Tag Archives: medway

The Twitter Geo Test

March 29, 2009 – 11:28 pm

I have decided to build on the @medway_tweet engine and do the same for @barnet_tweet and @hackney_tweet. I am looking forward to seeing how these communities pan out. Using twitter as a local communication tool is realistic now there are so many users accross the board.

Since launching @medway_tweet it has been interesting watching the community build and seeing the conversation local to the area.  The same can now be said for Hackney and Barnet.

Potentially I’ll be rolling this out over about 30 areas as a trial and then around 400 areas if things work as intended.  I’m hoping these retweet bots have a positive impact on the local communtities that they are intended for. We’ll see…..

By chris dalby | Posted in Culture, Tech Watch | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Namesakes and Doppelgangers

March 21, 2009 – 7:56 pm

twin

Since writing the @medway_tweet application, I have been thinking about the idea of opening up to include more Medway town names in the twitter search API query.  I had a conversation with Carl Jeffrey (aka @fellowcreative) about the app and he pointed out that maybe I should think about ignoring medway tweets from US twitter users, especially as there is a Rochester and Medway in the USA and this will help to filter out unrelevant and unlocal data.

But the thing with this is, it might also filter out some very relevant data.  Especially if someone living in the USA is actually referring to the Medway in Kent, UK.  It’s not a bomb proof factor.  So a concession will need to be made somewhere along the lines, whether it is a data integrity issue, false negatives or moderation.

This got me thinking.  Actually it could be a positive thing.  Meaning @medway_tweet could become an online twinning vehicle, bridging the gap for those living in Medway anywhere in the World.  Helping to build communities within a community and to share experiences.

So we’ll see how this goes and I am really looking forward to see how this app grows and evolves over time.  There is also scope to include more data inputs – suggestions welcome.

In the mean time, I am trying to figure out the best way to roll this out for other areas.

Photo courtesy of brianbutko under a Creative Commons License

By chris dalby | Posted in Culture, Tech Watch | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Every Twitter App Deserves a Blog Post

March 21, 2009 – 1:26 am

Today I developed and released a new twitter app @medway_tweet.

If you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, move along now.  Otherwise, stay tuned for a quick description of the new app I have developed.

Now to begin with, I do not claim that this is a unique idea.  I have been following @ubuntutweets for ages.  But this application is slightly different.   @medway_tweet aims to connect local people in the Medway area using an online community brought together by a dispersed and cached network. Twitter.

There is no website, everything is sent to @medway_tweet that checks the twitter search api for the phrase “medway” and simply retweets it.  OK, there is more to it than that in the code, but that is the simplicity of the app.  By retweeting whenever medway is mentioned in a tweet, the re-tweet encourages the follow, which encourages more tweeting which builds the community.

So if you are in the Medway area, follow @medway_tweet on twitter.  Otherwise, stay tuned for for more locations.

[Update 21 March 2009] I have added support for news and sport mentioning the word Medway courtesy of the backstage.bbc.co.uk API. Pleased to be making used of this excellent API and hope this feed adds context to the local focus.


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By chris dalby | Posted in Tech Watch | Also tagged , , | Comments (11)