Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

Instant Tweetup is a free iPhone application that allows users to find nearby Twitter users and send them tweets.

How Does Instant Tweetup Work?

Once launched, the application requests permission to use your current location. By providing your location, the application can scan your immediate geographical area and find Twitter users who:

1) Have set their “Location” settings in that area or,
2) Have their “Tweet Location” option on and have “checked in” nearby.

This “Tweet Location” feature is an opt-in feature that was added to Twitter a few months back. You can turn this on by going to Settings > Account > then checking on the “Tweet Location” checkbox. I tweet from home a lot so I have this turned off.

Once you use the application to find nearby tweeps, you can “@” message them an invitation to meetup with you and optionally include a bit.ly map link with your current location. You do not have to be following these Twitter users. The message is a simple “@” reply, not a Direct Message.

Possible Uses

1) Find nearby tweeps to follow. This works best if you already know the people. For example, you can follow nearby friends, schoolmates or workmates that you haven’t connected with on Twitter.

I personally follow a broad range of people on Twitter, but have also tried to find people in my home county to follow. This has worked well for me in terms of business networking. However, following people within a one to ten mile range (the Instant Tweetup range) in my small town is a bit too close for comfort. Imagine following someone and discovering they live on the same block. That could get strange.

2) Use Instant Tweetup to announce product or service offerings if you are a business. You wouldn’t want to blast it out to everyone all the time since some people will show up because they live nearby, not because they are looking to shop. For example, if you are the local sub shop, you could use Instant Tweetup to offer a special to nearby tweeps who are talking about lunch. If they are following your business this is an instant win, but if you haven’t connected with them yet then this could be considered spam.

3) Tweet out a business offer at a major event. If you’re at the Staples Center watching the Lakers wipe the floor with Seattle, for example, a concession stand or volunteer booth could tweet out an offer to those who are obviously at the Center.

4) Use it for an instant tweetup. Yes, if you have a group of friends in a nearby location, you can message them all and set a meeting place. “@MyGoodFriendJoe In line at Pinks in Hollywood, come and join me if you’re hungry! bit.ly/maplocation.”

One thing to keep in mind is that if you are tweeting these messages out with the map locations, you’re providing your location to the world.

Enhancements I’d like to see

1) Provide a way to filter out random people and only show Twitter followers. Depending on the context and the message, tweeting invites and your location at random people in your immediate vicinity can be both spammy and creepy.

I contacted Keith Moon (@keefmoon on Twitter), Instant Tweetup’s developer, and he said that he plans on adding color-coding to the results list to indicate if someone is a follower. That’s a step in the right direction.

2) Provide an opt-out feature. Right now, to “opt-out” of the Instant Tweetup application, a Twitter user would have to turn off their geolocation setting and also remove their Location setting. This would be an important feature request if people started using the application in a non-targeted manner. If a local business started sending out tweets at me every single day at lunch time, I’d eventually want to turn it off.

QUESTIONS

Do you have any other suggestions on how to use the application? Is it something you would use? Leave a comment.

The Apple iPad will start shipping on April 3 and with it, a new media form.

John Makinson, CEO of Penguin Books, demonstrated the electronic books on Tuesday and I’m sure jaws dropped. The touch-based navigation and interactive elements make this a new breed of electronic book.

Related Buzzwords:
* Gamechanger
* Transmedia

Related Posts:
* First Look: How Penguin Will Reinvent Books With iPad (PaidContent.com)
* Apple iPad Coming to U.S. on April 3 (Mashable.com)
* Wired Magazing Goes Tablet
* Apple iPad Challenge. Are You Up To It?

Wired Magazine announced that it will create a tablet-friendly digital version of it’s popular magazine.

Yet another reason why I can’t wait for the Apple iPad to start shipping. I expect most major magazines to catch on and start creating this kind of rich browsing experience. At this size, resolution, and portability, even ads will look cool.

The big question here is how well the iPad will play with Flash. That could put a damper on the fun level of rich media magazines. If Flash doesn’t happen on the iPad, that could be a tough tablet to swallow.

Related Links
* The Wired Tablet App: A Video Demonstration (Wired.com)

The Apple iPad will start shipping in about 3 months and the tech industry is buzzing. Many people were disappointed after the Steve Jobs presentation because they expected a new wizbang technology that just didn’t seem to be there. Others have been cautiously expectant.

I think the iPad will be very successful and Apple will ship 8 million units in 2010 for the following reasons:

1. The iPad will jump all over the Kindle market and greatly expand the mobile reader market
2. The iPad will open up new types of mobile interactive media. It will finally create the first “electronic book” that we have been expecting for years
3. We’re going to see a lot of activity from the developer community in the form of expanded iPhone apps and new iPad applications. People are already coming up with ideas for the next great games.

So there you have it, my prediction for the future of the iPad. In case you’re wondering, I did have a prediction on the iPhone and I was largely wrong. The biggest thing I learned from the iPhone launch was that Apple addresses weakness very quickly.

How do you think the Apple iPad will fare? Will it be wildly successful like the iPhone or fizzle like a Mac Book Air that slides into the envelope of oblivion? Once you blog your prediction, leave a comment here so we can follow up in a few months. Or, if you’re not blogging yet, leave a comment with your prediction and key reason(s).

Are you in?

Photo credit: Apple Computer