Snapshots Updated a Bit

The use of Snapshots preview receives a mixed review on TweetWire.  I get a lot of email from readers that say they don’t like it, and I would have to agree in most cases.

But….my thinking here is that Snapshots could be used to ensure you are not being re-directed to a NSFW or other undesired link.  There is the issue of TinyURL not even showing the ultimate destination anyway.  So, to meet everyone half way I changed the settings so that the preview window only pops up when you put your cursor directly on the Snapshots icon.  That should make things cleaner for now.

Added Reference to Original Twitter’r

What’s great about Summize and TweetScan is that I can get suggestions on the site without even getting an email or DM.  Just searching for TweetWire brings up a bunch of posts about the brand.

Obviously, one big issue was that you didn’t get to see who posted the story. That has been addressed.  Another item of concern is the use of Snap Preview.  I thought it would be nice to see where you are headed before you click, but TinyURL doesn’t always show the destination page.  So the Snap Preview will remain for now.

Technology CSS Width Corrected

Shrunk the ‘about’ section to allow for the full URL’s in the Technology section on the Front page to not so grossly overlap.  If that doesn’t work then it may be time for some Text-Overflow techniques.

Making a Move to Summize

In the interest of speed, and a little less reliance on Yahoo Pipes, I’m trying out Summize.com for the RSS feed.

Big is Japan is Great…

But Twitter is not handling languages like I would like to see. I’m consistently tweaking the Yahoo Pipes filters to eliminate long strings of random characters that appear to be coming from non-English tweets.  Maybe it is UTF types coming from the different platforms, I don’t know….

Dropped Tech Evangelist Bias

Well I had a bit of weighted bias towards tech-evangelists like Scoble, Dvorak, Laporte, etc but didn’t like what I was seeing today.   So I dropped it all, and the links coming through from the aforementioned webcelebs are wonderful.  Much better.

Gotta Give Credit…SimplePie RSS Rocks!

TweetWire would not be running as smoothly as it is without it’s main engine - SimplePie RSS.

From their website:

SimplePie is a very fast and easy-to-use class, written in PHP, that puts the ‘simple’ back into ‘really simple syndication’. Flexible enough to suit beginners and veterans alike, SimplePie is focused on speed, ease of use, compatibility and standards compliance.

If you are looking for RSS aggregation and have not had luck with MagPie, it’s worth it to give SimplePie a shot.

Welcome

Welcome to TweetWire.com developmental blog.

So, the idea…getting news faster and finding hidden gems. There is a consumption problem out there in the ‘internets’ with just so many blogs and resources. TweetWire is aimed at capturing URL’s that people tweet as their favorites about the Election, Tech, Sports and Celebrity news. Unfiltered citizen journalism. Let’s see how it works out.