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Orange Users Can Now Tweet by SMS

Karl Hodge

on November 17, 2009 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Orange are the latest UK mobile operator to strike a deal with Twitter, following the lead of Vodafone and O2. You can now receive updates from the service by SMS - and send Tweets by text message too - if you use the provider. Not only that but they've enabled picture messaging too, which is apparently a bit of a first. So, hurrah for that.

Fun fact: Twitter was first conceived as an SMS messaging service, not the online, real-time, instant messenger that it's become. In Europe, at least, this ambition was thwarted by the fact that our mobile operators charge for SMS transit - so Twitter were unable to extend the free service they launched in the USA to our shores. Put that in your next pub quiz.

Alas, I wasn't alerted to the Orange deal by a press release or even the message that now greets Twitter users when they log directly into the site. No - I was woken up this morning at 2 AM by a text message from @goodbyebuddy, the Twitter service that tells you when someone's unfollowed you. So, thanks for that @MediaAsia. No longer will you be able to enjoy my often sweary micro-thoughts on obscure 80s goth bands or my pithy mini-reviews of cancelled American TV shows. I'm sorry I didn't follow you back, but I wasn't all that interested in the new Chupa Chups marketing campaign or which TV channel has secured Premier League football rights. In Hong Kong.

By the way, if you're an Orange, Vodafone or O2 user you can change your SMS settings on Twitter by going to the site and choosing Settings > Mobile.

Google real time search engine - Twoogle?

Faisal Alani

on April 3, 2009 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Following the news that Google is looking to buy Twitter, we heard that they are also looking at using Twitter to do a real time search engine.

So what does a real time search engine mean/do? Well, basically people are starting to use Twitter to talk about brands in real time. Twitter added the search field recently which is a way of keeping users on the page as they continuously look at topics, brands and trends depending on what's in the news etc.

Therefore a well-implemented real time search engine can bring users together to talk about particular brands and trends which makes it easy to target advertisements against them. Twitter has already started experiments with ads by placing a small unit right below your profile and stats.

So to put it simply: You're watching a football match, you do a real time search on one of the teams, you find like-minded people and exchange views etc. while there are ads on sporting goods on the page. Advertisers can then implement strategies quicker and more effectively.

Twitter's traffic figures are growing exponentially, with numbers growing 3000% in the year from February 2008 to February 2009.

See also: Google rumoured to be buying Twitter and Google in late stage talks to buy Twitter

Recently in Twitter Category

Orange Users Can Now Tweet by SMS

Google real time search engine - Twoogle?

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