TwitLitTalk

TwitLitTalk
Originally uploaded by dhamel

For a long time I've been annoyed that I can't easily respond to people when they tweet about TwitterLit or KidderLit. I'll send dm's at times, but I actually find dm's rather intrusive. Plus, because auto dm's can flood one's mailbox--they're the automatic notes some people send to new followers--Twitterers may not actually pay careful attention to the dm's they receive. Finally, I personally don't like moving into dm's all that frequently because I like the public nature of Twitter.

At any rate, it occurred to me yesterday to create a separate TwitterLit-related account that I can use to communicate with people publicly about TwitterLit and KidderLit. The account is @TwitLitTalk.

Twittering TwitterLit

I've been further integrating the TwitterLit and KidderLit sites with Twitter. Now, if you're browsing the sites and you find a first line that you'd like to share with your Twitter followers, you can easily retweet it by clicking the "Post to Twitter" or "Twitter This" links you'll find with each entry. As you'll see, the Twitter input field will be auto-populated with the line.

Behind the scenes, I'm experimenting with posting the first lines to Twitter by a different means. This should mean that the lines will now be delivered to Twitter promptly at 9:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. (or just in the morning for KidderLit), whereas before there was some lag time. I hope this will improve the experience.

Add TwitterLit to your Gmail Sidebar!

Gmail Labs has just introduced a way to add gadgets to your sidebar in Gmail. (Here's their blog post.) I've tweaked TwitterLit's Google Gadget so that it will fit neatly in the available space. Here's how it looks:

You can add TwitterLit to your Gmail in two easy steps:

1. In your Gmail account, click the green Gmail Labs bottle at the top right of the screen. Scroll down to "Add any gadget by URL," click enable, and save changes.

2. Now go into your settings--which is right next to the green Gmail Labs bottle. Click the "Gadgets" link. And in the input box under "Add a gadget by its URL:" add this address:

http://dhamel.typepad.com/twitterlit/gadget-gmail.xml

That's it! The TwitterLit gadget should show up in your sidebar. You'll never have to go without first lines again.

Tags: gadgets, Gmail, Gmail Labs, TwitterLit

TwitterLit and KidderLit now on Identi.ca

TwitterLit and KidderLit are now available for subscription on Identi.ca, which is, like Twitter, a microblogging platform. To subscribe, just follow the appropriate link:

TwitterLit
TwitterLit UK
TwitterLit CA
KidderLit

I'm a big fan of Twitter, but there are other microblogging services out there. Cross-posting to Identi.ca has become possible because Twitterfeed is now supporting posting from RSS to both Twitter and Identi.ca. If Twitterfeed ever expands to other microblogging platforms, further expansion may be possible.

Tags: Twitter, Twitterfeed, TwitterLit, Identi.ca, KidderLit

TwitterLit and KidderLit now on FriendFeed!

There's a new way to follow TwitterLit and KidderLit posts (as well as the posts from TwitterLit News): I've created a TwitterLit room over at FriendFeed. In addition to getting all the posts in one easy place and being able to subscribe to a combined RSS feed, you can comment on the first lines there and easily share them with others. Click on over and enjoy the easy access! (Thanks to Maxine of Petrona for this great idea.)

HUGE Book Giveaway!

I just posted the rules for a ginormous book giveaway I'm hosting over at book-blog.com: five participants will each win 14 books from Hachette Book Group. Click on over to participate! (There's a TwitterLit twist to the contest.)

TwitterLit: What's the connection?

Over the last year (and a little more) since TwitterLit's been in operation, I've celebrated a number of events with theme posts. TwitterLit--and KidderLit--have recognized momentous occasions such as April Fool's Day, Be Bald and Be Free Day, National Grouch Day, and the anniversary of the internet.

Theme posts aren't identified as such in the Twitter posts; there's just not enough room. But if you visit the TwitterLit or KidderLit sites you'll see the themes and be able to browse entries by theme. Themes are also visible when you view TwitterLit and KidderLit posts by bookmarklet (bookmarklets: TwitterLit | KidderLit -- to install drag to your toolbar).

I recently came up with a slightly different idea for a theme. The ten TwitterLit lines posted between May 19th and May 23rd will all be connected in some way. They'll all be listed under the theme "What's the connection? (5/19/08-5/23/08)." I'm not even going to tell you what the connection is! That's for you to figure out. You can talk amongst yourselves :)

There's no prize or anything; this is just for fun. And in the future there may well be more What's the connection? posts. I hope you enjoy it!

Wishing in 2008 dollars

I love this. Gina over at Trying to Write took the March 2nd (evening) TwitterLit post and used it as a writing prompt. The first line that she's playing off of is "The price of wishes had officially gone up." Take a look at what she's done with it.

TwitterLit Twins

If I'd but known of them in time I would have liked to put these two first lines on TwitterLit on the same day:

Entry for January 15, 2008 AM.
Entry for December 11, 2007 AM.

Mashup of the Day!

TwitterLit has been named mashup of the day over at MashupAwards. Here's the specific page.