course of the day...they just couldn't have made any money off of them until now.

Hidden Advertisements
The problem with this sort of "hidden" advertising, though, is exactly that: it's hidden. This is the internet's version of "product placement" - subtle advertising in plain sight yet never clearly identified as such. Was your favorite TV star using a Macbook? Was he drinking a Coke? Already commonplace in Hollywood, these almost subliminal advertising messages permeate our consciousness every time we turn on the TV. Now that same sort of hidden ad will soon show up in the Twitter streams of your favorite tweeters.

Soon they'll start promoting a great book they just read, a DVD they liked, or one of a million other things pulled out of Amazon's vast inventory. None of it will sound out of place given the types of informal conversations that take place on Twitter every day. You won't even know that they're advertising to you until you click through on the link and find yourself on an Amazon.com webpage - and even then, you may not be sure. Was that a referral or were they genuinely just linking to the Amazon website to be helpful?

Will the FTC Step In?
Another question this raises, at least here in the U.S., is whether or not the FTC will get involved. Having recently taken steps to make sure that bloggers were properly disclosing freebies or payments received by companies whose products were being reviewed on their sites, one has to wonder if they'll now be tempted to monitor the undisclosed advertising that's about to explode on Twitter.

Amazon could have avoided the potential threat of government involvement (not to mention the accusations that they're "spamming Twitter") by generating their links using their own proprietary URL-shortening system, something like amzn.com or amz.com for example. That would clearly identify the tweets' purpose. But instead, they opted to make their links with the URL shortener bit.ly, the one that Twitter itself uses by default. This makes the Amazon links indistinguishable at a glance from any other shortened link posted to Twitter. There's no way to tell if a tweet is an ad unless the Twitter user left Amazon's auto-generated text in place. Of course, no one is going to use that text except the laziest of Twitter spammers - people you're probably already avoiding.

Tell Amazon What You Think with #AMZNSOT
Today, many Twitter users are coming out against this new type of Twitter-fueled advertising, registering their complaints via tweets marked with the #AMZNSOT hashtag, the official tag used to give Amazon feedback about the system. These users are already branding this new effort "spam," saying things like: "Amazon now gives you cash for spamming on Twitter? Oh, swell," as Twitter user TwitBin says. "Does this just mean more Twitter spam as people try to make money?" asks NickHerbert. But there are just as many Twitter users saying nice things about the new system too, calling it "cool," "awesome," "sweet," and even claiming it "rocks."

You can give Amazon your two cents as well by updating Twitter with your thoughts and including the #AMZNSOT hashtag along with your message.

Whether you think the new Amazon Twitter integration is good or bad, there's no doubt that it will be a major game changer for Twitter. As it blurs the lines between conversation and ads, people seem to think that Amazon has either created something of genius or has ruined Twitter as we know it. Few seem to be undecided when it comes to their feelings about this issue. The question is now: which side will end up being in the majority?

Read the complete original posting here http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2009/11/04/04readwriteweb-amazon-turns-twitter-into-a-marketplace---a-20005.html?pagewanted=print

Companies race to offer instant Web search, including Twitter SEARCH ENGINE RACE

2009-11-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

U.S. user share* for overall searches in:

	Aug.	Sept.

Google sites	64.6%	64.9%

Yahoo sites	19.3%	18.8%

Microsoft sites	9.3%	9.4%

Ask Network	3.9%	3.9%

AOL	3.0%	3.0%

* = home, work and university users Source: ComScore

SAN FRANCISCO — There's a new race in the Internet search business and, like most races, it's about speed.

Start-ups including LeapFish, Factery and Aardvark hope to lap the field by supplementing conventional search results, such as what you'd find on Google, with instant access to social networks including Twitter.

"This is going to become mainstream very fast," says Sean Suchter, general manager of the search technology center at Microsoft. "Everybody in the world is going to expect that they can find out anything, anywhere, instantly."

Last month, Google and Microsoft's Bing signed deals that give them access to Twitter's public postings, called tweets.

