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Michael Groner › Likes
TechCrunch is down. Twitter is up. That is how we know it is 2009 and not 2007.
(jeff)isageek, Robert J Taylor, Luca Perugini and 68 other people liked this
the concept of authority is still in both, the "I hate pseudo authority guy."
- abdellah
Perhaps it's Twitter's fault.
- Jose Alvear
Perhaps it's DoS. Karma-style.
- Jason Hargrove
CNET is down too,,, coincidence ?
- Tate DA FF MVP
Apple fanbois DoS?
- Mark
from iPhone
Techcrunch is not just down, it's completley dead. Dropping 100% of all packets
- Mark
TechCrunch down, web and all startups survive
- Aaman (Clone of FF)
Twitter is more reliable than YouTube these days. I think we've just walked through the looking glass.
- Tom Milsom
Arrington quits iPhone and now TechCrunch goes down? Coincidence? :o
- Kevin Whalen
They should have gone with Rackspace. I can imagine Arrington will be fuming.
- Mark
@TechCrunch: TechCrunch is experiencing some turbulence right now. Please remain in your seats and fasten your seatbelts. http://www.techcrunch.com/ about 1 hour ago from web
- Qbat
So its Opposite Day on the internet?
- J. Abdul-Qahhar
I wonder if the chap who hacked twitter got techcrunch ?
- Ahsan Ali aka. Slick
so many speculations... I'm sure the site is down for no special reason and will be up soon. the important thing is that I already read the quitting the iPhone post :)
- Orli Yakuel
Yes but Techcrunch never goes down :(
- Mark
@arrington sez: Media Temple is fired
- Aaman (Clone of FF)
CrunchPad.
- Brian Hill
Might be a DNS issue, like what happened to me (OpenDNS). Wow, and Twitter seems to be better thenthose two sites, and it fort of replaces them. Coincidence?
- Zachary TG
from Nambu
http://twitter.com/arringt...
- Orli Yakuel
LOL
- Dobromir Hadzhiev
yeah lol Media Temple is fired.
- Mark
Big Chance for scoble to score a new contract here
- Mark
TechCrunch is BACK.
- Mark
almost funny.... I hope they had a funny down picture like twitter
- blackysky
Mark: I've learned never to pitch when someone else is down, it just brings bad karma your way. I'd rather win business on service, APIs, flexibility, overall quality, etc, not on whether you're pissed off because your host is currently down. EVERY host will go down, and if you aren't planning on that you aren't making good architectural and business decisions.
- Robert Scoble
I'm like that, too nice and honest. That's why ruthless people in business like Trump and Murdoch etc are zillionaires and I am poor :D
- Mark
I'm enjoying the growing movement that believes Twitter is a waste of time. From what I have seen so far of FriendFeed I hope it replaces Twitter. Disclaimer: In my humble opinion of course.
- paul watts
People often ask me what ROI do I see from twitter and I just point them to the blog and website numbers showing where traffic comes from.
- Stephen Brown
if i've more $ i would already head 2 rackspace was my 1-2nd choice
- polou/indigo_bow
robert i vote this post as THE BEST FF post ever. so funny
- Ouriel Ohayon
Ha Ha Ha , who will write about Techcrunch downtime
- Michael_techie
That's good to know!
- Kevin J Hatton
AudioBoo: Arrived In Beijing http://audioboo.fm/boos/36126
mahjongmi, Brian Kirby, Andrizzle Gizzle and 7 other people liked this
"We're sitting at...." lol
- Anton Tanderup
oops!
- Chris Lawrence
"We're stitting at..." looks like something went wrong with that.
- Zach Cheatham
LOL accidental post??
- Nick Neary
Secret police caught him broadcasting? ;)
- Anton Tanderup
Maybe Leo fell asleep as he posted it.
- Mathias Staricka
LOL, Now that is micro-blogging!!
- Sam Richards
LOL. Where are you sitting? Did that go over the 140 character limit?
- Randy Shapiro
*picks up phone and calls Scott Bourne*
- Johnny Worthington
Johnny: Lol! Strike team. Standing by.
- Anton Tanderup
That's a hoot...
- mark dekruyter
It would have been shorter in Iran.
- mark dekruyter
Attention Texas Rangers: Leo needs you NOW.
- Charles LePage
haha well this can't be good
- Steven Legault
I thought he'd repost by now...uh-oh. Did his iPhone get confiscated?
- Eva Laporte
I could clearly hear in the background " Arrest that man! "
- John Hillestad
Only the first 2 seconds made it over The Great Firewall...
- Rick Huizinga
from iPhone
"We have been waiting for you, Mr. Laporte."
- Charles LePage
I am walking around San Francisco checking out FriendFeed's Real Time Search, added today. Badass! My addiction continues...damn it!
Thierry R. Andriamirado, Brenda Young, Daniel Rowley and 71 other people liked this
Do you think this will be a feature that attracts any NEW users though?
- Malcolm Bastien
Dont care, its awesome :p
- Mark
Yes. This is a killer feature
- Robert Scoble
from iPhone
Would be sweet if Tweetdeck had a little window which you could set up the friendfeed search to constantly update. So every time someone mentioned Scoble etc on Friendfeed it pops up in that window in real time.
- Mark
Robert, are you using it through the browser or is there an iPhone app for FriendFeed that I can't seem to find?
- Joe Pruitt
http://friendfeed.com/search... You can see yourselves typing in this thread if you use the word Scoble
- Mark
Yeah, it's badass. It really is. :-)
- Chris Baskind
Yup. Very excited.
- Johnny
Gotta persuade Loic to give us a little window to set up Friendfeed realtime search windows for our favourite tracking words in Seesmic DT
- Mark
Malcolm: Well, now it matters a bit less how many you follow, as new users who set up a search would get a real time specific feed from the whole of friendfeed if they so choose. Instant gratification in a way I guess.
- Thomas Bøhm
Robert Scoble: this is AWESOME: http://friendfeed.com/search...
- Mark
Playing with it now.
- Andrew
killer!
- metalerik
Just want a tiny little window now in my twitter client so i can TRACK all the posts which contain the word "dave winer" for example.
- Mark
True or false: "If FriendFeed was a woman... I'd hit it!"
- Bas
wondering when any of this is going to appear in the API. Over in the FriendFeed API room the same question was asked and this is the response: "We're actively working on getting it to you Paul, thanks for your patience. - Casey Muller" -- so more waiting.
- bear (aka Mike Taylor)
agree this is a killer feature. FriendFeed can now be used during events; the superior search function (compared to Twitter search: there I can only find tweets 15 days back+ not my whole history) will convert more twitter users IMO
- Jeroen De Miranda
Give up, Scobleizer! You'll never escape! Never!
- Bruce Lewis
PC Easy: support of an evetn, just added search for a web 2.0 event of the Municipality of Amsterdam to the blog http://www.amsterdam20.nl - next to a twitter fountain. As you can see, the twitter fountain only displays tweets; whereas in the FriendFeed search you can see and even replay the 12seconds.tv video clip! superior technolofy, plain and simple and very convincing now even for first time web 2.0 users!
- Jeroen De Miranda
How is this one-week vacation from FriendFeed going?
- Louis Gray
Not well. Things like this keep pulling me back in.
- Robert Scoble
from iPhone
it's an awesome feature.
- Bill Kinney
Friendfeed has added one more distinct feature.
- ashish
Interesting timing on FF's part, verrrrrry interesting... Resistance is futile, Scoble.
- metalerik
Looks like they rushed it out in time for the conference at TC. They say on their blog they have more features to add in real time search but they are still in the oven right now.
- Mark
I wonder will the friendfeed apps will get the same live search functionality?
- ashish
How do I watch a real-time search for anything about Google or Android or Google Wave or ARM holdings or white spaces. I'd like to only see results liked by at least 1 other FriendFeed user, let me rate reliabillity of other friendfeed users, I want similar entries to be somehow grouped (could be something like TechMeme) so we can automatically combine all our discussions grouped entries somehow at one place (perhaps under the most relevant of the entries)
- Charbax
Charbax: here's a search for "Google" or "Android" or "Google Wave" or "ARM holdings" with one like or more. You can't yet group entries. I hope FriendFeed really works on the duplication problem I'm seeing. http://friendfeed.com/search...
- Robert Scoble
Best yet. Just great stuff.
- Charlie Anzman
oh ! yeah ! this really rooocks !! real time search ! awesome !!
- Rocky
And the "Pop Out" option is a really cool feature
- Peter du Toit (S.Africa)
Yes, the phrase "Pop It Out" is cool.
- Louis Gray
Robert, I was able to use this feature and build a local FriendFeed on Steroids: http://friendfeed.com/lph...
- LPH™ and his dog P™
There goes blogging...... again.
- Roberto Bonini
I'm very excited about this feature and it adds more value for addicts like me
- Michael_techie
Question for you all. I have a trademark for TWiT® - first used in May 2005, trademark applied for May 2006 and registered March 2007. The trademark is in "Entertainment in the nature of visual and audio performances, and musical, variety, news and comedy shows." http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin...
Dobromir Hadzhiev, Richard Thomson, Dakota O'Neill and 186 other people liked this
Up until now there's been no conflict with Twitter itself because the brands were in different arenas. (We have, however, sent out cease and desist letters to companies using "twit" in their name and doing audio or video). But now Twitter is doing a TV show. The confusion between TWiT and Twitter is mounting. What do I do? Defend my mark? Or let my brand be swallowed by the big guy (even though we were first by several years)? I need your advice. What does the community think?
- Leo Laporte
Defend your trademark, 99% of people will totally understand, you have to do it, or you'll loose it!
- Chris Lloyd
Defend it. People that watch Twit Tv will also defend it.
- Jason Rundell
Can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. Does TWIT still stand up as an accurate brand for all the new stuff you are doing with TWIT Live? Might be time to find a new visual/brand identity.
- BryanSchuetz
At the SF MusicTech conference a lawyer called "tweets" "twits" repeatedly. Let's just say I think you should defend your mark and let TV chew up and spit out twitter.
- Richard pancakhaus Walker
I don't see how the brand of Twitter infringes on your trademark. Plus trademarks are an outdated ideal. You need to market and promote your brand and the people will come.
- Bob Blunk
Bryan: The TWiT name carries alot of weight in tech circles, it will take alot of money/time/effort to make a completely new name for something that will probably outlast twitter anyway
- Chris Lloyd
Incidentally, Twitter just got their trademark approved May 11, 2009 in the following "Telecommunication services, namely, providing online and telecommunication facilities for real-time interaction between and among users of computers, mobile and handheld computers, and wired and wireless communication devices; enabling individuals to send and receive messages via email, instant...
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- Leo Laporte
There is nothing ideal about any aspect of IP law.
- Richard pancakhaus Walker
Chris: I think Leo's name carries more weight than TWIT and (for me at least) he IS TWIT so I don't see it as quite such a big deal.
- BryanSchuetz
Of course, there's a larger long-term problem because of the way that Twitter has weakened _your_ brand. It might be less expensive (and a better use of your time) to rebrand TWiT into something that strengthens your brand and moves it away from Twitter; avoiding any future problems (and there will be future problems). You can't fight Oprah.
- Professor Messer
I guess Leo started a shit-storm here...The question goes far beyond the argument of Twitter vs. TWIT. It begs the question of how do Brands defend their government protected trademarks in a time when trademarks are failing to adequately describe what a company does. Do we need a trademark to know that Leo creates awesome podcasts and streams realtime shows via the internet? Plus, how could a trademark impart this knowledge to newcomers?
- Bob Blunk
Leo - your brand, as most evidenced by your show and content is awesome - for a small group of peeps who have had a chance to discover it and enjoy. I'd use the overlap in marques to leverage Twitter in some type of promotional / service partnership, whilst still retaining your brand and the equity you've built. Don't fight em, join em, at least tactically.
- Thom Kennon
Never give in to the big guy!
- Brian Harper
I'm with the majority, defend your trademark and your legacy.
- jcunwired
Defend it Leo. You built the brand and they need to honor that.
- Robert
I always thought calling the network the same name as a show on the network was wierd. But it's a recognized brand, and I wouldn't give in. Send some mails to all the twitvid.io's out there.
- Anton Tanderup
Is the BIG guy really that Big? Plus, with the way busines is changing one thing seems to remain the same...protectionism, let's sue someone it's easier. I'm suggesting your desicion is easy here Leo but in light of the landscape changing do you really have a chance? The other question to ponder is this, Twitter is the hot thing now but will it be 5 years from now and will it be true...
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- Owen Greaves
speaking from a british point of view a twit is someone who is a little silly or stupid. I think your podcast can stand up against the everising onslaught of twitter. Why not rise above all this discussion and say what you are This week in technology, a fantastic poscast full of wit and essential information for gadget freaks such as myself. Let the owners of twitter gabble on, in my book baby creatures twitter and you are certainly no TWIT.
