TwitNine

You can use Twitter on your mobile device in three ways:

• SMS (text messages) to and from 40404 (or your country’s short code)

• Twitter’s mobile Web site (http://m.twitter.com) if you have a Web

browser on your cellphone

• Downloadable applications for smartphones such as the BlackBerry or

iPhone

Literally dozens of applications come out for Twitter every couple of months. For more information, and to find the latest Twitter tools, check out Laura’s startup Twitter directory and marketplace oneforty (www.oneforty.com).

Via text messaging

Although text messaging (or SMS) is the most basic way to access Twitter via your cellphone, you need to first make sure that your cellphone plan encompasses unlimited texting. Otherwise, your monthly bill may end up skyrocketing.
Check before you enable SMS updates! After you make sure that you can afford your mobile texting plan, you can easily use SMS to update Twitter on the go. (Turn to Chapter 2 for instructions on how to associate your cellphone with your Twitter account.) One caveat: The maximum length for a standard text message is 160 characters, but Twitter’s maximum is 140 characters. You have to manually verify
that you aren’t going over the Twitter limit because otherwise, Twitter cuts off your SMS tweet at 140 characters.
In addition to sending tweets as SMS messages from your phone, you can receive your contacts’ tweets on your phone via SMS. Setting this up takes a little more work. First, think long and hard about how noisy you want your phone to be each day. Most Twitter users find that they can handle between 10 and 20 peoples’ tweets being sent to their phone before the constant incoming text stream becomes overwhelming. Luckily, even power users like iJustine (@iJustine) have discovered that they can take advantage of SMS tweets to their phone by being really selective about whose actual tweets they get via SMS. It’s not all-or-nothing.

Although photo sharing is the type of media most often shared by tweeters, video is right up there, as well. That’s not surprising given the immense popularity of YouTube and other video sharing sites. Here are four Websites that make it easy to share video with your Twitter tribe:

• ffwd (www.ffwd.com). This interesting site lets you build a personal list ofchannels, which can be TV shows, Web-based video shows, and more. Once you add a channel to your account, you browse through its video offerings, and when you come across something you want to share, you click the Share on Twitter icon, sign in to your Twitter account, and then post the update. For faster service, you can add your Twitter credentials to your profile (click Profileand then click Account).

• TweeTube (http://tweetube.com/). This site is designed to help you easily share YouTube videos with your Twitter posse. The home page includes a text box that you use to paste the address of the YouTube video you want to feature (you can also use the TweeTube site to search for YouTube videos). Click Get Video and TweeTube retrieves the video, Type a message, type your Twitter account username and password, and then click Share this video.