Yahoo is working with start-up OneRiot and others to display real-time search results.
To keep users from being overwhelmed, firms sort results by their relevance to what you're searching for, timeliness and, in some cases, the expertise of the source, says Nick Halstead, CEO of Tweetmeme, the No. 2 real-time search site after Twitter.

Real-time searches are mostly for Web users who want to know "what's being tweeted, what people are talking about," says Danny Sullivan, editor of the blog Search Engine Land.

That can be important for people tracking unfolding news events. But that audience may be small.
"Most people don't have this burning need for immediate, precise results unless it's the Iran elections or Michael Jackson's death," says Greg Sterling, principal of Sterling Marketing Intelligence.
The new companies say that they offer more than speed. LeapFish, which launches this week, says it's the first site that lets consumers both contribute and search for information in audio and video as well as text.

Factery will launch a site in mid-November that enables users to pose questions to people in social networks who may give immediate answers.

"Old-fashioned search engines just don't work in this real-time (Web) world," says co-founder and President Paul Pedersen. "People are looking for recommendations from those who they know and trust."

Aardvark uses a similar strategy. It enables anyone on Facebook, Twitter or instant-messaging services to ask questions about any topic and get a live answer within minutes.
"Consider Aardvark your very own brain trust of experts," says Damon Horowitz, Aardvark's co-founder and chief technology officer.

The new services are confident that the market can support them. Search "is a huge driver of online traffic, shopping, content discovery," says David Berkowitz, senior director of emerging media and innovation at digital-marketing agency 360i. Read the complete original article here http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2009-11-03-real-time-search_N.htm

You might be interested in:Google's Chrome browser loads Web pages faster

Top hits yesterday on Philippine Bargains, Check them out

Globe Unlimited surfing all day in your

Cebu Pacific December to February 2010 D

GLOBE ALL YOU CAN, UNLIMITED SURFING ON

CEBU PACIFIC ANNOUNCES 1 PESO/PISO SALE

PLDT launches TV over DSL service, Watch

Watch "Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto Fi

Sun 1 day unlimited internet for only 50

Globe and Tattoo Super Unli Promo Unlimi

SMART Promos – Unlimited Call and Text P

BORACAY Cheap Vacation Rooms Philippines

Tags: Twitter search, google search, microsoft search, yahoo search, ask network search, user search rank

TwitterPeek: A gadget dedicated to Twitter...A Christmas wish?

2009-11-03T23:20:00.001-08:00

The guys behind Twitter thinks their service will become so mainstream that people will be willing to buy a gadget specific to just “tweeting”. That’s how TwitterPeekwas conceived.

This mobile device is a collaboration between Twitter Inc. and Peek Inc., thus the name. Imagine a Blackberry phone and service just for Twitter.

So what can it do? Well, it can do everything you can do on a desktop Twitter client (e.g. TweetDeck) but all embedded into a wireless device as shown above.

How much? The TwitterPeek sells for $99 with a $7.95 monthly fee or $199 with a lifetime of service.
That means it will be tied up with a telco. Don’t think this will be a hit in the Philippine where data charges are still expensive. The cheapest unlimited rate on Twitter is Php20/day or Php600/month using Globe Super Surf {via WSJ}. Read the original posting here with photos as well http://www.yugatech.com/blog/mobile/twitterpeek-a-gadget-dedicated-to-twitter/#more-10089

Read more

TwitterPeek: The Twitter-Only Gadget Destined for Extinction

The first-ever standalone Twitter device goes on sale this week. Before you consider buying a TwitterPeek, though, you may want to read this.