- Chris Jennings
@ Professor Messer 'You can't fight Oprah' is not totally correct. You can FIGHT her, can you win? Maybe. I think, offline, Leo VS Oprah would go several rounds. Tweetfight says otherwise.
- Jason Rundell
Defend it Leo. What's the use in having a trademark if others can infringe upon it.
- TechListReport
Sorry to say, my girlfriend recently yelled at my for watching 'Twitter' when I was really watching TWiT live. Confusion does exist for people who don't fully understand what each service is.
- Wo
The good thing about trademark law is that it's well established and legally documented. The problem with trademark law is that it's well established and legally documented. You need a brand to create awareness, and you need the trademark to protect your established brand. This one is sticky because TWiT is well established but it's going to be an expensive brand to protect. Twitter's...
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- Professor Messer
@Jason Rundell, don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a cage match between Leo and Oprah (who wouldn't?). But it'll cost a lot of time and money. Sometimes it's better to be smarter than the legal system.
- Professor Messer
I'm not sure I fully understand where the perceived trademark issue is. The names are similar, but clearly different. I don't know that Twitter is making any efforts or attempts to infringe on the TWiT brand, particularly in the area specified ""Entertainment in the nature of visual and audio performances, and musical, variety, news and comedy shows." I agree and understand the brand...
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- Ken Camp
The fact is, the brand that really matters here is not TWiT, but Leo Laporte. I came to TWiT because of you, Leo, not because of the name. That being said, I'll stand behind whatever decision you make.
- Darren Landrum
Oh, and I think this is just the opportunity we need to resubscribe our iTunes and take over the top 10 lists. :)
- Professor Messer
Can I ask - did TWiT exist before Twitter? Or did Twitter exist first? And - is your name TWiT based on Twitter, at all?
- Chris Loft
Chris Loft: TWiT predates Twitter and comes from This week in tech...
- Chris Lloyd
I think it's only right to defend your trademark Leo. You were there way before Twitter and just because they have gained significantly increased attention and media coverage, doesn't mean you have to lay down and submit to Twitter. I would defend your mark vigorously if I were you. You've worked hard to build your brand.
- Marty McPadden
Chris Loft proves that there is confusion between the two.
- Anton Tanderup
Leo - TWit is an incredible brand and network of invaluable podcasts - you simply have to defend it
- Robert Davies
Fight for it. When they try to get additional financing make your move. Asserting your trademark will cause them to settle or buy you out when they go public.
- Alan Morris
I think that once you see the Twitter television show, you'll probably want to distance yourself as far away as possible.
- Professor Messer
Defend your trademark. I get more intellectual engagement from the TWiT network of shows than I do from most of my Twitter community.
- Eric Geller
Use whatever legal tools you have available to defend your brand, especially if Twitter is talking about crossing into audio/video. You have a strong product, and Twitter is creating brand confusion in the market. A hard line needs to be drawn between your product and theirs, and it's clear that they are not going to keep a respectful distance with TWiT.
- Jason Miller
You have to rise above the emotion and make a business decision. How much will it cost you to defend versus how much will you gain? Simple cost/benefit. My guess is that this fight will cause you to lose focus on your work, be a financial hardship as you go up against a company with VC backing, and all for the "possibility" that you will win and maybe get some compensation from Twitter....
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- Tom Sheppard
I thought twitvid.com was the new video netcasts Leo has been talking about, boy was I surprised!
- Daniel Rinaman
It has to be defended.Giving up and letting another company take your brand, no matter how big the company or personal feelings toward the owner, can not be an option. You built your brand and should defend it.
- David Z
Defend it Leo!
- Gunny doesn't side-hug™
You need to defend it Leo. You had the trademark first.
- imperator3733
How about a name like LeoCast... No confusion there.
- Rustic Thoughts
Agree don't let the big dog scare you..you have the law on your side
- Randy Pollock
It's YOUR mark Leo and you have worked hard to make it as well-known as it is. Defend what's yours!!
- Jim Connolly
Twitter will be virtually gone like Classmates and MySpace in a few years... Keep the name!
- Rick Harvey
Leo: As others have said, you can initiate legal action, but I doubt you'd win. TWiT is based upon an acronym (This Week in Tech). Twitter is not an acronym, it's a word unto itself. Twitter doesn't use the term "twit" by itself; the word is always used fully (though some people snidely call Twitter users "twits"). Until you launched a microblogging area on your site, TWiT and Twitter...
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- Dwight Silverman
yes defend your trademark
- Alfonso alatorre
Add to all this another twist. While TWiT is trademarked, twit is a common language word which can't be trademarked. That adds a dash of ambiguity to the whole issue.
- Ken Camp
Twit came before Twitter I think you should defend it. it is dumb anyways Twit and Twitter is not even the same word, it would be like CocaCola suing Coconut because of COC
- URLREVIEWS
Twitter is going to be a realty show based on stalking celebrities. It wont last more than one season.
- Rustic Thoughts
I say let it roll. Your a 'big guy' in your own field, but Twitter is bigger. Play off of them. You could be bigger. Look at all the petty stuff that Microsoft did..and where did it get them? Bad Press.
- Gene
To keep your trademark you must defend it if it's being violated.
- CT Raider
I think Twitter has the brand and you don't right now. Maybe Twitter should buy it from you or you should collaborate with twitter to monetize and add your TWiT to twitter
- Amit 'zyaada' Mittal
I certainly think you should defend your trademark, isn't that why you registered?
- dcale1965
I checked Twitter's own site and it looks like Twitter launched March 1, 2006. TWiT was around well before then. Being in tech, I find it hard to believe they hadn't heard of him. It was a big podcast even then. I knew of TWiT well before Twitter. This may seem like a dumb issue to some, but a lot of people I recommended the podcast to now ask me if "it's a Twitter thing."
- JeffreyVC
Ev told me that when they were considering names for Twitter they knew about TWiT and decided it didn't matter. In their defense, they had no idea what or how big Twitter was to become. We talked about trademark early on and both agreed there was no conflict _as long as we were in different spaces_. And therein lies the rub.
- Leo Laporte
Apple Computer and Apple records recently went through this -- what was the outcome there?
- Brian Sullivan
I thought it wasn't clear infringement when Twitter came out but now that there is Twit video the infringement is very clear. I would defend.
- Robert Scoble
Lawyers are expensive. Legal fights are draining. You could spend the rest of your professional life fighting this battle. I don't know what's been going on in the back channel, and you probably shouldn't say publicly, but if you haven't tried approaching the Twitter board members privately, you might want to. Lay out the facts carefully, and if you're open to a settlement, say roughly...
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- Dave Winer
Legally, if you do not actively defend your trademark in every infringement then you will have difficulty *EVER* defending it. This isn't an anti-Twitter thing, just a simple business practice, Leo.
- Kevin Donahue
"Clear Infringement". How exactly? It's a lose/lose for Twitter if they choose to encroach or even litigate.
- Adi
Yeah but Leo added video later. And now Twitter is adding video. The real issue is that there is no clear separation between a radio/video network and a social microblogging site these days. And our trademarking system is so ridiculous that these kinds of conflicts go completely unnoticed all the time.
- JeffreyVC
I'd say it's time to either re-brand TWiT or defend it. Deferring the decision and just living with the confusion and ambiguity is no longer an option.
- Ken Sheppardson
Defend your trademark
- Lars Clausen
Defend your brand Leo.The World Wide Fund for Nature took on the WWF and made them change their name to WWE. If they can do it, so can you.
- Bryan Lee
The big problem with defending it... beyond the unfortunate fact that it's a drain on resources that could be better spent elsewhere... is it's not clear how you'd win. They're not going to change their name. They'll forever be Twitter. Is it sufficient to somehow "ban" them from ever doing anything in video? Enforcing that in perpetuity's would only raise your blood pressure.
- Ken Sheppardson
I would take the emotion out of the equation -- find out what it would cost to defend and determine what it is worth to have exclusive/non-exclusive use (maybe some subjectivity here) and make the decision using that information.
- Brian Sullivan
I say defend it but only so much as to bring more media attention to your brand... once you have the media's attention you can use that to change the brand identity if you so choose. Your followers myself included will stay fans no matter what you call your brand, but I think you have an opportunity to expand and use twitter as a means of gaining media attention!
- Nathan McClain
If you don't do this you wont have a leg to stand on in the future when you need to really protect it. I can piss all over your trademark if you do not defend it.
- David Lloyd
Leo: in a trademark fight what is the ROI? I am sure it will be very expensive and not sure you will get much in return but if you forced Twitter to change its name I am sure they would quickly settle with you.
- Robert Scoble
I still think Twitter will be as irrelevant as MySpace in 2 years, but it's your brand to protect.
- Mike Lewis
Ideal Outcome: A $$$ settlement sufficient to comfortably fund the rebranding of TWiT.
- Ken Sheppardson
Robert makes a very good point. This could get messy and expensive, although it seems like those guys are VERY hard to work/interact with.
- Brian Daniel Eisenberg
while bryan lee makes a good point, their battles took a long time to resolve. but, don't let this deter you. i would suggest you defend it. if anything, i see you have a strong case and whatever happens can be in your favour. it's possible twitter can concede in infringing in your trademark and may be even consider licensing through the course of the battle. but be very, very patient for any outcome to happen.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Dave: wrong. Leo is who got me on Twitter. His marks were more popular and predated Twitter's.
- Robert Scoble
Leo got me into twitter too!
- Jim Connolly
I think Leo has a good chance at wining his case since he did register the copyright first. Twitter is still not a money making business. They are living off of VC money. They will probably not have the funds to mount a case since their money will be tied up with keeping twitter afloat. Am I right?
- Bryan Lee
Leo also got me on Twitter shortly after they went public.
- Mike Bracco
regarding AMF, Inc. v. Sleekcraft Boats, 599 F.2d 341 (9th Cir. 1979) the battle was very different. one of the things found was that the company had an 'infinity' of other brands to choose. it's a very different situation in detail, although it looks comparable at face value.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Or just have them become a premium sponsor. There used to be so much twitter talk before, I think they really should be owing you some gratitude for the traffic.
- Adi
As part of any settlement, you should demand Ev and Biz concede that individual Twitter entries are "Tweets", as embarrassed as they seem to be by that. They're net "twits" or "twitters"... they're "tweets".
- Ken Sheppardson
i'm sure something can be negotiated with twitter. a lawsuit in this case would show you're just defending your trademark because they are encroaching in your territory. you're not taking them on what they are known to do, their core competency. rather, it's stepping into your own grounds.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
not doing anything on purpose may weaken your trademark. many court cases also end up not going through the entire ordeal.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Yep, I agree the day has come where it's either fight or flight. And I don't mean that quite the way it sounds. :-/
- Ken Sheppardson
Defend!!!!
- Mark Williamson
from BuddyFeed
I don't think you have much choice. Either you defend it or you lose it.
- Pascal Sijen
dave johnson: true, there's always a degree of uncertainty; but that doesn't mean giving up in defending one's investment in a trademark. it can be argued pragmatically and it's to the point where leo must defend his territory upon which twitter is encroaching. aye.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
I'm not sure you can win, are we aren't even sure what they're going to call it yet. If it ends up being Twitter.TV you have no chance to beat them.
- DarknessFalls
There is even a shortening service called: http://twitpwr.com/ - The brand must be defended.
- David Z
Leo: You must defend it or lose it. They need to know you also have the muscle behind you. I have the attorney that did all the trademark work for Terminator 1-4, Rambo, old timer who knows every angle. I have him on retainer and would love to join your cause. I can arrange a chat with him at no cost, then you can decide to move ahead, or if the cost seems to steep, I would be interested in partnering with you on the trademark. Fight on Leo! Let me know if you want to chat Thx Chad
- Chad Harris
Reading this I'm also thinking, if you move forward as some here suggest, be ready to go after Twitpic.com and every other Twit* variation to aggressively defend everywhere or lose steam on all fronts. Is that a good identity move? This is not a simple question to consider when everything is taken into account.
- Ken Camp
I'm of the opinion that twitter's initial success back in 2006 and 2007 was in part due to piggybacking on the brand name recognition that Leo had built over the years prior.
- Chris Heath
I think defending it is what you must do, but perhaps take a different look at it all together and suggest some kind of mutual PR blitz leading into a partnership or new brand identity for TWiT. Just don't call it SyFy!
- Aaron T. Harvey
The question here is would a "Reasonable person" confuse the two? I would like to think I am a reasonable person (even though I can't spell) and I would not be confused in the least. I love the Twit network and watch several hours a week, but I don't see the issue.
