140Char

Just a quick update that I won’t be online much, if at all, for the next week, so updates might be quiet until my return…

Security North by James Cridland on Flickr (CC Licence)

Funnily enough, searching for a suitable image on Flickr just gave me the above picture by James Cridland, whose blog and Twitter accounts I started reading recently - and the discovery of each was almost entirely unrelated!

Anyway, a good friend and colleague is aiming to supply some guest posts for here and www.thewayoftheweb.net while I’m offline, so you shouldn’t be alone. And as he’s a video expert, hopefully he’ll redress a slight lack of Seesmic, 12seconds, and Mobatalk coverage due to my lack of good looks a webcam.

And after the soul searching I mentioned in my last post, there are several really good things which have renewed my commitment to the site in the jaws of posting something once a week to just keep it going. So this week is a great time to contribute ideas, suggestions, topics, applications, tools or anything else which might be of interest, as I should be online long enough to access my email and even print off some ideas to work onn for my return…just drop your input to thewayoftheweb at googlemail dot com

I’ve been watching the developments in online video from the sidelines, as somone who is still embarrassed by his time hosting a semi-professional daily webcast, and who has managed to avoid owning a webcam.

I can see why there’s an initial curiosity around lifecasting, but the reality is generally somewhat duller. I do get the idea of Seesmic, but I think to get the most out of it requires a commitment similar to starting out on Twitter, and I haven’t quite yet convinced myself it’s an additional output I need to find time for. I occasionally enjoy 12seconds.tv, but although the short clips are quite punchy and to the point, it always feels like I’m skimming over people’s ideas. (Although I do think @Documentally has really transcended the medium)

But I’m being totally honest when I say Mobatalk has convinced me that video has now arrived for microblogging - and for quick, easy broadcasting to friends and contacts.

Put simply, you go to the site, record a video clip (which plays back at a reall high quality in comparison to other services), and type a Twitter message into the site, along with a hashtag, which then posts it to Twitter with a link to the video.

Not only is it stunningly simple, but the navigation is really nice to use, with a really simple, intuitive and attractive display.

And then you discover you can subscribe via iTunes and Google Reader to an individual - or a hashtag - perfect for videos of live events etc. And did I mention you can also access videos via your iPhone?

I’m not the only one impressed by Mobatalk , but considering my natural cynicism, and the fact I’m in the middle of quitting cigarettes after 13 years, and I’m pretty surprised I can’t find any obvious faults.

It’ll be interesting to see how Michael Bailey - @mobasoft - develops the site, but there are advertising options already available, the video upload is quick and amazingly good quality, and it integrates well with Twitter.

It might even be enough to get me in front of a camera again - 140char weekly vidcast, anyone?

A few things have caught my eye over the last couple of days, so here’s a bit of a micro-update:

Matt Balara writes about an interesting case of being followed on Twitter, and highlights some etiquette issues and changes in how people are interacting in the modern world.

Seesmic has a new Nokia N95 client which not only allows you to upload and view videos from the service on your phone, but also reply to friends videos, build a threaded conversation and post to Twitter with a video link. More details and a video demo at Loic Le Meur’s blog.

The Twitter Song is still gaining fame for songwriter Ben Walker, and over 200,000 views on Youtube so far. Plus appearances on BBC Radio 5 and National Radio New Zealand.

Techcrunch takes a look at the very interesting Twittermoms.com. It’s not a mommy Twitter clone, but a Ning based group for mothers who already use Twitter. It underlines why many people think Twitter should introduce groups, like new enterprise blogging tool Present.ly.

And finally, you can enhance your Tweets and save characters with Twitterkeys.

I know Friday is the traditional day for a round-up post, but so much happens in the microblogosphere on a daily basis, all the 140char team have been busy, and Monday gives some nice alliteration:

• Some stats from Twitter on how the new SMS rules have affected UK Outbound SMS usage:

• Zygotweet and tweetSMS plan to offer Twitter via SMS in the UK (Via Twitterholics)
• Useful and interesting list and stats for newspapers on Twitter (Well, American ones!).
• Jaiku got hit by a power failure at the data center provider for their web servers earlier today, but is back online.
• Plurk has had some minor design and usability upgrades.
• Pownce has integrated FireEagle, which means all your uploads and messages can now be automatically geo-tagged with your location.
• Tumblr now allows you to search within Tumblelogs.
• And Seesmic has a new and improved search function, and threaded player. The improvements to the player make it more and more a mini-application for your website and blog, which now lets you: -start a new conversation straight from where you are without having to leave the site, -reply to any video in private and not only in public. -post to twitter the link from your reply.

So not too much has happened!

So far, much of the focus on microblogging has been on text, with the one major exception of Seesmic. But using Seesmic as a producer requires a certain amount of effort. It also lends itself to video blog type discussions.

Hence interest around the private alpha launch of 12 Seconds, limiting video uploads in the same manner as Twitter and Plurk et al limit the amount of text.

Updates are by webcam or mobile phone, and there’s no scientific reasoning disclosed behind the 12 second limit, although apparently “Our patent pending Electro-Tear-Duct Prongers have determined that exactly 12 seconds of video is the ideal amount of time to keep anything interesting.”

What is also quite interesting is that the people behind 12 Seconds are open about: “The more we can get 12seconds off of the 12seconds.tv site the better. We are building a platform for video status. We want these clips to be anywhere you are, or at least anywhere you want them to be.” So widgets are already available for Myspace and blogs, and more distribution is doubtless on the way…

It’s worth taking a look to see how much information can be conveyed in 12 seconds via video. My only question about the service is that it successfully replicates the upload portion of microblogging - but are there mechanisms for replying to people, and forming groups? Those are the things that have driven Twitter, Friendfeed and all the famous social networks. If I see 12 seconds that are worthy of praise, comment or argument, I want to be able to respond directly via the service - not have to track people down by alternative means.

Take a look at the site, and share your thoughts below…

Aside from being a tongue twister, tracking Twitter trends is increasingly useful in spotting where conversations are happening around a given subject.

Twist does a nice job of graphing trends by ‘last week, ‘last month’ or ‘all time’, and let’s you view multiple trends separated by commas in the search box.

It’s free to use, and comes from Flaptorplurk, a search and consultancy firm headed by Diego Basch, a former senior engineer at Inktomi Search, which is now part of Yahoo!

And most importantly, Twist is now included in our great, and ever growing list of Microblogging tools for Twitter, Plurk, Pownce, Seesmic etc. So you can find the right tool for the job, here.

It’s the weekend, so I’ve taken a bit of a break from the latest news - yes Twitter is still up and down like the Assyrian Empire, and Plurk is still getting a lot of buzz. See the graph below for blogs mentioning Plurk over the last 30 days:

But in the meantime, I’m adding to the blogroll (See right). We’ve also kicked off the first Plurk pack list we’re aware of, to compile a list of notable Plurkers by discipline, and we’ve started experimenting with listing any microbloggers looking for advertising/sponsorship, and companies looking for microbloggers to fund. So if you’re looking to get paid or sponsored for Twitter, Plurk, Seesmic, Pownce work, then why not list yourself…

Any other suggestions for items to add, or any offers from possible contributors, are always welcome. After all 140 char isn’t just a character limit - 140 contributors (characters!) could be one hell of a resource.

Welcome to a new resource for discussion, debate, resources and tools for the microblogging world. It used to be all about Twitter. Then Seesmic came along. Now Plurk is here.

Microblogging is here to stay. And that doesn’t mean every single person in the world will be on Twitter - but it does mean that many, many websites and services will be integrating some type of microblogging into their offerings…

That makes it more than worthy of our time and effort, we hope you agree!