The company's selling point is that not everyone has a Web-enabled smartphone, and the TwitterPeek could be a more affordable way to keep connected with the Twitterverse. But is Twitter by itself reason enough to buy a $100 standalone device and pay a monthly access fee? Even if you don't want to cough up the extra $22 a month that could get you unlimited data on your $100 smartphone, there are still plenty of other more practical options.
But hey, maybe I'm missing the big picture here. Maybe we'll all soon be carrying around individual devices for every single service we need. Just think of the possibilities:

• The iRumor: Forget your other Internet-connected contraptions -- for the low price of $59.95 (plus $5.49 a month), this device will automatically check a dozen different Mac blogs to bring you the latest Apple-related rumors every hour!
• iRumor Plus: The expanded iRumor Plus doesn't stop with Apple. It pings TechCrunch at 30-minute intervals to collect every unsubstantiated tech rumor, Apple or otherwise, published on the Web.
• The FaceBook: Keep in touch anywhere with this book-like gadget that does nothing but show your Facebook news stream (and let you update your status with remarks about how cool your new FaceBook gadget is).
• The TwitTrend: An even more economical version of the TwitterPeek, the TwitTrend connects to Twitter but displays only trending topics such as #LoseMyNumber and #HesNotThatIntoYou.
• The Tap Tap Metallica Player: Why shell out the cash for an iPod Touch when you can buy Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica on its own dedicated device? (Note: Metallica may end up suing itself over this thing, so buy at your own risk.)

• The Windows Mobile phone: Get basic phone functionality without all the bells and whistles by picking up a Windows Mobile phone. You'll be able to make and receive calls and texts, even connect to the Internet and download exciting passable applications from the Windows Mobile Marketplace. You'll almost think you're using one of those popular smartphone devices everyone else has!
Wait a minute...that last one actually does exist. But still. Read the complete article here

http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,181346/printable.html

Tweetitow - Philippines #1 free twitter sms app!

2009-11-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

03 Nov Yes, its @tweetitow!

I trusted this 3rd party application since when I registered my Twitter account last mid-September. And now, I'm still using it when I'm away from my lappy and whatsoever with my Globe and Sun numbers. :) And the good thing for this, you can not only send tweets via this application but you can receive @mentions and DMs too, again for FREE! (isip.ph doesn't support this free service.)

Receiving FREE @mentions and DMs comes with 50 credits/day (1 @mention/DM receive, 1 credit conducted). It has no expiry. When your credits turned to zero, @tweetitow will refill it with another 50 credits for the next day at around 7 AM. So yeah @tweetitow gives you power to reach your friends, love ones, fave artists and even your crush Twitter updates for F-R-E-E! :D

"How to receive updates?"

Sending /on and /follow to their gateways (the three numbers above) are the two basic command keys to start receiving updates right on your mobile.

Here's the complete list of commands keys to received updates:

/on -> To go online and start receiving updates — mentions and DMs.

/off -> To go offline. This means you will stop receiving updates.

/credits -> To check how many credits you still have.

/follow @user1 @user2 @user3 up to 8 users -> To start receiving updates from the user you follow. At the start, you will only receive mentions and DMs updates. If you want to receive tweet updates from a particular twitter user, you need to activate receiving updates from them. Example format, /follow @tweetitow.

/leave @user -> To stop receiving updates from a particular activated user.

/followstats -> To get a list of the twitter users you activated to receive updates from your phone.

/hold -> Hold sms updates. Similar to the command /off except that the settings and user you activate to receive updates from the last session are keep.

/resume -> To resume your session, and receive updates again from your phone.

/whoami -> To verify what twitter account you registered to T2.

/give @user -> To give another @tweetitow registered user some of your credits. Giving is sharing is loving.

/whatsnew -> To retrieve the 5 recent updates (from the last 24 hours) from any of the people you follow (including those you did not turn on to receive updates from your phone). To receive another 5 recent updates, simply send /whatsnew again — the 5 older tweet updates will be sent to your phone.

/whatsnew @user -> To retrieve the 5 recent updates of a user from the last 24 hours. -> To start receiving updates from the user you follow. At the start, you will only receive mentions and DMs updates. If you want to receive tweet updates from a particular twitter user, you need to activate receiving updates from them. Example format, /follow @tweetitow.

/leave @user -> To stop receiving updates from a particular activated user.