- Rob
I agree that since Leo has been a twitter evangelist all these years, they should be able to strike an accord somehow. Maybe even partnering up on the whole Twitter TV Show since Leo has the video presence online.
- Bryan Lee
You have to defend now, or 5 years from now you'll have a weaker case against the twitty podcast network.
- Robert Hafer
Rob, the question isn't whether or not you or I would confuse the two, but do the people who watch Oprah and maybe catch Leo on The Tech Guy confuse them...and they do.
- Aaron T. Harvey
Aaron...Do you really think they would. Am I that out of touch with the "Normal People"? If that is the case then I guess I would have to conseed that to be an issue. But I am still not quite convenced.
- Rob
Funny - I would enjoy the extra publicity - You have a loyal set of listeners - and none of us are confused. If people end up on your site -cause they are looking for twitter, maybe they will take a listen. People who are looking for podcasts on technology though i doubt will find twitter in a search.
- Laurence Gold
Rob, I've seen it happen, even with people "in the know". People think that TWiT is somehow connected with Twitter because of the name. It's a mistake that, while not happening with everyone--and maybe not even the majority--can end up costing Leo and co. money.
- Aaron T. Harvey
Protect what you worked hard to build
- Shawn Hickman
Had Apple been named "TWiT," you can be assured there would be no talk of a TwitterTV...
- Christopher A Carr
Of course you should perfect TWIT for media and tech. You have the prior art, use. It's an obvious move for Twitter to exploit their 'brand' into media. You must pursue Leo. You have been a crusader for fair-use, but there are times (like this example) where fairness requires accountability.
- michael sean wright
The commenter who noted that if you do not enforce your rights they may be weakened is generally correct. I suggest seeking an agreement that is mutually beneficial and recognizes your rights in the TWiT(R) trademark.
- erik pelton
The problem with defending your trademark is the public backlash it can generate. Think O'Reilly and Web 2.0 or Apple and Profit Pod. But in this case, if you are indeed convinced that there is some infringement of TWiT by Twitter, I think you'd be doing us all a favor if you could somehow head off their plans for a celebrity-stalking TV show.
- Dave
The problem is not really twitter, or a twitter video show, but all the people who says they just sent a twit. Also all the small companies with twit in their name, who are in the video/audio area. Twit radio, twitvid.io etc etc. I see no problem in protecting the brand. However it ends out you'll get a lot of publicity.
- Anton Tanderup
Leo, this could be an opportunity for you to come out ahead. Yes it's an awkward situation and yes you could fight this on legal grounds, but there's no win for you there. Here's a way for you to win. Today your brand is a split brand--split between "Leo LaPorte" and "TWIT." You can win by focusing more on building the Leo LaPorte part of the brand. "Leo LaPorte" doesn't equal TWIT, yr...
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- Michael Metz
man you gotta defend your name and trademark,whats next a twitter podcast network?
- cliff whitefoot
I think Ken Sheppardson sums it up nicely. I don't think you even need to retain a lawyer to start with the cease and desist letters, then see if they are amenable to a settlement, partnership or other remedy. It doesn't have to, and hopefully won't ever, come to a legal battle. However, it's clear enough that unless Leo hands them his mark and re-brands on his own dime, he must defend...
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- Richard pancakhaus Walker
Its funny... in a way you helped make twitter the juggernaut it is today.... all the free advertisement that you have given them over the years....LOL.. Maybe they should return the favor
- Nathan McClain
Hasn't Leo said he wants to add a second host to the network? Wouldn't it also confuse viewers if they were watching the Leo Laporte Network and the show was hosted by someone not named Leo?
- Norm Corriveau
Leo, some other people have made good points, if you're going after Twitter your also going to have to go after the other sites with Twit in the name: Twitpic, Twitpwr and Twiteverything or your case will be thrown out.
- DarknessFalls
DarknessFalls: he'd only have to do that if they all launched TV shows too.
- Martin Bryant
darknessfalls, you're not getting the scope. it's about leo's twit trademark on video and what twitter plans to do that's associated with it.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
If you haven't done so already, explore the Apple case, both the legal and business issues that Apple Corps encountered. And if you DON'T defend your trademark, what's Plan B? Remember that Twitter (or its future owners) may someday sue YOU.
- John E. Bredehoft
from fftogo
Leo, take your mark and make them all change names. Is this Ustream show even official Twitter? it looks pretty lame, like they just used the word, visual branding like twitter.com. http://www.ustream.tv/channel...
- rob friedman
Don't sue unless you can find a business case and a lawyer to take the case on contingency with enough potential gain that it all wouldn't have been a big waste of time for a couple hundred dollars. But I am not a lawyer (IANAL). In fact, the grown up thing for twitter to do would be to link to you with an explanation that they aren't you and visa versa.
- Eric Standlee
Defend yourself, Leo.
- Devin Baines
Defend your trademark. Why else would you have filed it in the first place?
- phil baumann
The best solution would be for Leo to produce the official Twitter show as part of the TWiT network.
- Martin Bryant
The brand is big because of Leo yes, but having the TWiT brand is important. There are shows on the network in which Leo is not in.
- Anton Tanderup
Whats the question? TWiT is yours Leo, you need to protect it, the TWiT Army is not only at your back but with 60% of new Twitter accounts not coming back, all you have to do is hold out and wait on it to fold anyways.
- Bush Williams
Anton, the band is TWiT - twit.tv? - TWiT netcast network... that is the brand...
- Chris Heath
It is totally unfair, but I want to see all of your focus and money going towards content, not legal actions. You will be endlessly sending out C&Ds or worse as long as Twitter is popular. That said, I do think you should squeeze some money out of Ev in order to cede the brand.
- invariant - farewell FF
Twitter offers more value to me than TWiT ever could. Sorry Leo, but this just seems like sour grapes.
- Shannon
Leo: You should do a This Week in Law on this btw.
- Anton Tanderup
Shannon - how much value you get from either brand is not what is at question here.
- Chris Heath
I'm not sure if this was already mentioned in the nearly 150 comments here, but Leo's link doesn't work. Here's a better link that I hope stays active: http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin...
- Eric Geller
+1 to chris' comment.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
You have a "defend or lose" obligation under trademark law. The TWiT brand has significant value, both from a revenue perspective and and the potential cost of re-branding al your sites, moving twit.tv etc., if you lose it. Protect the mark that secures your brand. Oh yeah, on that whole "big guy" theme: Because of your stable business model vs Twitter's Twitter's evolving one, an...
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- David Lounsbury
Shannon, the post asks for advice on how to be the best caretaker of a network and its trademark - your assignment of personal value should guide your own choices, but is irrelevant to the question at hand. How can it be sour grapes if failing to act now _could_ result in losing the standing of a trademark/brand which preceded those of other players who _may_ be crossing the line to the point of infringement.
- Micah Wittman
TWiT offers more value to me than Twitter ever could. Sorry Shannon, but this just seems like sour grapes.
- invariant - farewell FF
What a conundrum. I can't speak much to any legal considerations. But, on an emotional level, I would imagine that not defending and potentially losing the name must feel like smiling politely as an immigration official pins you with a random Anglicized name because your real, "ethnic" name is confusing to the masses in the new world, and making a fuss is to gamble the welfare of your...
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- Micah Wittman
@Ken Camp: Isn't twitter also a common english word which can't be trademarked? EDIT: Or Windows, for that matter?
- invariant - farewell FF
invariant -- you mean like Apple?
- Brian Sullivan
word, err, I mean Microsoft Word
- Micah Wittman
I think your best brand is "Leo Leporte". TWiT is just where Leos at.
- Matthew Snape
So I think we've established that common English words can be trademarked. So what's the criteria? Has to be a noun?
- invariant - farewell FF
of related note, i realise that twitter is indirectly facilitating twit offshoots upon registration. this is how: registering anything with 'twitter' in the username is *banned*. so, for a user already having their heart set on using twitter as part of their 'brand' might think of using 'twit' instead. this opens up a new can of worms figuring out who is using the twit name and doing video. like how they are doing now with 'twiter', they can stop it at registration to avoid further confusion.
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
I say defend it. If they are doing a TV show, they're definitely stepping on your toes. Nevermind that I can't imagine their show would be any good, but that's a different story... :)
- Jan Ole Peek
What about TwiTips? If that isn't entertainment then what is? But seriously I own several trademarks myself and I know if you don't take action then you could lose the Tmark. You have a conundrum because Twitter is so popular. So I would recommend seeking a compromise so that you won't lose your mark and appear like the bad guy with the public. Perhaps a clearer definition of the terms...
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- BLOGBloke
Other than I think he needs to see a surgeon to fix that lean to the left he has,... I love the guy and have been listening to him for about 15...16...dang probabaly close to 18 years about tech news I love the guy. And to top it off! He knows what he is talking about!! Leo makes am radio worth a listen on the weekends!
- John Apostoli
TWiT is a network providing audio and video broadcast covering issues related to the tech field. Twitter is a social network used to connect people using the basic SMS tools. While people *may* confuse the issue by referring to Twitter messages as "twits, there is no evidence that Twitter has used or endorsed the term. Unless & until Twitter (as a company) starts using the term "Twit"...
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- David J. Garcia
I've said this privately, but I guess I will say it publicly.Defend your mark. It is your livelihood. There WILL be confusion if it gets to TV, where people are not tech savvy and have no idea who you are
- Francine Hardaway
Yes, it may be expensive, and yes, these fights are draining, Dave, but until the laws are changed (an entirely different question), Leo could lose part of his livelihood through the confusion, especially since he has advertisers who would probably want him to defend. Everything in the universe doesn't happen in Silicon Valley:-)
- Francine Hardaway
David - until now that has been the case, but Twitter is planning on doing a TV show (which would definitely be infringement), which is why this debate is happening.
- imperator3733
I would certainly want you to defend it but i don't think its gonna be possible for two reasons. First Twitter is a bigger, more powerful and certainly more loved brand with more money. and you were first to infringe the unofficial agreement by hosting Twit Army. in that perspective you might not be able to defend it legally.besides the audience you've built ain't gonna be affected by what twitter does.So consult a legal advisor & take best course of action. Best of Luck
- Abhishek
I think if you approach it in good faith--initially without lawyers--you have a very good chance to work something out. Ev seems to be a very reasonable guy. Perhaps it's best to draft a strategy with counsel before any discussions though. What's really in your favor(perhaps legally, perhaps not) is that Twitter can't deny how your support and promotion for it was incendiary to the...
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- Gregg Scott
http://www.googlefight.net/... - ouch
- Nate
What's the point of a googlefight here Nate?
- Chris Heath
Sorry but the Google fight site is loaded with pop-ups that even show through popup blocker.
- Usman Bashir
Usman, I didn't get any popups (using chrome on winxp) but still it's a hideous site
- Chris Heath
Twitter has a lot of investment, but I'm not sure all of that is liquid money. You may be even in the money spent defending your Trademark. I say go for it. Do it now though if you do.
- Jesse Stay
Leo must Defend!
- Jim Mahon
If it was me, I'd defend it. While Twitter is still worth something! Talk to a lawyer first and see if you have a valid case.
- John Frazer
You must defend.
- Will Bostwick
I can't believe how long this thread has gotten!
- Bryan Lee
Seems like you are getting a lot of FREE promotion as a result of twitter. My bigger concern would be not having the twit.com URL to go with your brand name. That's a big issue!
- Craig Shipp
@Craig, twit.com was registered in 1997, and it's parked.
- rob friedman
Twit is your trademark for the company you have built up. It seems rather unfair that they would brand their idea so similar. I would defend it and all the hard work you have done.
- Matthew Davis
Defend it Leo. Things may get ugly, but sometimes they just gotta.
- David Chartier
from BuddyFeed
Fight for you trademark! Especially since they knew of your prior use and now they are doing a TV show which they should know is stepping on your trademark.
- russellcoleman
Defend, owning Twitter may not be useful for you yourself, but you could make a profit off of it if you were to sell it. Go for it Leo!
- Zachary TG
What Kyle said!!
- jcunwired
Leo, FriendFeed community, let's get practical here - Twitter has more resources and probably a decent case defending against what you could file. It would be a blow to your image, to TWiT's image, and be bad press overall. You have a far greater chance of losing credibility than gaining trademark protection. You need to look into other strategies.
- Ben Parr
There is no such thing as bad Press
- Jesse Stay
from email
I would thin kthat the thing to do is to gently but firmly convince them that they are infringing on your brand, that litigation would be damaging to both of you, losing community goodwill over the fight, and that it would be simpler, faster, and cheaper for both entities if they were to pay for your rebranding effort. Be prepared to present them with the estimated costs of litigation,...
