J. Angelo Racoma

Tweetback Plugins for Blogging Applications

September 25, 2023 By J. Angelo Racoma

Twitter is lauded as today’s microblogging and lifestreaming application of choice for top bloggers and new media users. Some users also use Twitter to share links to articles or blog posts of interest. The linkage usually goes one way only, though, with the tweet linking to the blog post. However, with two “tweetback” plugins launched recently, this would no longer be the case.

Dan Zarella and Joost de Valk have both released their respective plugins, both of which are called Tweetback. The concept is simple. It works much like a trackback or a pingback, in which excerpts from a tweet (or its entirety) will be echoed as a comment on the original blog that is being linked.

They work kind of like trackbacks, but instead of listing blogs linking to a specific post, it lists Tweets about a specific post. You can see it in action on my blog, just above the comments. It currently finds mentions of the URL through the top 5 most popular URL shorteners on Twitter: Tinyurl, Bit.ly, Is.gd, Twurl, and SnipURL. I used cli.gsâ€™s list of top shorteners to prioritize. To prevent it from running afoul of Twitterâ€™s search API rate limits it functions via javascript.

People are talking about your posts, and not only in the comments to your post. A lot of that conversation is happening on Twitter, and now, you can take that conversation right back to your blog! This plugin imports those tweets about your posts as comments. You can display them in between the other comments on your blog, or display them separately.

While both plugins have the same goal, they don’t necessarily do things the same way, and so it’s up to the user to determine which is best to implement on their sites.

Jonathan Bailey, who rights on intellectual property on the Blog Herald, has recently lauded these efforts but raised concerns about the copyright implications of Tweetbacks. For one, the question of whether tweets are copyrightable at all is raised. But then the main issue in this case is whether a Twitter user would find it to his advantage if his tweets were cited and linked from other blogs and websites.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, as copyright is beginning to be a big issue among bloggers (incidentally, Splashpress Media and Performancing are offering copyright management services to bloggers). Twitter has its nuances, particualrly with the 140-character post limit. But if Haikus can be copyrighted–short as they are–can the same hold true for Twitter tweets?

Originally posted on January 13, 2009 @ 3:45 am

Facebook Pulls Out Topless Photos

September 25, 2023 By J. Angelo Racoma

TIME Magazine recently ran a feature on Facebook pulling out photos that it deemed obscene, including those that had some exposed parts of the female anatomy. However, this blanket banning has also included images of mothers breastfeeding their babies, and this has resulted in some protest by rights advocates.

Facebook has drawn a line in the sand by removing any photos it deems obscene, including those containing a fully exposed breast, which the site defines as “showing the nipple or areola.” In other words, plunging necklines or string bikinis are fine â€” just no nips. The purging of bare-boob pics began last summer and has swept up, alongside any girls gone wild, a growing number of proud â€” and very ticked-off â€” breast feeders.

On Dec. 27, some 11,000 protesters held a virtual nurse-in by uploading breast-feeding photos onto their Facebook profiles, and 20 or so women showed up at the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., to breast-feed there. By Dec. 30, more than 85,000 members had joined a Facebook group called “Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!”

Blogging and social media sites being accessible to just about anyone with Internet connections, and true enough, users are able to upload any image they wish, as long as these follow the terms of the online service they use. However, in the above case with Facebook, it’s clearly a subjective case of ethics. The question here is what constitutes obscenity? Does the mere showing of a woman’s breasts constitute obscenity? Or should there be sexual implications to this? And how about images of breastfeeding?

Most web applications allow for mature (though mostly not adult) content, but these are not displayed to the public, but rather to those who verify that they are of legal age (which is altogether not difficult to work around). But in a situation where one’s public profile photo might be the image in question, for instance, it becomes an issue of whether the web application can deny public access to the photo.

For a social network that started out as a network for college students, one could expect a sense of maturity from its users. This means that if you see a photo of a woman breastfeeding, or even shirtless for that matter, but without sexual implications, then there should be no malice. But then again, Facebook is now open to any user 13 years of age and above. And in this case, it’s a big grey area.