/followstats -> To get a list of the twitter users you activated to receive updates from your phone.

/hold -> Hold sms updates. Similar to the command /off except that the settings and user you activate to receive updates from the last session are keep.

/resume -> To resume your session, and receive updates again from your phone.

/whoami -> To verify what twitter account you registered to T2.

/give @user -> To give another @tweetitow registered user some of your credits. Giving is sharing is loving.

/whatsnew -> To retrieve the 5 recent updates (from the last 24 hours) from any of the people you follow (including those you did not turn on to receive updates from your phone). To receive another 5 recent updates, simply send /whatsnew again — the 5 older tweet updates will be sent to your phone.

/whatsnew @user -> To retrieve the 5 recent updates of a user from the last 24 hours.

As of October 19th, @tweetitow community has gained 1,000 registered user and still counting! Its safe to use so no worries regarding to your Twitter credentials. from the blog
http://mindyour-ownlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/tweetitow-philippines-1-free-twitter.html

How to Avoid Malware on Facebook and Twitter: 8 Best Practices

2009-11-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, it's a given that malicious hackers will devise ways to exploit the sites' numerous users in order to infect their computers with malware. This unwanted software is designed to do a number of terrible things ranging from identity theft to turning computer into remote-controllable "zombie" machines.

Without sufficient anti-virus and malware protection programs installed, social networking users can easily become victims to these ever-evolving attacks. However, the best way to avoid becoming a victim yourself is to be aware of what's out there and what sorts of things you should avoid. Below are the best practices which you should use on Facebook and Twitter in order to keep yourself safe.

The Problem with Malicious Links
One of the most common vectors for attacks are malicious links posted either to Twitter or to your Facebook wall. In the past, such as with the malware known as Kooface, the troublesome links could be easily identified because they would often use a consistent phrase followed by a URL. For example, in August, Koobface was posting links that read "my home video :)" which was followed by a URL and then a random component on the end such as "HA-HA-HA!!", "W.O.W.", "WOW", "L.O.L.", "LOL", ";)" or "OMFG!!!"

Although the end piece changed from tweet to tweet, the message itself remained the same. However, security researcher Costin Raiu of Kaspersky Lab tells us that easy-to-identify messages are not as common anymore. Today, it's much harder to identify malicious links thanks to two newer techniques being used by hackers. Below those two newer methods are described in more detail as is the tried-and-true method of spreading malware via email.

Method 1: Hijacking Twitter's Trending Topics
The first technique, which really became popular in August of this year, involves hackers creating Twitter new accounts and then posting messages related to whatever trending, or "hot," topic was being heavily discussed on Twitter at that time. This would allow the post to be aggregated in Twitter search results where unsuspecting users would click on the included link. The text accompanying the link would be intriguing to those interested in the subject, enticing them to click through.

Method 2: Hijacking Legitimate Accounts
The second technique involves infiltrating legitimate accounts through phishing attempts and other methods so that the hacker essentially has control over a "real" account. After control has been established, if on Twitter, the hacker will then tweet out links that redirect users to malware-infected sites. Because the tweets come from an account that already has an established set of followers, those reading the tweets assume it's safe and don't hesitate to click the links.

After infecting the account of a Facebook user, malware often uses that particular person's account to spread, too. As with the malicious links on Twitter, because it appears that the links posted are from a trusted friend, other users don't realize that the posted link is harmful.

On Facebook, one of the most problematic malware programs is Koobface, a particular type of malicious software that sees 20 to 30 new variations per day. Despite the number of variants out there, Koobface's M.O. is relatively consistent: it tricks people into clicking links. These links appear on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but also on MySpace, hi5, Bebo, Friendster, and others.

Method 3: Dangerous Email
A third method to encourage social networking users to click on infected links is the old but still effective technique of sending out spoofed email. Hackers can create email messages that appear to be sent from a social networking site. The messages prompt you to "update your account" or open an attachment containing your new password among other things.