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- guruvan (Rob Nelson)
Defend your Trademark. It's the responsible thing to do as a buisness.
- Donald Forth
Defend your trademark
- Russ Jackson
what Kyle & guruvan said. Does anyone else think we need threaded comments for conversations like this right here?
- Richard pancakhaus Walker
I'd defend the TWiT trademark.
- Jonathan Bloom
I'm not as thunk as you drink I am
- David Lloyd
Also there is this guy who has a "beef" with twitter http://twitter.co.uk/
- rob friedman
@rob friedman - That guy says Twitter doesn't require you to validate your email address. Wow, that's ripe for abuse!
- invariant - farewell FF
Defend.
- Tony Meyer
Talk to a lawyer.
- Zian Choy
More than a hundred comments, the community is twitting even on friendfeed. A legal action would be very difficult. You should first define your objective in doing so. Do you really want to protect your brand or settle for a lucrative compensation? Even if you get some sort of legal protection limiting Twitter to use or endorse the word "twit" to some extent, people will still be...
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- Cem ARGUN
Cem: I'm afraid I don't understand that first sentence of yours. Can you explain?
- Christopher A Carr
It's only infringement if trademark string parser is case insensitive TWiT® != Twit®
- KyleHase
Prior art (and obligatory MP reference) http://www.youtube.com/watch...
- Jay Cuthrell
Maybe a dead issue? At least as far as the potential fight w/ Twitter, Inc. Mashable says Twitter responds no official Twitter TV show http://mashable.com/2009...
- guruvan (Rob Nelson)
And now for something completely different... watch the meetup room if interested in seeing Spamalot in SF as a group...
- Richard pancakhaus Walker
I would say defend it. Of course, I'm just a Twit.tv fan and not a lawyer.
- Joey Gibson
'all this nonsense'?? wtf is that supposed to mean?
- Chris Heath
Just leave it alone until they manage to make some real money off it, then litigate. That's how it's done you know.
- Will Higgins™
Leo, I am a long time fan and constant listener to all of you work. You are a more than fair and wholly honorable man. You have had TWIT long before I ever heard of a twitter. Go with your heart Leo. I am behind you. I understand you would impede progress of any positive kind. But a cease and desist letter. Seems harsh. I think you have a winner. Let them buy the TM. Power to the people. Go Leo, you deserve it. You do only good. You are one of a kind! RodneO
- RODNEY OLIVER
PC Easy: I don't think Leo's making a big stink. The idea that twitter would get into the tv/video business would be a big thing since they have a verbal agreement with Leo not to get into that business. This may be all for nothing, since the mashable article guruvan linked above states that twitter will not be doing a show. Leo was doing the best first step (imho) in asking the community for guidance in the event that the original reporting was correct (which it does not appear to be now). So moot point
- Chris Heath
I think if I was you Leo I would try to license rights to them and get some mula out of it. Remember "Leo Laporte" goes a lot farther than TWIT does and most importantly ever will.
- Eric VM
there's a current backlash on twitter trending topics right now w/ hashtag #notwittertv. the examiner has an unfavorable article here: http://www.examiner.com/x-264-C... even alyssa milano is against it: http://twitter.com/Alyssa_...
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Its going to suck and bomb... guaranteed.
- Rustic Thoughts
Maybe just sell it to them Leo for a gazillion dollars and retire. Keep the leaches out of it..meaning the lawyers. What the heck, Leo you are great at trend setting, you practically put twitter on the map. They owe you something.for all the pub you have given them since their inception.
- John Apostoli
Defend. There's really no reasonable alternative.
- Jason Clarke
You gotta defend it Leo. What's the point of trademarking in the first place.
- Joel Lovato
You have to defend what is legally yours.
- Michael Hansel
Twitter Responds: There is No Official Twitter TV Show- Mashable (May 25th, 2009 | by Pete Cashmore) -- http://mashable.com/2009... -- There is no official Twitter TV show—although if there were it would be fun to cast! In dealing with networks and production companies we sometimes have simple agreements. Regarding the Reveille and Brillstein project reported today,...
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- Chris Loft
Leo, suggest you go "open source co-branding" on this. Monetize your "twit" brand through creative brand licensing with emerging entertainment and multimedia microblogging companies that want to ride the "twitter" bandwagon. I can see creative corporate and individual co-brands like, TwitSounds, TwitFilms, TwitMedia, TwitCats, TwitBitch, TwitMechanic, etc...
- Mike Schmidt
If I hear the word "monetize" one more time, my eardrums will begin bleeding. That is all.
- wyclif
I don't want to over simplify this but if Twitter do branch into video and even streaming TV, surely the content would have to be substantially different to what TWiT already provides, otherwise they are at risk of spoiling their brand identity. Stay strong and true to the Tech news content and let Twitter, well do what ever they may do. Personally, I think it would be a mistake for them to go down this road. Time may be better spent further improving the existing service.
- Kevin J Hatton
the mashable news is taken directly from the twitter blog: http://blog.twitter.com
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Maybe it's a good time to Re-Brand. Twit has unfortunate connotations in some areas of the English speaking world. On this side of the pond a twit is an idiot. Until I became aware of Leo I gave TWiT a very wide berth. Branded simply as This Week in Tech it would have got my positive attention a whole lot sooner. Time to move onward and upward.
- Gilbert Harding
This was copied and pasted but sums it up so well : Of course, there's a larger long-term problem because of the way that Twitter has weakened _your_ brand. It might be less expensive (and a better use of your time) to rebrand TWiT into something that strengthens your brand and moves it away from Twitter; avoiding any future problems (and there will be future problems). You can't fight Oprah. - Professor Messer
- Fragtastic
A very worthy point - "I think that once you see the Twitter television show, you'll probably want to distance yourself as far away as possible. - Professor Messer"
- Fragtastic
I'll admit to being a little slow on the uptake to both TWiT and twitter and it took me some time to figure out that they were different things. I was listening to TWiT before I found twitter, and at first I wondered if I was mixing the names up in my head. I think there is real potential for confusion between the two names. Good luck in whatever you decide to do, Leo.
- Rick Reynolds
You could ride the wave of popularity Twitter is experiencing by allowing that confusion to blossom. Perhaps more people could start listening and watching your netcasts *because* of that confusion?
- David Hepworth
You need to defend your brand, however since you know the guys at Twitter maybe you can come to some sort of agreement that is the best interest of both TWiT and Twitter.
- Jim Lavin
I say defend the brand. I fully believe Leo and TWiT will outlive Twitter. It would be a shame to surrender the brand only to see it disappear in 1-2 years.
- Martin Johnson
I think you should definitely defend it. Whatever it will be called, Twitter-TV will make a big splash and Twit, being less mainstream than Oprah, won't even make a dent. And if they want your trademark, they should pay for it.
- Vincent van Wylick
I say defend it, if you don't the that opens the door to other infringements.
- Hunter
since you clearly took your name from This Week in Baseball, which deputed in 1977, should MLB defend their trademark with you?
- glenn simmons
Defend it! definitely, the trademark is rightfully yours and you need to hold on to it...I like twitter, but I like TWiT even more...
- Raymond
Glenn, you are wrong. There are many registered trademarks that contain "this week in"
- russellcoleman
See what you have started Leo? Twitter TV is not a patch on what you do. Now if it was professionally done, with great audio then maybe,
- Kevin J Hatton
Dealing with a similar issue (though not as big as dealing with Twitter). I say throw out a warning shot to protect your brand. Worst case they ignore you and you have to spend gobs of money to defend it. Best case they make you a $$ offer.
- Brian Niles
from Nambu
russellcoleman, exactly so why is Leo crying about twitter
- glenn simmons
Glenn, because "Twit" is Leo's trademark in the area of entertainment in the nature of visual and audio performances, and musical, variety, news and comedy shows.
- russellcoleman
Defend it!
- Kiran Patchigolla
Sorry Leo, does that mean I can't call people Twitts? Does it mean no one in a television or audio show can use the word twitt? I mean Twitter...TWIT...they have 3 more letters and their brand is based on communication not entertainment. Give up the ghost against Twitter by now dude. IF they were doing what you were doing MAYBE but what you are saying is noone can use the letters T W I or T .... don't become the next Monster.
- Sidney
Defend. No retreat. No surrender.
- Barry Biddlecomb
from twhirl
Sidney, it means they can't use twit as part of their brand if they go into the areas Leo's trademark covers. We are talking about branding here.
- russellcoleman
Again, Twitter is a communication company looking to capitalize on providing television content the ability to have immediate interactive component...Nothing that TWIT does...so no infringement. Leo has always had the axe to grind with Twitter...if he was going to do something he should have done it immediately...
- Sidney
My understanding is that Twitter is going to have a TV show and that may infringe. My point above was to the suggestion that no one could say the word twit.
- russellcoleman
@Christopher Carr, I meant that twitting has become a generic expression going far beyond Twitter. Here on friendfeed we are twitting, an these lines are in fact twits... :)
- Cem ARGUN
As an anecdote, until now I thought TWiT was something twitter related, and I basically ignored it for that reason. I have learned over time that I'm often not a good representative of anything, but there was certainly brand confusion in my case.
- Robin Barooah
Robin: You're not alone. I thought TWiT was Twitter-related too :(
- Tech Introvert
At first, yep, I thought Twit spawned Twitter. But in a few nanoseconds, I knew otherwise. But in the mind of 'ordinary' (horrible term, sorry) user coming at Twit from Twitter surely they'll get the idea. But Twitter is SO pervasive, I'm glad that you've decided to take advice. I know nothing, but I feel you should protect your brand. Don't change your name. Change the game. On another tack, you checked out http://audioboo.fm ?
- John C Wesley Barker
"Again, Twitter is a communication company looking to capitalize on providing television content the ability to have immediate interactive component." - Sidney That is exactly what Leo's doing
- Anton Tanderup
news of twitter tv just hit the local abc news. they mentioned there's already direct opposition by celebrities ashton & demi who (according to their tweets) will quit twitter if this reality show sees the light of day (paraphrasing). this could mean -as they say & putting it lightly- 'my enemy's enemy is my friend?' odd yet amusing opposition from the hollywood. however, no mentions of twit and leo. :-\
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Twitter can look to capitalize on providing television content the ability to have immediate interactive component all they want. But I don't think they should do it in a way that can cause any confusion between them and Leo's network.
- russellcoleman
Sorry the only confusion people have had is what Leo has brought to the table himself. He should have stepped up long ago if he felt Twitter was going to create confusion and admittably it has and TWIT and Twitter don't even cross streams. I know for one if Leo wastes his money on litigation I for will be disappointed and believe it will harm the TWIT brand.
- Sidney
i know this thread is too long to read for many. re-quoting what leo said here for those who keep saying he should have stepped up long ago: "Ev told me that when they were considering names for Twitter they knew about TWiT and decided it didn't matter. In their defense, they had no idea what or how big Twitter was to become. We talked about trademark early on and both agreed there was no conflict _as long as we were in different spaces_. And therein lies the rub. - Leo Laporte"
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Very tough choice. I think these comments provide you with a fairly good sample of public opinion from people in tech, but it would be interesting to get input from the rest of the world on Twitter who have never heard of TWiT. It certainly won't cost much to send in a warning shot so they take notice and to demonstrate defense of your TM, but I would follow that up with a request to...
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- Phil Ashman
Give it up Leo ... You may win the battle ,, but you wont win the War IMHO ,, Unless you have deeper pockets than Twitter ... is your time/money worth fighting over it ? Only *you* can answer that!
- johnpiercy
This twitter thing is just a flash in the pan, you can wait them out ;-)
- Wolfman-K
If he fights and loses, at least he defended it, which is required to keep it. If Leo does nothing, he could lose it.
- Bwana ☠
How do people feel about Monster Cable suing companies that use the word Monster in their name? I feel the same here...except that Twitter just happens to have the same four LETTERS as Twit, as the beginning. They arent using Twit as a standalone word. C'mon.
- Andru Edwards
The only justification I can see in Leo going after Twitter is so that he can at least show he is defending his TM so he doesn't lose it as Bwana said...otherwise I think it is a losing game that will be a waste of resources that TWIT could utilize in other productive pursuits.
- Sidney
The Monster Cable example doesn't really work. They were suing companies that were in different spaces. Now with Twitter doing a TV show, that is in the same space as TWIT and Leo has the trademark for it.
- Mike Child
Everyone should read this: http://blog.twitter.com/2009... It has been linked a few times in this discussion up above, but bears linking again based on recent comments - From what I can tell, it doesn't look like twitter will have a tv show - so this whole point is moot - leo may have to defend his trademark against these 'other' shows if they use the word twit in their name, but i don't think they will
- Chris Heath
Leo -This is a battle that will be HELL. Yet, it is critical you fight it. I had a couple situations very much like it in telecommunications late '80s early '90s. I should have fought. Give them a run for their money. It will cost you $$ and resources. But, with Twitter's new direction - man - you're a journalist at heart... You already know - you've got to fight for your right!
