Phishing attacks have been happeningoften, so take care that you don’t click on certain links.
The trouble is that these links may be from friends on Twitter; some of the messages have said things like “This you????”
If you click on a phishing link, you’ll be prompted to log in again. It will appear to be Twitter, but if you look closely at the URL, you will see it is not Twitter.
If you’ve clicked on one of these links, change your Twitter password immediately. If you need more information, check out the Twitter Blog.
So we’ve already seen how Twitter can be a great tool for crowdsourcing (if you haven’t experienced it yourself, check out my post: A waste of time? What waste?). And yet again Twitter has proven why it is brilliant – the community’s ability to get the word out.
Three days ago the Chicago Breaking News Center blog wrote about 4 dogs that need a home after their owners were killed in a motorcycle crash. The story definitely tugs at the heartstrings, which I think is part of the reason why so many folks wanted to help out and spread the word about them.
As of right now, thanks to about 25 retweets, more than 500 folks clicked on the link.
While it doesn’t look like the dogs have been adopted yet (as their photo and information are still on the Chicago Canine Club’s Web site), this experience is a great example of the power of word of mouth. Thanks to Twitter the story’s reach didn’t end with the BNC’s readers, but was shared with an additional 500 folks who may not have otherwise seen the story.
And the best part is that the reach doesn’t end with this one Tweet. According to search.twitter.com there are a handful of other folks who also Tweeted about the dogs. That’s phenomenal.
Now of course this isn’t a guarantee that those dogs will be adopted soon by someone on Twitter. But it certainly doesn’t hurt their odds.
Here’s to hoping that our Tweets will help change those dogs’ lives in a major way.
Too often I hear that folks don’t use Twitter because they don’t have time. Well my experience today proves, if nothing else, that Twitter saves time.
Around 4 p.m. I had received a heart-breaking e-mail from my mother, a kindergarten teacher. It has only been a few days since the kids had returned to school, and she was already exhausted because her shoes were hurting her feet. She asked me for any recommendations I could offer because she wanted to get new shoes as soon as possible.
I had no idea where to start, so I went to Twitter:
Within an hour I had received no fewer than 15 fantastic suggestions, some with links to specific shoes:
I had no idea where to start helping my mom – but my Twitter friends did. Instead of wasting time trying on shoes at a store or searching for online reviews I can trust, they came to me with recommendations and experiences. Twitter *saved* me time.
The best part is that it’s not always about shoes or restaurant recommendations – or whatever you decide to ask your followers. Twitter friends are always bringing you news and recommendations. If you take the time to learn how to use the site properly, it really does become a useful tool.
So thank you, Twitter. I’ll let you know how our shopping trip goes!
**A work in progress – Feel free to suggest your favorite basic (or advanced) Twitter app/service by leaving it in a comment. Thanks!**
Tweetdeck – A Twitter client that organizes your direct messages, mentions and stream into separate columns. You can set up additional columns that follow certain friends or search terms. I’ve had trouble with Tweetdeck not keeping track of all of my friends, but that problem sounds pretty rare.
Tweetlater – Have a lot to say, but not always around to say it? Try Tweetlater – the perfect way to schedule Tweets throughout the day.
How to find folks to follow:
Twitter Search – Click on “Advanced Search” and you’ll find a number of fields you can search by. Search for people chatting about a certain event or topic, or find friends who live in your area.
Twellow – The so-called Twitter Yellow Pages – a great way to find friends by interest.
If you’re not a fan of Tweetdeck or Twirl and are looking for another Twitter client, check this out: TwitterGadget. This client allows you to submit status updates via iGoogle or Gmail. I won’t lie – this client looks pretty perky – and offers several nice features (the option to turn on/off thumbnails, timestamps, additional info about the user by hovering over the user’s icon, etc.).
However, I don’t think I’ll be using it. Why? I think it’s because 1) I’m stuck in my ways since I’ve found a method that works well for me, and 2) I’d still want to have several searches open (my own name, so I know what people are talking about in real time and other major news sources in the area), which means I may as well have several Twitter tabs open in a window anyway. -Why not use Tweetdeck then? Unfortunately for me, Tweetdeck doesn’t keep track of all of my friends. Lame.
But if you have a chance to play with TwitterGadget, please let me know what you think! I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient!
Tired of having random cats wander through their cat door and eat their pets’ food, these folks decided to take a stand. Their two cats each have a RFID tag in their collars. When they come close to the cat door, it unlocks, allowing them in. AND every time the cats go in or out, a photo is taken and a Tweet is made.
If you want to follow the cats’ Twitter account, you can do so here: GusAndPenny.
I love telling stories of how Twitter has come to my aid. Whether it’s needing a restaurant recommendation or fixing an Excel problem, Twitter users are always there to help. It’s phenomenal.
It’s a perfect example of how Twitter’s always there for you.
Paul Smith wanted to travel from his home in England to New Zealand in 30 days. Although he didn’t quite make it in time, it’s a pretty cool experiment. He vowed only to accept travel and accomodations from people who used Twitter, according to the article. Incredible.
OK, so I know I’m super slow on this bit of news, but I can’t ignore it.
The Twitter @replies tab is now renamed to @<your username>. Why? Because it no longer includes just replies – it includes mentions too.
This is fantastic as I always have a search.twitter.com window open with my handle searched during the day. I did this because I realized I was missing dozens of mentions. (I don’t use Tweetdeck as it doesn’t keep track of all of my friends.) But now, @acmaurer takes care of that. Great job, Twitter.
However, I don’t think I’m going to say good-bye to search.twitter.com quite yet. I love the real-time updates, and I love how it notifies me in the tab every time there’s a new search result. So, until Twitter’s @acmaurer can notify me when I receive a public message or mention, I think I’ll stick with my method.
Hi -- thanks for stopping by. I'm Amanda Maurer, Digital News Editor for the Chicago Tribune. This is my personal blog of all things social media: strategy, community issues and generally cool things found online.
Want to find me on the Web? I'm acmaurer on most social news and networking sites.