How To Stay Safe
There are a number of best practices that you should follow in order to stay safe and avoid infection. They are as follows:

Don't assume a link is "safe" because it's from a friend: As noted above, your friend's account may be infected. You should never assume that a link is safe just because a friend tweeted it or posted it to your wall. Use your common sense. If it doesn't sound like something they would say, be wary, don't click. If you're unsure, try to contact them through another channel and see if the link is legit.

Don't assume Twitter links are safe because Twitter is now scanning for malware: In August, Twitter partnered with Google to use Google's Safe Browsing API, a technology that checks URLs against Google's blacklist. This prevents spammers from posting malicious URLs to Twitter, but it does NOT prevent them from posting shortened URLs which direct users to those same malicious sites. It's better than no protection at all, but it's not going to keep you entirely safe.

Don't Assume Bit.ly Links are Safe: Earlier this year, Twitter's default URL-shortening service Bit.ly, began warning users of malware. Bit.ly also uses Google's Safe Browsing API along with two other blacklists to identify malicious links. Although the service doesn't prevent users from posting these links, it will warn upon clicking that the site being linked to is infected. However, as Raiu tells us, this is not 100% effective either. Kaspersky has identified a number of malicious links which Bit.ly did not block. However, you can assume that Bit.ly is generally safer than the other URL-shortening services because it uses this technology and because the hackers are generally avoiding this service at the moment because of its built-in protection. But it is not completely safe - nothing ever is.
Use an up-to-date web browser: Kaspersky recommends using the latest version of your web browser and keeping it up-to-date with the necessary patches. That means Internet Explorer users should be on IE8 - and since this browser is attacked the most, it's critical that you make sure it stays updated as needed. Firefox is the second most attacked browser, but fortunately, it has a self-updating feature built in. Google Chrome is also good because it has a self-updating feature as well as another security feature that runs plugins in "sandboxes," or restricted environments. If an attacker was able to exploit the browser and run malicious code, it would be isolated to this sandbox and would not able to effect the entire machine. Opera and Safari are also good browsers and should be kept current, too.

Keep Windows up-to-date: As always, Windows users should make sure their systems are current with the latest patches from Microsoft. Automatic updates should be turned on.

Keep Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash up-to-date: At the moment, Adobe Reader and Flash are the two most targeted programs by hackers. A lot of malware specifically goes after known vulnerabilities within Adobe's software. In addition, a common method of attack, such as that used by Koobface, is to redirect a victim to a malware-infested site where the user is prompted to update their Flash player or Adobe Reader in order to see the website content. NEVER do this. Always go to Adobe's site on your own to download the latest version or update the software on your computer using its own built-in update mechanisms.

Don't assume you're safe because you use a Mac: While it's true that Mac users are less targeted than Windows users, they are not immune to malware, despite what those commercials may say. Although Apple did include some malware protection in their latest operating system, it only protects users from two trojans; you cannot count on it alone to protect you. There are a couple of hundred of trojans currently in the wild that specifically target Mac machines, according to Kaspersky. In fact, there may even be as many as a thousand, but researchers are unable to identify all of them because Mac users don't typically run anti-virus software which is how much of the data is collected. These days, when a user clicks an infected link, the malicious web page will now sometimes identify whether that user is coming from a Windows or Mac machine and then display the appropriate version of the trojan accordingly. A particular family of trojans known as "DNS Changer" trojans are the most common ones used to attack Mac machines. The only way to really be sure that you're protected against these malicious programs is to run anti-malware software on your Mac, but most Mac users won't do so, preferring to take their chances since their risk is lower.

Be wary of email messages from social networks: Because email addresses can be "spoofed" by hackers, you can't assume that an email from Facebook or Twitter is really from those the site it claims to be from. As always, you should never open attachments you were not expecting to receive and you should be wary of clicking on links - especially if you're being told to "update your account." If you do click on a link and are taken to a web page that asks you to log into the site, DON'T DO IT. It would be handing over your password to the hackers. Instead, you should always access the sites directly by typing in their URL in your browser or clicking a saved link in your Favorites.