- Arleen Anderson
Man this is a tough position to be in. Honestly, I can't see TWiT or Twitter changing brands/names. However, Leo, you were first and you have the trademark to back it up. I say defend it!
- Doug Jones
Biz responds to the Twitter TV show on the blog: http://blog.twitter.com/2009...
- Doug Jones
not reading the thread befire i comment... but seems to me that TWITTER does not equal TWIT. what else is their to know?
- sull
Leo, I think the law is very clear, if you don't defend your trademark you may lose it.
- David Angel
from twhirl
Leo a firestorm is brewing over twitter tv http://www.nydailynews.com/tech_gu...
- dday
Make them pay you a million in cold hard cash for the TWIT name and change your name to TWIG - This Week In Goodness :-)
- Richard Bitting
When you see such services as "TwitThat" (http://twitthat.com/), with that spelling of "tweet", there is an incredible amount of confusion waiting to happen !
- arnaudt
arnaudt, good point. and again... TWiT does NOT = twitter - so leo has no case. twitter themselves dont use 'twit' in any way. they barely if at all use 'tweet' in any way. they began as 'twtr' in like 2006. twitter is NOT an abbreviation for anything as TWiT is. twitter is not solely behind producing an entertainment property.. they are granting rights to others to do so and in some...
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- sull
sull, TWIT does NOT have to = twitter for Leo to have a case. People just have to be confused enough to adversely impact, or even potentially impact, Leo's business.
- Chris Gardner
Chris, i think it does for him to have a 'good' case. You cannot prevent Twitter from letting media entities use twitter as part or their 'shows', even if twitter as some levell of partnership. In the end, it will cost Leo money to lose a trademark case. Proving, for example, that an MTV show tentatively named 'what you're watching' that uses twitter and facebook etc as fundemental components for audience interaction has any negative effect to the TWiT podcast.
- sull
sull, there just needs to be a likelihood of confusion. The Court there announced eight specific elements to measure likelihood of confusion: Strength of the mark - Proximity of the goods - Similarity of the marks - Evidence of actual confusion - Marketing channels used - Type of goods and the degree of care likely to be exercised by the purchaser - Defendant's intent in selecting the mark - Likelihood of expansion of the product lines
- Chris Gardner
Oh, and TWiT is not just a podcast. It is a live streaming net video network. There are on and off talks to take to cable also.
- Chris Gardner
Chris, thanks for pointing those elements of liklihood. Still, i think that even for the case to have a leg to stand on, twitter would need to have a 'show' specifically named in a way that may cause confusion. That has not happened. Trying to prevent the word 'twitter' from being used at all in marketing and branding via "visual and audio performances" because of the TWiT trademark seems a stretch and will prob result in negative publicity for Leo. Anyway, maybe we'll see. Interesting.
- sull
sull, agreed interesting. Also, this will probably not go anywhere near the courts. Ev Williams and Leo know each other and get along (not many in the industry that Leo does not get along with). They will work things out.
- Chris Gardner
For those who are unaware, people have to take action to protect their brands otherwise they lose their trademark. My suggestions and observations: 1. Look for win-win 2. It all seems moot anyway http://blog.twitter.com/2009... tho this is a fascinating thread 3. If twitter did ever go ahead with this it would be a fairly simple compromise for them to...
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- Isha (Marysia)
You need to defend it. I don't know that you'll stop twitter from launching their show but you have to fight it to keep your trademark valid. You for sure need to go after twitvid.com and twitvideo.com!
- The Griff
Defend the trademark. It could make the difference on winning a future trademark case with another company.
- David Ebaugh
Defend it. It was your long before Twitter was even around. Like someone else said what is the point of calling your network that if as soon as a bigger fish comes along you cave. Don't give in to the man Leo!
- Mr. Thomas
Leo. I am not a lawyer and don't play one on the Internet. It sounds like you have no real case against Twitter, but the producers of the rumored tv show are a different story. Even then, it depends on what they are doing with the subject matter. Is it *about* Twitter, or simply about people who use Twitter? Will they ever use the term, "twit" in the show? It certainly couldn't hurt to...
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- Jake Overton
While this is getting a lot of buzz now, it didn't even occur to me till it was posted. I think both have built their brands, both have similar sounding names but are different. Isn't TWiT an acronym? I would be more concerned with TWiB (This week in Baseball) going after Leo if he goes on TV as his show title is clearly a play on theirs, and not Leo being concerned about Twitter... ;) Either way Leo, you got some free publicity for your program/site out of this.
- mike wood
Let's not forget that use of anything in an editorial context is considered fair use.
- Ryan Brodkin
I also feel that you have an opportunity for even more publicity if you can work the TWiT shows into the TV show, joining them rather than fighting them. You will get publicity either way, but there seems to be a high road and a low road (or perception thereof). Good luck and keep up the great shows.
- Jake Overton
Leo fight them.
- johnny
we neec to fight for TWIT
- Richard Thomson
So far I don't think there is a conflict with Twitter, unless there is a Twitter TV show. Although you should fight sites like http://twitvid.io . Plus if you win, you could have an awesome domain for video downloads when you want to offer them.
- Mister IQ
Apparently there's a popular twitter client app in Japan called "Twit" http://wakoopa.com/softwar... It's the first "twit" result on Google Japan and Yahoo Japan.
- KyleHase
Finally cracking the Python books.
Michael Groner and Micah Wittman liked this
How many of you have ditched RSS for Twitter - and if so why?
Iván Abrego, Lina De Martinez, Steve Chou and 62 other people liked this
Steve, I was just about to give up RSS for Twitter, but then a few weeks ago, you wrote that Twitter had peaked, so I decided to just wait until the next thing I'm supposed to give up for the next thing I'm supposed to trade it in for.
- Rex Hammock
Rex, you're a good man.
- Steve Rubel
from IM
for me Twitter supplements my RSS consumption but doesn't replace any of it. Twitter is more about discovery of things I wouldn't normally know about via RSS.
- Tac Anderson
I agree, it is more like mining for information on twitter.
- Drew Lucas
Don't have time for both RSS and Twitter so I focus on the current conversation over the archive.
- Jason Catena
Twitter & Hacker News have taken up most of frequent, distracted attention I used to spend on reading feeds. I still go back to feeds to do my deep reading tho
- Kingsley Joseph
I have to agree that RSS has fallen off my radar due to the time I put into Twitter and other Social Media tools (FF).
- John Flynn
I second John Flynn's remarks.
- Jeff Stannard
I feed social networks with RSS... so if I stop, and everyone else stops... where is the information going to come from?
- Bwana ☠
Nope, RSS is still extremely useful especially coupled with #Feedly
- Rick Bucich
twitter is snacking, rss is having diner.
- Edwin Khodabakchian
Edwin - fully agreed.
- Richard Zeidel
I will never ditch RSS. It is too easy and great. I don't check as often as Twitter, but I can save posts and refer back to them when I need to. I can also easily find blogs there, rather than my bookmarks, which is flooded. Twitter is GREAT, but who knows if it will last? MySpace was great once, too. RSS is more stable than a social network, and easier to sort (no hashtags required).
- Angela Wilson
I wouldn't. For the Twitter and RSS have different uses. And I wouldn't spam the people that follow me at twitter with links to posts.
- Bibi
No way. Never.
- Louis Gray
Not ditched, but Twitter's become my primary social RSS. They're different rabbits.
- phil baumann
two different things...two different uses. ;o)
- Rob Sellen :o)
i use friendfeed for both feedreading and twitterstream.
- lodro
I'm just cutting down on number of followers and feeds. Seems to help with managing information overload.
- Dave "Freedom 35"
Twitter is too ephemeral... would need some organization (folders/tags/saved-searches) and mark-as-read functionality at the very least for me to even consider it. RSS is essential to me for required reading and for discovery.
- LogEx
Not at all, if anything Twitter/Friendfeed etc has helped me find new RSS feeds to add.
- Adam Turetzky
That's like hiring the garbage company to DELIVER trash to your door.
- Rob Michael (Atmos Trio)
if anyone did it, he's an idiot
- Zio Bonino
Twitter for Microblogs and Status Updates, Google Reader for regular blogs, Friendfeed for actual conversations!
- Dane Findley
Ditching RSS in lieu of Twitter?? What's next, ditching email for DM's? Not a smart move.
- Kevin Pruett
I think Kevin just summed it up nicely. I'll just add: The number of websites who provide real-time updates to Twitter is minuscule. When that changes, then we'll talk about swapping RSS for Twitter.
- Alexander Grundner
Nope, absolutely not. Twitter serves its purpose as microblogging and link sharing but RSS still has a purpose for me. Not everything I read is shared through Twitter (actually, I should hope not!). If I got all my news through Twitter, it would be more of an echo-chamber than it already is. Further more, I work in marketing. I use RSS to keep up with client industry news and to aggregate information. Twitter cannot do this for me.
- Violet Mae Lim
I got sick of reading long blog posts about the best way to develop software.... at least with twitter you get rid of long windedness. :)
- Paul Kinlan
i did not. and i won't you can't find in 140 char what a full page gives you
- Ouriel Ohayon
I've pushed most of my feeds to Twitter.For me, trying to keep up with RSS was like having another email inbox from hell. Now I catch what I can and let the rest pass over me. http://bit.ly/YQcK5
- Tech Introvert
...i've mostly ditched blogging for Twitter.
- .LAG liked that
I have ditched RSS for FriendFeed. I prefer the Real-Time Web. Welcome to the RTW!
- Dimitar Vesselinov
I'm with Dimitar... go FF go!
- Janice
Everyone! Haven't you heard -- Twitter is dead. Oh wait. I'm confused. RSS is dead. Umm. Steve Gillmor? It's TechCrunch -- it's dead. That's right.
- Dave Winer
Feedly + Firefox really makes Google Reader useful, IMHO
- .LAG liked that
no way. though i have reduced the number of feeds i actively keep up with.
- coffee
++Lag. Love my Feedly plus FF/Twitter. I have cut down on feeds however.
- Bonnie Foster
I love my netnewswire. It's all the stuff I've personally asked for rather than the stuff others feel they need to throw at me.
- Josh Kinal
from twhirl
yup, same here
- Jeremiah Owyang
I'm still using my RSS readers a lot. Google Reader on line and Byline on the iPhone. Less "clicks" on the iPhone.
- Mike Beck
OK, so this post brought out mostly RSS lovers (which I remain). Yet why is it that some are now railing against RSS? Here's another thought RSS = a standard. We have no standards for status updates and thus Twitter and Facebook are in the driver's seat. RSS is final and stable.
- Steve Rubel
Nope. I see different uses in the different services. I like the organization of a reader. and I like your comment about the standards and stability and lack thereof on Twitter and FB. Also, I like to pick my news sources and trust that I am getting something accurate. SkyGrid is a nice combination of real fast / real time and reliable.
- Martha
On the contrary, besides using Twitter, I've added lots of RSS from Twitter to Google Reader.
- Mike Reynolds
My comment is a bit suggestive because of my work with Alltop. But even so, Twitter could not replace the gens I find via RSS too.
- L.P. NEENZ FALEAFINE
Not me. Twitter is still too noisy.
- Tamar Weinberg
why ditch anything?
- Sheri Fresonke Harper
Sheri- Because people like to talk about this "king" "killing" that "king" and "destroying" this "queen" blah blah blah. ;) In my opinion, one new form of technology or communication doesn't always have to replace another.
- Violet Mae Lim
That question is ridiculous. RSS is far easier to manage and customize and can deliver a lot more information. Watching the interests of your social graph on Twitter is great, but far more and higher quality information can be consumed, (re)organized, and aggregated with a good RSS reader.
- David Chartier
Still like both. With Twitter I feel like I keep up with individuals better, and catch new stuff earlier than I might anywhere else. Reader still gives me a ton of good reading from all the places I like best though ...
- Patrick Jordan
I still use RSS but more for reference. I get the link to the post in Twitter and then go look at the feed
- Janet Fouts
I'm still a fan of Netvibes, and I have not ditched RSS for Twitter, I've made some RSS out of Twitter searches, does that count?
- Albert Maruggi
FriendFeed replaced RSS for me a while ago.
- Thomas Hawk
Ditch RSS for Twitter? Never. RSS is the fuel for the real time web - they're complimentary products. http://bit.ly/10dkr8
- AJ Kohn
I will most likely not ditch ditch rss for twitter, both are good and valuable, but rss is useful since one can't always read it
- Justin Yost
Ditched RSS for FriendFeed ;)
- LPH™ and his dog P™
I really never understand why you should give up RSS for Twitter. Why? Could someone please explain this über productive idea?