Originally posted on January 6, 2009 @ 3:54 am

Family Seeks Financial Assistance Through New Media (and Succeeds)

September 25, 2023 By J. Angelo Racoma

Social media is all about networking. And for a family who needs all the help they can get, being able to seek out helpful individuals online can sure be a big help. David Armano posted on Logic+Emotion about helping out a family who is a victim of domestic violence, and asked folks to spread the word through various means (“blog this, tweet this, re-tweet this”). Contributions flooded in from all over.

As of this moment, Daniela’s family is staying at our house and we are trying to help her find a one bedroom apartment for her family to live in. With Evelyn, her youngest having Down’s Syndrome and Daniela herself being a Romanian immigrant with very little family support she literally has no one to turn to. Except us (all of us).

…

Here’s what we are asking. Right now, Belinda and I are opening our home, but it’s tight as we have no basement. We’ve committed to giving as much as we can spare, diverting funds from other places. I’m asking if you could think about doing the same. Or at the very least, helping get the word out about this. We are looking to raise 5k for Daniela and her family. Enough so that she doesn’t have to worry about a deposit or rent for a while.

To date, contributions via ChipIn amount to more than $8,000, which is about 170% of David’s target of $5,000. While this may not be much, considering today’s cost of living, this would be a good amount to start with.

This is just one example of harnessing new media for viral marketing, or at least virally spreading the word about a cause. However, it may not always turn out to be successful. My analysis of this is that for such an activity to succeed, it would require two things: a catalyst, and good connections. For one, it helps if one is already influential in his field or in online media, to get noticed. If you’re not too influential, you might not get the traction you need to get your cause noticed. Secondly, it helps if you know folks who can effectively get the word out and get people talking.

I got word about the fundraising through Twitter myself. While I don’t follow every link tweeted or re-tweeted, I do click those with intros or messages that interest me.

Originally posted on January 7, 2009 @ 11:12 am

Gift Your Online Buddies with Real Drinks with GetThemIn

September 25, 2023 By J. Angelo Racoma

Still in doubt with what to give your online buddies this holiday season? Christmas day is over, but it’s not too late to send those special someones something before the year ends. You could perhaps send them an email or an e-card, but having something tangible is definitely better. You can order books, flowers or pretty much anything online. But for beer buddies, how about something with a little bit more alcohol in it?

Get Them In! lets you do just that.

GetThemIn is a Facebook application (http://apps.facebook.com/getthemin) that allows people to buy each other real beer, wine or other alcoholic drinks for the first time ever – perfect for sorting out those last minute Christmas present dilemmas or getting the Christmas drinks in with your mates without actually being there.

People can choose from a variety of drinks and other real-world gifts and send them to their friends using Facebook platform and PayPal. Recipients receive a personalised message from the sender via SMS, email and Facebook, with the option to keep it virtual or redeem their gift as a voucher that can then be used in one of hundreds of First Quench outlets across the UK (including Threshers, The Local, Wine Rack and Haddows).

The service features several popular brands, including Fosters, Cobra, Heineken, Tuborg, San Miguel, Bulmers Cider, Newcastle Brown, WKD Blue, Old Peculier, Blossom Hill, Hardyâ€™s, Taittinger, Radcliffeâ€™s D.B., Teacherâ€™s, Cockburnâ€™s S.R., Harveyâ€™s Bristol Cream and Courvoisier V.S.

Aside from cheering up your buddies, you also help a worthy cause. GetThemIn has been officially granted the DrinkAware trust trademark license and will be donating a percentage of its profits to COUNTED4, which counsels and promotes the health and well-being of anyone affected by substance misuse.

The drinks can be redeemed in about 1,500 participating wineries. But the deal is valid only in the UK, so folks from elsewhere would have to toast to a virtual drink!

[via WebItPR]

Originally posted on December 30, 2008 @ 12:53 pm