It's Not Just a Matter of Common Sense Anymore
As the above best practices show, a lot of the things you can do to protect yourself from malware are the same as they have been in the past - keep your computer and browser up-to-date, don't open attachments, etc. However, malware is trickier to identify these days thanks to social networking sites. It now uses the trusted identities of your friends in order to lull its victims into a false sense of safety. You can no longer simply assume that because someone you know posted a link, it's automatically safe. You can't even assume that the networks themselves are safe, either. They're not always scanned for malware-laden links, and when they are, such as is the case with Twitter, it's not a 100% effective method.

To continue reading the complete article click here http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2009/10/30/30readwriteweb-how-to-avoid-malware-on-facebook-and-twitte-38983.html?pagewanted=print

30 predictions for the future of Twitter

2009-11-02T13:17:00.001-08:00

At the 140conf conference in LA, Jeff Pulver asked me to think about the future of Twitter and even though I obviously have no crystal ball, I took some risks and here you go, I gathered my predictions here, in the form of "tweet slides" so you might want to watch the video too.

It will reach masses of people
They won’t use  the same tools as we do
It will not be only about Twitter
-status updates will be open across social software
-all social software will have status updates
-Facebook has 40+ million updates a day
Twitter will still be dominant  in status updates
it's the motherboard on which we plug in
We will laugh thinking we were updating them all manually
The social graph  will also open up
Twitter will be big to get an idea of a person or a brand reputation
not by number of followers but mostly influence with retweeting and lists
lets you think like that person thinks
Twitter will replace SMS for millions of people
-it is portable and archives across devices
-you don’t need to remember a phone number
-you are not tied to a mobile operator
Twitter might replace Chat for many people, too
-a DM exchange is very similar to a private chat
-Twitter lists are very similar to a public chat room
Location will be one of the most widespread status update
Private updates will be bigger than public updates (my kids say...)
Public ecommerce  status updates won’t work
buying things is very intimate
Live reviews of any place and product will deeply influence it though
Promos by brands and retailers will have big success  for last minute deals
Talking to shops and restaurants via Twitter will become standard
and will get opt in coupons as we enter a shop, based on location
Web will be a fraction  of mobile use
Dating over Status updates won’t be big
Twitter won’t display  ads in your main feed
Users will get too angry at unsolicited ads
Other revenue opportunities such as pro accounts for businesses will be enough
There will be more devices publishing updates than humans
wifi scale, planes, trains, cars all posting updates
Corporations will have entire teams devoted to Twitter and status updates
Hyperlocal news sites with Twitter geotagging feature
(thanks, @stevefarnworth)
Google and Bing will be the dominant ways to search Twitter
Google will have its own Twitter and won’t acquire Twitter
There will be a few alternatives for niche search such as brand monitoring
Internal Enterprise Twitter like services will become standard
Vertical Twitter apps  will start to appear
Stocktweets is the first one
Twitter will remain mostly used outside of Twitter.com
Language will evolve adapting to 140char, concise, ignore rules

spam will grow and become a tough to solve issue
There will be less and less bullshit  in public events and in general
It will always be about you,  not the tools From the original source here http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/2009/11/30-predictions-for-the-future-of-twitter.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Philippine Political Twitter

2009-10-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

WHEN Barack Obama used Twitter as a potent campaign tool last year, Filipino politicians took notice. Now, with national elections just a few months away, a number of them, too, have their own accounts with the popular micro-blogging service.

Twitter (www.twitter.com) enables members to post short messages called tweets, no more than 140 characters at a time, to tell everybody else on the network what they are doing or thinking at the moment. Created in 2006, the free service has grown immensely popular in the last few months. In fact, the social media research outfit Sysomos found that of the 11.5 million Twitter accounts (as of May 2009), 72.5 percent belonged to users who joined during the first five months of 2009.
In the Philippines, thousands of users have taken to Twitter. As of Oct. 25, Twitterholic.com (http;//twitterholic.com) was tracking 9,501 users in the country; TwitDir (http://twitdir.com) counted 6,941.