- Jan Friman
from Nambu
i'm still a heavy Google Reader user.
- Alex
The more interesting question may be how many have replaced RSS with FriendFeed...
- Josh Street
from twhirl
<sigh> I dunno. I see twitter as a subplot of FF and FF is also a subplot. Even slashdot used to be cool.
- Derek Lords
Haven't heard Slashdot mentioned in years
- Mike Reynolds
Ditching RSS for Twitter will work as the idea that people wouldn't look at paintings once photos came out
- shelisrael1
I think there is some confusion here. Are we talking about giving up on the technology that is called RSS, or are we simply talking about switching the platform on which we consume these ie. ditching google reader for friendfeed or twitter. Friendfeed lives on RSS feeds, the links you get on twitter most probably come straight out of someone's rss reader. The question is, if we ditch...
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- Kasper Sorensen
I discover more of value through friendfeed than twitter, really. But once I determine the long term value of a site it goes into my google reader, if it's Really important (i.e. top 10) it goes in my operamini feeds on my phone.
- guruvan (Rob Nelson)
I agree @ron
- Justin Yost
it is like dithing your car for fishing: they are not the same. More precisely, Rss gives you focuses attention on the sources of information. Twitter gives you second hand check-it-outs that are possibly not so focused or accurate, but *seem* more urgent because they are in real time.
- Michele Costabile
I use RSS, don't like twitter, and seems no reason.
- yagami
How many of you have ditched bathing for Twitter - and if so why?
- Dave Winer
I ditched porn for Twitter since, you know, it makes so much sense to do so.
- Scott Jarkoff
I use both RSS and Twitter. I use Twitter more frequently though.
- Donelle
RSS is quite useful, both serve their own purpose
- Erik Magraken
this is BS, twitter can't and won't replace RSS, neither will friendfeed for that matter
- Dobromir Hadzhiev
Twitter gives me a portal to the author but won't replace RSS
- Joe Dawson
I increasingly use Twitter Search rather than Google Search or RSS to find cleantech news to blog about.
- Bob Morris (polizeros)
Nopes, Twitter has a long way to go before it replaces RSS. My days begins by reading 500 feeds, imagine how many tweets would I have to go through to get all those news!
- Rajtilak Bhattacharjee
For ordinary web users who are only interested in a handful of feeds, maybe 10 or 20 then twitter beats a feed reader hands down. Much simpler to use, easy to understand and real time. Plus twitter has the social media/communication features. However power users that are tracking 100 or more feeds need a reader for their research. The google reader / feedly combination is hard to beat for these people.
- Adrian
Google reader is evil and must be destroyed. Who has time to sift through 400 unread posts per day?
- Tech Introvert
How can Twitter replace a few decent RSS feeds? Not understanding the Twitter love...
- George Gray
I don't understand, RSS and Twitter are two different services. Have I missed something? :-)
- Kol Tregaskes
I spend time on Twitter where I would have otherwise been in Google Reader. It's easier to follow trending topics on Twitter.
- Peter Warnock
did a blog post a while back called 'my network is my search engine' but truth is, probably meant my 'network is one of my rss feeds' - not an either or proposition for me
- leigh himel
Many RSS feeds push their content thru Twitter, which makes Twitter a real-time RSS reader (that doesn't act like a horrific email inbox, ahem Google Reader). FF is an even better implementation of this, if only more sites pushed their feeds thru FF.
- Tech Introvert
No, they're two different use cases for me. Twitter is real time conversation. RSS is non-real time information.
- Ian Betteridge
What Ian said. IMHO, their strengths are so different it would be silly not to use both.
- Karen Mohler
If anything, Twitter points me towards more stuff to add to my RSS!
- Amie Gillingham
Yeah, what Ian said. I'd just get lost in the info if I got all RSS via Twitter.
- Julie Barrett
from twhirl
I am using RSS in FriendFeed. What I have ditched is Google Reader. RSS is underlying technology, not an application. We'll keep using that underlyng technology for a long time. We may ditch the readers, but not the RSS itself.
- Bora Zivkovic
I haven't ditched sourcing news via RSS for Twitter, but I have subscribed to more news via Twitter and find myself getting it more frequently on twitter.
- tekhelet
This isn't the right kind of debate. It's distracting from the fact that both are useful.
- William Mougayar
nope, not going to happen. A) twitter doesn't have all the blogs I read B)there's no good aggregation of blog notices - I can't come back 2 days later & find older content.
- clarke thomas
For Twitter? No, maybe for Friendfeed in some time.
- Diego Espinoza V.
Because I got the gist of the post and a quick link in the same stream. No more reader for over 12 months
- derek
i ditched twitter
- Marcus Brown
Traditional RSS readers are even more boring than Facebook. Stopped using them a long time ago. I do consume RSS feeds still in FriendFeed but though a socially filtered lifestyle.
- Thomas Hawk
I have pretty much ditched RSS for FriendFeed. I use Twitter also.
- Bill Romanos
for must part..BUT subscribing via RSS to derivations from Twitter can be useful, for example, I subscribe via RSS to http://www.whatthetrend.com/ . It gives me the day's trends PLUS explanations as to why which is key. Extremely useful to go through just in case I missed something during the day.
- Mike Bracco
your followings are your feed source - Human Syndication. spending most of your time on Twitter, you dont have time to switch to RSS. Also, with RSS feeds coming from media companies, news may not break as quickly with human syndication which Twitter provides. With RSS feeds coming from Blogs, the news will have broken out on Twitter prior to that blogger's RSS feed hitting you somehow...
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- iTbay
No. RSS still has a place on my computer (or at least in my web browser). I prefer it for it's easy-to-read aspect and it's speed (Google Reader is awesome). Twitter is for discovery, as is friendfeed.
- Amy H.
RSS bankrupcy. Hundreds of blogs unread. By reading Twitter only on the web and not on the phone, and using Twitter search, I get what I get. The rest finds its way, so I don't have to pile up enormous wads of reading in my Google reader. RSS is still absolutely vital, however, for those who block you on Twitter. You search their name, RSS the search results, read them on Google. My new Google read attention space is the ppl like @ajkeen who have blocked me on Twitter.
- Prokofy Neva
I subscribe to Twitter hash-tag and keyword searches via RSS and read them in Google Reader. I see the them as complimentary.
- Mike Boudreaux
I usually have Google Reader/feedly & TweetDeck open at the same time.
- Jason R. Hunter
Hundreds of RSS feeds and no time to consume; Twitter better fits my lifestyle. Plus, the community that surrounds me shares very similar interests, so I can count on useful info from them.
- Paul Chaney
"Having RSS feed" =/= "using Twitter", so I read the RSS of a lot of sites every day via NetNewsWire.
- Rick Cogley
I use RSS to read Twitter (meaning) I can follow some people on Twitter via Google RSS reader (without really following them). Does that make sense?
- Doug Vos
@EdenJaeger LOST SPOILERS - I think that was Jacob's nemesis posing as Locke to kill Jacob--NOT Locke at all. The Gods are fighting! #lost
Mike Beahm and Michael Groner liked this
Something like that
- Michael Fidler
REALLY not trying to be a dick, but Yeah duh that was the man in black from the opening scene. Loophole was finding someone to kill jacob for him. someone willing and able.
- @baratunde
jacob and the man in black are involved in some sort of eternal wager, likely about the nature of man. man in black: "it always ends the same." jacob: "it only ends once. everything that happens before that is progress." jacob goes out and lures more people to the island to play out his debate with the man in black. check this out The Black Rock ship wreck, the plane crash... http://bit.ly/NHVrx
- @baratunde
more spoilerific fun. jacob's last words were "they're coming." he's referring to our friends trapped 30 years in the past. he anticipates the nuke. jack, sawyer, kate, hurley, miles, jin will be reunited in the present. time travel is over for the final season. ta da!
- @baratunde
exactly:). It was fairly obvious! So, what happens from here?
- Michael Fidler
i need to hear the Jay & Jack podcast to expand my thinking a bit, but I think Jacob, though killed, will win the argument with the man in black. he's trying to prove something about people, and when the time travelers catch up and rejoin with alanis and the avengers, some interesting stuff will go down. not sure what though, but the war ain't over. jacob is good. man in black is bad.
- @baratunde
Did you notice the Black Rock in the beginning? I'm sure it plays a role in all of this.
- Michael Fidler
oh def. alpert almost certainly arrived on that boat.
- @baratunde
Do you have a link for it?
- Michael Fidler
link for what exactly?
- @baratunde
The podcast
- Michael Fidler
ah yes http://www.jayandjack.blogspot.com/. they move fast. will be out by the a.m. they do a second review released on monday. thorough team
- @baratunde
I think alpert came on the boat,too. We know it was a trading ship hauling gold, and slaves. The gold is likely the source of Whitmore's wealth
- Michael Fidler
Thanks for the link!
- Michael Fidler
ur welcome. cool theory about whitmore's wealth. wow. didn't think of that. gnite!
- @baratunde
xkcd - A Webcomic - Sandwich - http://xkcd.com/149/
Tom Stocky, Chris Hofmann, Jess Lee and 26 other people liked this
Still my favorite xkcd ever.
- Tudor Bosman
Available as a t-shirt: http://store.xkcd.com/#Sudo :)
- Dan Hsiao
I have that t-shirt :P
- Brandon Titus
i wish there was a 'make me a sandwitch' command
- Gautam Guliani
“I seriously would love to hide the original iPhone apps. I never use stocks, contacts, and I use the weather channel app instead of weather.” - http://friendfeed.com/e...
dK, Svein Håvard Djupvik, Rob Haas and 3 other people liked this
You can do this if you jailbreak your iPhone... But I think this should be "stock" behavior.
- Cheryl Jones
Contacts is completely useless/redundant.
- robin k
I seriously don't understand why they aren't available in iTunes for syncing so you can hide them if you want to. Why does contacts exist? Why wouldn't I just go through the phonebook?
- Aaron Hood
If I want to send email or a text message, I don't want to go to the phone app to find the contact. [warning; my iPhone has only had a working SIM for 3 days, and I've made one phone call, so I may not have any clue what you're talking about]
- MiniMage TKDteacher of FF
There is a way of doing this: http://bit.ly/yOBB I have't tried this, so please don't blame me if your phone, she asplode.
- Brad Brooks
MiniMage - The iPhone has an autocomplete function within SMS and Mail so that you don't have to go looking through the phone.
- Aaron Hood
Aaron: Good point. I go straight to the apps on my WinMo phone, so why wouldn't I do that on my iPhone...when I finally find the app on the right screen ;). Seriously, I need to get around to optimizing my post-2.2 app arrangement. I burned myself a little with Categories (I freed the prisoner), so it's a mess right now.
- MiniMage TKDteacher of FF
Carry Your Google Reader Offline with Scoop, Supports Synchronization - http://www.labnol.org/interne...
Tac Anderson, Jill O'Neill, Cristi and 4 other people liked this
byline does this for iphone - http://www.appsafari.com/utiliti...
- rob zand
FriendFeed's new "Real-Time" function is an intriguing addition. Now how can I get anything else done? https://friendfeed.com/account...
Rob Diana, TommaSorchiotti, Bill Sanders and 19 other people liked this
my sentiments exactly.
- Zee.
this is twitter on crack
- johnpiercy
I just turned it on and I am already dizzy
- Kathleen Anderson
hah I just posted something about this as well, definitely a productivity killer!
- Nicholas Kreidberg
And how come every time FriendFeed makes an update, it's at a time I can't blog about it? Hello... a little warning, FF team, and I'll be right there with you. Now "the usual suspects" will bloviate without analysis. Watch.
- Louis Gray
Louis: I already blogged about it. I'm doing real time analysis. :-)
- Robert Scoble
it sucks you in......
- Dan Morrill AKA Techwag
You're not a suspect to me, Robert. :-)
- Louis Gray
As if we need another addiction
- Bwana ☠
Exactly!
- David Cook
Louis, very good point.
- Sally Church
Too cool! It will be amazing if the context of messages are more clear. The current design gives me a twittery feeling.
- Karthick R
this is very intriguing indeed!! Forget it Louis...productivity is gonna be shot! LOL
- Susan Beebe
test reply
- Zee.
test reply test reply ;)
- xero
yeah, I'm lucky, the pasta made it out alive!
- TheMacMommy
Totally, very nicely done and what a snapshot of the web!
- Vinodh Nandakumar
I don’t feel sorry for Yahoo - http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r...
