Twitter on Thursday unveiled its "tweet" button, which will let users share links on Twitter directly from the Web site they are visiting. About one-quarter of all tweets include a link, but sharing those links can sometimes be complex, Twitter spokeswoman Carolyn Penner wrote in a blog post.
"Copying and pasting, link shortening, and bouncing between browser tabs just to share a link in a Tweet is too much work," Penner wrote. To simplify the process, Web site owners can now add a few lines of code to their pages for quick tweeting. When a user clicks on the "tweet" button, a pop-up box will appear. The Web site URL will already be shortened, so all a user has to do is add a message and click "tweet." It will be sent to a user's Twitter feed automatically, and that user can continue browsing. Twitter has also incorporated its follow suggestion feature into the tweet button. After a user sends off a tweet, Twitter will suggest a few people it thinks you might want to follow. Select those people or just click out of the box.
Twitter said the tweet button can be added to sites of all sizes – from recreational bloggers to major media organizations. More than 30 sites will start using the tweet button on Thursday, including CNN.com, Hulu, Gawker Media, The Onion, and USA Today.
"It only takes a few lines of code," Penner wrote. "The tweet Button will help publishers grow traffic and increase their Twitter following." For those wondering how this offering differs from the "retweet" buttons that already populate many Web sites, that was a feature produced by third-party company TweetMeme. Going forward, Penner said Twitter will be working with Tweetmeme and incorporating its "retweet" button into the tweet button.
"What does this mean? Firstly we will be assisting Twitter with the technical challenges involved with the button and secondly we will be working even more closely in the future on delivering real-time curation of the Twitter Firehose," TweetMeme founder and CEO Nick Halstead wrote in a blog post.
The partnership will result in the launch of new TweetMeme products, Halstead said, the first of which he unveiled Thursday. DataSift will give developers "the ability to leverage cloud computing to build very precise streams of data from the millions and millions of tweets sent every day," he wrote.
For more information, follow DataSift on Twitter.
For those who want to add Twitter's tweet button to their sites, meanwhile, can find additional information on twitter.com/tweetbutton.
-Pcmag
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Skype has released an update of its VOIP app for Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS smartphones running iOS4. The multitasking-savvy version lets users run Skype in the background, among other features.
Skype has launched a Version 2.0.1 of its VOIP (voice-over IP) software for Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS handsets running iOS4.
Released July 21, the newest version of the application plays to the operating system’s multitasking capabilities, enabling users to run Skype in the background, as well as receive Skype calls and instant messages while other applications are running or the phone is locked. Also new — users can continue a Skype call while switching to another application.
Skype’s popular VOIP application for iPhones, the iPod touch and iPads allows users to make and receive calls or instant messages with other Skype users around the world. In addition to using WiFi, calls can these days also be placed over AT&T’s 3G network, though “operator data charges” are said to apply.
Skype competitor Fring also offers VOIP services, and on July 9 introduced an app enabling iPhone 4 owners to enjoy two-way video calling over WiFi or 3G networks. The app even works across multiple platforms, so users can call friends with a single-camera iPhone 3GS, or those on Android- or Symbian-running phones. It also allows multitasking, and so can run in the background while a user interacts with other applications, such as email.
Fring explains that its service allows Fring users to additionally communicate with friends on third-party networks such as GoogleTalk, SIP, Twitter and Skype. Skype, however, recently made its displeasure with this arrangement known by threatening Fring with legal action.
“Skype’s anti-competitive ambush comes in the wake of Fring’s mobile video calling on iPhone 4 launch,” Fring announced in a July 12 statement, airing the squabble in public. Fring CEO Avi Shechter added that he was “disappointed” that Skype, which once “championed the cause of openness, is now attempting to muzzle the competition.” Given the popularity of these applications, and particularly their new video-messaging capabilities, a number of smartphone manufacturers — such as Motorola and Samsung, in addition to Apple — are incorporating second cameras in their handsets’ design.
The new Skype application is free to download and can be found in the Apple iTunes store.