To nobody’s surprise, a small subset of these Twitter accounts belong to politicians.
Among those with presidential and vice presidential ambitions, seven have active accounts: Senator Noynoy Aquino (noynoyaquino); Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay (jejomarbinay); Senators Chiz Escudero (SayChiz), Loren Legarda (loren_legarda) and Mar Roxas (MARoxas); Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro (giboteodoro); and Senator Manny Villar (ManuelVillar). Add two more, if we still count Bayani Fernando (bayanifernando) and Vice President Noli de Castro (vpkabayan), who have been awfully quiet about their plans for 2010.

There is also a Twitter account called erapestrada, but with no posts or tweets, it is difficult to say if it really belongs to deposed president Joseph Estrada, who recently announced he would run again for president next year.

President Arroyo, who may no longer run for the top office next year, also has an unofficial Twitter site (presgma) that carries headline summaries of her activities.

Among the country’s 23 senators, 10 have Twitter accounts. Aside from those already mentioned, there are Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (SJPE), who at age 85 must be one of the oldest Twitter users in the country; and Senators Pia Cayetano (piacayetano), Ping Lacson (PingLacson) and Kiko Pangilinan (kikopangilinan).

There is also an account under Senator Bong Revilla’s name (bongrevillajr), but like the Estrada account, this one doesn’t have a single tweet.

A good measure of a Twitter user’s popularity is the number of followers he has. By this yardstick, Roxas was the most popular as of Oct. 25 (with 15,027 followers), followed by Aquino (14,446), Escudero (13,392), Cayetano (7,160), Pangilinan (4,376); Teodoro (3,244); Binay (1,326); Legarda (601); Villar (511); and Fernando (414).

In terms of activity, Escudero has posted the most number of messages (1,704), followed by Teodoro (986); Cayetano (833); Mrs. Arroyo (401); Pangilinan (259); Binay (231); Roxas (229); Fernando (129); Legarda (32) and Enrile (29).

Among politicians, Roxas was the earliest to get on Twitter (Jan. 11) while Angara was the newest addition (Oct. 14). Aquino joined on Sept. 27, after the outpouring of sympathy over his mother’s death catapulted him from nowhere to the forefront of next year’s presidential race.
Of course, the numbers tell only part of the story. They do not say anything about the quality of the posts.

Josh Sternberg, who runs a media relations and crisis management firm, says politicians need to create a conversation with their constituencies and use social media as part of a broader communications strategy. They are also most effective when they keep things personal.
“Ultimately, the strongest aspect of social media is the human element. Social media doesn’t exist without people acting on their inherent need to be social, to interact, and to see each other as human beings,” Sternberg writes.

Some local politicians already know this and write messages that reveal something of themselves. They not only talk about their advocacies, but also create a conversation by responding to comments.

“A grand reception would’ve been nice... but more food, clothes and slippers to those who’ve lost everything would mean so much more,” wrote Roxas on Oct. 13, after canceling his wedding banquet so that the money could go to help flood victims.

Cayetano sent this message from London that clearly did not come from an aide: “Did a slow run in scenic hyde park and kensington park. Saw the fountain built in memory of princess diana. Beautiful.”

Escudero showed he experiences technical difficulties like everybody else when he posted this: “Been having network problems with both smart and globe the past three days. Does anyone know why... Tnx!”

Others who seem to do their own tweets and who respond to comments are Binay, Legarda and Pangilinan.

On the other hand, the administration’s standard bearer, Teodoro, and his erstwhile rival for the party nomination, Fernando, seem to use Twitter mainly as a megaphone for news updates.
Neither Aquino nor Enrile have responded to any tweets. Read the original article here http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideBusop.htm?f=2009/october/27/chinwong.isx&d=2009/october/27

Tags: twitter philippines, politicians philippines twitter accounts, Binay twitter, Legarda twitter, Pangilinan.twitter