Mistletoe Glen, Ben Clemens, Nate Koechley and 49 other people liked this
"Yahoo is being burnt to the ground by its current management." Sad, but feels kind of true.
- Hutch Carpenter
Good perspective. I'm hard pressed to feel sorry for a company with that much potential that doesn't even know who they are or what they do. I think that, before they do ANYTHING, they have to establish once again what Yahoo is. Right now, they're sounding like Microsoft when they were first trying to define what .Net was.
- Bradley McSpinn
Agreed. They squandered an opportunity to take their team(s) to a new level. Should've seen Microhoo as a challenge, not an obituary.
- Sprague D
Microhoo or Yasoft?
- Bradley McSpinn
yeah, bye, bye Jerry Yang! http://theanalyticsguru.wordpress.com/2008...
- Marshall Sponder
What's Yahoo?
- Trevor
btw did microsoft ever define .Net?
- Craig Ritchie
from twhirl
I do feel sorry a little bit, even if they didn't manage to do one thing right in the last few years, maybe because I followed them since almost day 1 and because once the MS bid was announced it was obvious that it's The End.
- Naor Mark
@Craig - I really don't think so. I mean, we all understand its implementation, but as for a definition? Not so much. The same is true for Yahoo. I know it's there, I know what it does...but it doesn't mean that I see any real value in it.
- Bradley McSpinn
glass is half full - nice :)
- mike "glemak" dunn
Can someone please put me in charge there? I would clean house and get them focused on some kind of core business.
- Shawn Farner
Agreed, Robert. I've got some friends working on very cool stuff whether it's startups, VC, or bigger roles at smaller companies. The Yahoos I worked with are smart, creative, talented professionals. We're going to see some great innovation coming from Yahoo alumni soon. P.S. Glad you like our idea ;)
- Ryan Kuder
Microsoft is a terrible business - we need a little sympathy for Yahoo. Slow extinction or being taken over by MS are hardly rich options. And it's hard to trigger the sense of crisis to fire your board.
- winckel
I could never understand why Yahoo had any value from the beginning. It suprises me little that they in a downward spiral.
- Brian Sullivan
Whether Microsoft gets Yahoo! or Yahoo! merges with someone else (read Time Warner or MySpace) it will be good for search in general and hopefully create an entity that can challenge Google in a meaningful way
- gregory
I don't understand *why* Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo. Yahoo can't even figure out what they are. E-mail? Search engine? Social service? Not to mention the only thing that is lucrative is the search engine. The only way I can see someone benefit from buying Yahoo is if they completely re-vamp what Yahoo does, focus on one category and, market it!
- Candace
yahoo jumped the shark when it started being proud of releasing of the YUI libraries. companies that start treating 'helper tools' as if they were new functionality are on the downward side of the curve.
- MikeAmundsen
@Mike, as a developer, the YUI libraries and developer tools are where the value of YHOO resides for me. I don't personally use any of their consumer products.
- Sprague D
@Sprague D, question - does YUI increase your use of YHOO content/data? or do you use it primarily for your own content/data? my question is aimed at the monetary benefits accrued to YHOO from YUI. I see solid benefits from YHOO's work on Squid, but not YUI.
- MikeAmundsen
Mike, I use their tools in projects that don't leverage their data or content. Point taken.
- Sprague D
YUI libraries are the only thing worthwhile coming from that wretched place.
- Patrick Sweeney
What kills me most about Yahoo is that they had so many of the most interesting and exciting places to go on the internet but then never fully realized that potential. I still can't believe that they paid Terry Semel more money than any CEO in the US in 2006 for such a miserable failure of a job. Pure stupidity. The board that oversaw that needs to go.
- Thomas Hawk
But can you imagine a Microsoft owned Flickr..?
- Sheila Thomson
I'm constantly amazed at how many CEO's get paid for bad jobs. And how often the board will cut employee salaries but not their own. Just look at the disaster at AT&T during the 90s: http://moourl.com/odp4g
- Jason Shultz
from twhirl
Yahoo! isn't over yet.
- edythe
I'm just happy I don't own stock anymore, though maybe when it bottoms out, I'll buy in.
- clarke thomas
Where's that price history graph post...
- Michael W. May
from twhirl
@Sheila, a Flickr with integrated support for PhotoSynth, Expression Media asset management and Live Mesh sharing/collaboration? Sounds good to me.
- Sprague D
Hey look at the bright side for Yahoo though, their stock was up over 10% today. Helluva day!
- Thomas Hawk
please no MSFT in Yahoo! please no masses of arses!!!
- A.T.
@Michael, this one? http://friendfeed.com/e...
- Sprague D
hehe, yep
- Michael W. May
from twhirl
One thing I don't like about Disqus and other comment aggregation services: some conversations I just want to have happen on a particular blog and I don't want to bring in FriendFeeders in there. It really is causing me to rethink where I put comments and what audience I'm speaking to when I do.
Nikpay, Rob Diana, Hao Chen and 19 other people liked this
Anyone else find that having Disqus on a blog changes their commenting behavior? Sometimes I want to talk to the audience on a particular blog but I don't want to bring a new audience into the conversation from somewhere else.
- Robert Scoble
Why don't you want to bring in FriendFeeders?
- Chrimmus Tad
Tad: because you don't have any loyalty to that particular blogger and you probably haven't been following that particular blogger. For me to bring you in would pollute the conversation that's going on over there.
- Robert Scoble
I have the reverse issue. Sometimes I want to give more depth and "tell more secrets" to my FF friends because it feels more intimate in here. Spreading that back out to the blogosphere is the only thing that gives me pause occasionally.
- Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
It's like if I have a conversation in my living room and there's a bunch of people in my dining room who are having a different conversation. It takes a lot of energy to join those two groups of people and get them onto the same conversation.
- Robert Scoble
Mark: yeah, I feel that too. I spend more time with you all and I know you all are far more up to date on what I'm thinking than some audiences off in the long tail of blogs.Good point.
- Robert Scoble
Oh yeah, because comments are so important and so pristine as to be something more important than water that should never be polluted. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Easy solution: don't feed your disqus stream into friendfeed.
- Robert Seidman
pollute the conversation? what the hell? this is the internet, not your living room
- Tyler Gillies
Interesting thought Robert. I'd only go to the blog if it happened to be something in which I'm interested. The other thing is this: bloggers love traffic and comments. Are some unruly FriendFeeders getting rude with a blogger?
- Hutch Carpenter
Hmm, maybe I'm not explaining myself right. I will do some thinking on this and maybe do a video explaining why I sometimes don't like all my conversations joined into one place.
- Robert Scoble
uh oh - is that the tide i see out there?
- Allen Stern
I am dealing with that question, trying to decide whether to put FriendFeed, Tumblr or other feeds on any of my three main blogs. Two are business blogs with different audiences/readers; the third is my arts blog. Even though it's cool to have FriendFeed, etc. on blogs, I don't think all the entries speak to each specific readership. Plus, these feeds add more clutter to the blog page. I want the readers to focus on my posts, readers' comments, and pages with my own content.
- Cathryn Hrudicka
Robert, I've only recently started using Disqus on my own blog, so it's a bit hard to comment. One thing I will say, though: Disqus feeds into FriendFeed can be very difficult to follow. Why? Because you miss the context of the original blog post and the preceding comments, any of which may have had an influence on what someone says in their own comment. Because we're used to seeing the info collected together at the end of a blog post, we treat Disqus commenting just as we would any blog commenting...
- Mark Dykeman
So remove Disqus from the list of services you pull into FriendFeed, and just post a link to the blog post itself if and when you want to call something to the attention of your FriendFeed audience. Am I missing something? Not to mention the fact that just posting the comment here without the original context of the blog post really doesn't accomplish anything constructive other than pointing back to the article.
- Ken Sheppardson
I think what Robert is trying to say is that people reading the blog will have one type of conversation and FFers will have a different conversation. Combining the two crowds changes the conversation entirely.
- Rob Diana
I think I catch what you're saying and I generally agree... but, you are commenting on someone else's blog, so they set the rules... in this case, they installed Disqus, thus opening up the potential for the sort of dilution you're referring to. Perhaps if you comment anonymously (i.e., not logged into Disqus) then your comments won't be broadcast to your FriendFeed.
- Kenneth LeFebvre
I don't have this problem. Maybe I am lucky that all my real-life friends could not care less about social media and the folks I interact with online (not offense intended) but that means everyone I chat with is on an even playing field for me. In fact, I like following people who disagree with me on here and my blog so that I get a better idea of their perspective.
- Phil G
@Rob - Except the FriendFeed conversation occurs here, right? When I go to the blog and comment via Disqus, I'm commenting there, at the blog. In the flow of the comments there. Right?
- Hutch Carpenter
The friendfeeders are not likely to be a problem yet. But if you end up being followed by as many as follow you at twitter & many comment, that could be a problem for the blogerati. Friendfeed, however, is more democratizing than Twitter. On twitter, if I tweet, the powers that be are defaulted to not hear me, no matter how helpful my comment might be. If a question is asked and I respond, if I am not followed by Robert, unless he changed the default setting, he won't hear my response to his tweet.
- iSteeve
I think it's going to be a hell of a challenge for Disqus and the other aggregators to pull all of these comments together in a way that makes sense. We're just scratching the surface on this.
- Mike Doeff
Sorry, last thought garbled by laptop crash. What I wanted to say is that Disqus comments in FriendFeed are like hearing one side of a telephone conversation because you miss the context and preceeding comments. Maybe we should take more care in adding context to Disqus comments because of the ways they get sliced and diced now.
- Mark Dykeman
I have no such worries. Conversations may occur in my Disqus, in my FriendFeed, wherever. If Steven Hodson makes an observation about my content, conversations may occur in HIS Disqus or FriendFeed. Andy C may start a Jaiku thread. Eddykins may write a Usenet post to alt.another.dumb.idea. Someone may write something on a bathroom wall. If I ever wrote something that started so many conversations, I wouldn't be complaining about the lack of control. Just my opinion.
- Ontario Emperor
from fftogo
@Mark - so Robert's issue is more about folks commenting on his Disqus comment here, eh? I could see that.
- Hutch Carpenter
Re lack of context of Disqus entries in FriendFeed - that's why FriendFeed has links, so you can see the entire conversation and the post that started it.
- Ontario Emperor
from fftogo
@Ontario - true, but you do have to leave FriendFeed to find that context. It's an extra step.
- Mark Dykeman
this concern doesn't make sense to me, unless in a private forum all conversations online are reachable in some way, whether done on a normal blogging platform's commenting system or in one of the many comment aggregators - if you don't want that to occur, don't comment online...
- mike "glemak" dunn
Hutch: no, it's more about having separate audiences that are passionate about different things. For instance, let's say I participate in a religious blog, and a political blog, and a business blog. Those have three separate audiences. If I mix them all together I'm going to be much more careful about what I discuss than if I participate in all three separately.
- Robert Scoble
Robert-After all this time of blabbing on the Internet you're starting to be concerned about what you say and where? Hmm, OK. You of course can opt out on having your Disqus comments fed here. Just sayin.
- Mark Forman
ah audience related - got it, ok clearer - i'll be participating in an mit media lab session on this exact focus next month coincidentally...
- mike "glemak" dunn
I see where you're coming from Robert: a Friendfeeder is like a Digger or a StumbleUponer: they only have the context of a single post and the resulting comments, not the whole corpus of the blog (unless they're really enterprising). A lot of times a post from a blog, when taken out of context, seems much different than if it was in context. And yeah, specifically with religion, I've been trying to keep that separate from Friendfeed, too. There's only so many times I can have the same "Religion sucks" disc.
- Mark Trapp
Mark: I've always been careful about what I say and where. That's why I was able to work for two huge companies and not get fired.
- Robert Scoble
So remove Disqus from the list of services you pull into FriendFeed, and just post a link to the blog post itself if and when you want to call something to the attention of your FriendFeed audience. Am I missing something? Not to mention the fact that just posting the comment here without the original context of the blog post really doesn't accomplish anything constructive other than pointing back to the article.
- Ken Sheppardson
Is it actually possible for someone to not have sufficient context in this case? Isn't all your published work appearing on FriendFeed? Moreover, what's the likelihood that random readers would comment?
- J T. Ramsay
Robert, perhaps a solution to your issue would be if one can selectively decide in Disqus which comments you want to send out in your Disqus feed and which comments should show on the original blog only. Disqus could implement this with a simple "keep this comment here only" checkbox underneath the comment entry box. When checked, that particular comment won't form part of your Disqus RSS feed.
- Dewald Pretorius
Robert, it almost sounds like the guy who made 3 prom dates and he doesn't want them to meet... in the end they always will. I imagine some careful control over participation in certain areas might delay that convergence, but ultimately I don't know that it can be avoided.
- Scott Bannon
from twhirl
I like that a lot Dewald. Elegant and solves the problem exactly.
- Mark Trapp
Robert-If that's the case you can do as I do and use different blogs to comment/talk about different themes. Much better control on your own blog than just cast out onto the Net(Disqus,here,Twitter,etc.)
- Mark Forman
dewald: i do this in ff when i reply to some twitters and decide not to push back to twitter as a reply but rather leave it as just a ff comment
- mike "glemak" dunn
Scott: you are probably right! :-) Which is why I'll get over this particular fear. Or, more likely, I'll only "date" one of these issues (which is how I solved the problem today -- I just thought it was interesting that I am changing which blogs I comment on, because they are likely to get brought in here).
- Robert Scoble
Perhaps one day each comment can be tagged to feed the right services in the right conversations with the right licenses to show up wherever works best for whomever is interested. There's probably a few conversations elsewhere on the net related to this one, but they'll never meet because they don't seek each other out by topic, rank, intent or other factor.
- Kawika Holbrook
What is a "friend of Robert Scoble." Why do people post that?
- Bruce Curley
Robert: I totally see where you're coming from (or at least I *think* I do). Folks who interact with numerous different social circles have to be able to engage and interact with those circles whilst not disrupting the synergy and ecology of the other circles; even if they *seem* to be related. I visually see these social circles as "communication channels" that can get easily distorted if there is feedback caused by another closely situated channel - like when my blackberry gets too close to my polycom.
- Susan Beebe
I'd say that someone who puts Disqus on his blog is by definition inviting the consequences. I think this is one of the advantages of Disqus. And If you don't like that consequence, the party to lobby is not Disqus or FF, it's the blogger who decided to use Disqus.
- Brent Logan
All in all, I think that this is why "moderation" exists. I don't know of any comment system that doesn't offer moderation. IMHO, if you publish something on the web, you should be prepared to have a crowd to comment on it, and sometimes, won't you agree? that's why we publish things. So Robert, a dating advice from someone who used to date 4 at once (what a shame! I was 18 ) take her to somewhere where you'll never be seen :p
- directeur
from NoiseRiver
Great discussion, guys. Lots of helpful nuggets in here. Thanks!
- Daniel Ha
"let's say I participate in a religious blog, and a political blog, and a business blog." Actually, while I have some vertical blogs that are laser focused on specific topics, my most popular blog is my personal blog, which covers religion, politics, business, and several other categories. Often there's rampant cross-pollination; just today I inserted a video of Chromeo's "Fancy...
more...
- Ontario Emperor
You know, if Twitter replaced their "Something is wrong..." graphic with a page full of AdSense banners, they'd be gazillionaires!
Rob Williams, JP Moore, Mitchell Tsai and 64 other people liked this
I know i would never click a banner. Now if they redirected all that traffic :-)
- Mike Fruchter
Good idea!!!!!!!!
- Joe Dawson
I doubt Twitter would welcome ads for Jaiku and Pownce on their 'we're not working right now' page... :-)
- Kevin Fox
Title: Twitter's Secret Monetization Plan
- Eric Florenzano
maybe a 302 temp redirect to friendfeed, people need to communicate what do u know
- Dobromir Hadzhiev
from twhirl
Now if someone hacked the Something is Wrong page to redirect to FF, that would be something
- Kevin Bondelli
That page should just re-direct users to FriendFeed automatically....save me a click!
- Susan Beebe
"Looking for Something is Technically Wrong? Try www.xyzzy.com" "Something is Technically Wrong - now 50% off!!! (click here)" "Something is Technically Wrong - Now with FREE SHIPPING" "Discount on Something is Technically Wrong, no prescription required" "Widest Selection on Something is Technically Wrong" "Something is Technically Wrong - Safe, Proven, Guaranteed Quality" "50+ Flavors of Something is Technically Wrong to choose from - Factory Direct"
- Karim
some kind of homeostatic equilibrium. if they're down, they make gazillions and buy new servers. then they're up and continue to grow until the new downtime...
- Benedikt Koehler
Here is my Twitter 404 page http://tinyurl.com/4b63s4
- Kevin Bondelli
LOL Kevin, that is *genius.*
- Karim
Kevin that is to funny!
- Mike Fruchter
Kevin's page FTW.
- Dana Franks
from twhirl
I am waiting for a phone call from Twitter trying to hire me to do their 404s from now on. I think I'll be waiting for a while.
- Kevin Bondelli
And just like that a new business model was born
- Marco(aureliusmaximus)
@Kevin As long as you're not waiting for a *tweet* with a job offer...
- Benedikt Koehler
@benedikt Touche. Maybe I should start a "Potential Twitter Employees" FF room.
- Kevin Bondelli
Now why didn't I think of that?
- Shawn Kirsch
Kevin, I like that idea. I'm sure that room would be bustling in a week or two.
- Ryne Nelson
Ryne, maybe we could use this room: http://friendfeed.com/rooms...
- Benedikt Koehler
lol. Good one.
- Capn' One Eye - adrift
If you don't know my habits, I read, blog for 2 hours before doing any email, or any work stuff every morning, budget time like money.
Ruby Sinreich, Michael Groner, Todd Mundt and 13 other people liked this
Impressive. You must have a whole process that comes out of this. Would love to learn more.
- Alex Williams
Yep, I do the same for the most part. Need to pay yourself first :)
- Michael Gartenberg
Michael, I hope you blog about how you manage your time.
- Jeremiah Owyang
Michael and Jeremiah, that sounds right: Here's my social media consumption workflow: http://tinyurl.com/5l3m32 I'm usually working on this for an hour in the morning before opening the work e-mail.
- Louis Gray
how much would you guys guesstimate you spend on keeping up throughout the day?
- Deva Hazarika
I tend to blog at night for about an hour, and during coffee breaks - getting a post done in an hour is quite a discipline
- Broadstuff
from Alert Thingy
I like the idea of having a defined workflow for media consumption. I need to sit down and try this myself. My big problem is too many RSS feeds. I blame Scoble. :)
- ha3rvey (just a friend)
"budget time like money." I started thinking that way awhile back as well. (Well, most of the time.) Made a huge difference to my time mgmt.
- Phil Crissman
Deva, keep up with FriendFeed? I refresh once every 15 minutes or so; more often if I think about it and I have the free time. It's a good way to break my brain away from whatever I'm doing for a a minute or so. I don't force a FF interruption if I'm really busy or need to focus but the tab gets refreshed often enough.
- Akiva Moskovitz
@Deva, it's about breaking it into chunks. I'd say about 10 minutes of each hour catching up on RSS, Twitter, FriendFeed, and keeping the laptop when I get home to casually get the rest.
- Louis Gray
I do pretty much the same thing first thing in the morning
- Sally Church
from Alert Thingy
@Louis i assume that means keeping it closed for the other 50 minutes, not checking for a minute once every six minutes? interruptions and context-switching required are the biggest productivity killers
- Deva Hazarika
Aside from the up-front effort and the casual availability in the evening, it can vary. Like anyone's work schedule, hours can get chewed up in meetings, with zero access to that stuff, but at other times, I can be working on something in Outlook, Word, etc. and still have a Google Reader or FriendFeed tab open in the browser. I'm not arguing in favor of continuous partial attention, but instead in favor of continuous parallel attention. (and yes, I made that term up and intend to trademark it...)
- Louis Gray
@louis looking good: No results found for "continuous parallel attention". I'm both skeptical and fascinated. Think you might be interested in doing a talk on that to top academics in information/communication/attention and big corporate researchers and CIOs at some point?
- Deva Hazarika
Louis Gray, sir, you are a genius. 'Continuous Parallel Attention'. Absolute genius.
- Akiva Moskovitz
Continuous Parallel Attention: My New Reality http://tinyurl.com/6s3cy6
- Louis Gray
wow blog for 2 hours?!?!
- Daryl Tay
Wow - haven't been hanging out here much lately, and I'm amazed at the difference. The "ff native" posts in my feed have gone through the roof compared to a month ago. Anyone else seeing this?
TranceMist, Ontario Emperor, Michael Groner and 5 other people liked this
yes
- Robert Scoble
the comments have blown up even more than the ff native posts
- Philip Evans
from twhirl
totally
- Michael VanDervort
Yep. Especially over the last few days.
- Kevin Cearns
yup
- Alexander Falk
Yep, this week things have REALLY taken off (thank you twitter outages).
- Vince DeGeorge
Sure, Twitter's been totally flakey.
- Daniel Shaw
Yes. The Twitter outages sent me over here.
- Brenda Young
YES!! Yippeee everybody hopped on the band-wagon and we're having more fun now cuz YOU'RE all here! ;-)
- Susan Beebe
amazing how creative a group of people can be...we want our conversations and we want them now!
- John Deisher
from Alert Thingy
If there's any truth to the Twitter alternative theory, and it seems to make sense, it's amazing that FriendFeed *could* be a primary beneficiary of Twitter downtime backlash. I would have expected Pownce or Jaiku or some thing "twitter-like" to get the majority of the traffic.
- Todd McKinney
I would really like it if FF replaced twitter through "FF native" posts. My only problem with FF is that gaining friends seems to be more difficult. On Twitter I regularly gain friends. I'm still new to FF, but I have only 3.
- Michael Groner
Michael, I think I just improved your ratio by about 25% (or 33, depending on how you do accrual). Nice to meet you :)
- Todd McKinney
part of this is due to today's twit-out.
- Ontario Emperor
Twitter's loss is FFs gain
- Jacob Nahin
I need mobile friendfeed. m.friendfeed.com Bret and Paul when do we get it?
Mitchell Tsai, Tim FitzGerald, James and 35 other people liked this
friendfeed works pretty darned good on the iPhone/iPod Touch
- Chrimmus Tad
I've found that Friendfeed only half works on my mobile browser
- Mel Francis
It works ok on an iPhone, but a more mobile-friendly version (like Google Reader or Twitter clients like Hahlo) would be easier and more fun to use.
- Bryan Landers
I can use it with my BlackBerry browser, but limited functionality. For instance, I can't "like" anything. I also can't add friends.
- ha3rvey (just a friend)
Loic, instead why not build a web/ mobile version of Twhirl? Or even better, make it a download for mobiles
- Duncan Riley
from twhirl
I agree there should be a m.friendfeed.com. But with MojiPage (http://sb.mojipage.com/u/wil1/) you can get about 3/4 of FF on your phone... mobile rendering, Like and Comment links. But still no Share Something or threaded conversations... unles I just can't figure it out. Why did FF not think to have m.FF?
- Mark Arend
from Alert Thingy
I use FF all the time on my iPhone.
- Francine Hardaway
Duncan, we should talk about that!
- Loic Le Meur
I would love to see a mobile optimized version of FF. Although FF does mostly work on an iPhone, it's not the most compelling experience. Methinks it would be a lot more user friendly if there was an actual mobile and/or iPhone version of FF available for use.
- Scott Jarkoff
@BretTaylor @Paul Buchheit - Hey Loic is asking a terrific question, which echos my previous request! I've been asking about a mobile version "m.friendfeed.com" site too. When can we get this?? ;-)
- Susan Beebe
While we're on the topic of FF "feature requests," FF definitely needs some kind of @user reply support for comments which mention folks in the manner @susan just mentioned @bret and @paul. Otherwise, unless I'm mistaken, those people will never see the comment and have no idea something is being said "to" them.
- Scott Jarkoff
I think FriendFeed looks good on an iPod Touch.
- Mike Reynolds
There is no reason someone couldn't make their own m.friendfeed.com. The API exposes everything you'd need (comments/likes/etc). I've considered doing it myself....
- Benjamin Golub
I think the @ feature is the biggest feature missing from ff. Its how I find new people on twitter. It really doesn't work as well on ff.
- Nelson de Witt
I know everyone love teh iPhone but what about those of us that don't have it and won't be getting one? :T
- Jennie Lin
Opera browser on the blackberry renders it pretty well
- Tim Connors
try this: m.hellotxt.com
- Mauro Del Rio
from twhirl
Yes I've already suggested that. We need a mobile friendly friendfeed.
- Svartling
I would have to agree the m.friendfeed.com for my Treo would make me a happy camper.
- Mathew A. Koeneker
Come on guys. Make a mobile/iPhone optimized version of FF already.
- James
We do need an optimized mobile/iPhone page for friendeed. The regular site is ok but it's not quite good enough....unless you want eye strain headaches..
- Mike Lewis
Happy to know it works well on the iphone but I only use a blackberry these days. This reminds me I want the new one!
- Loic Le Meur
from twhirl
If I had this mobile, I'd never get anything done!!
- Charlie Anzman
I use a new BlackBerry Curve 8830 and FriendFeed does NOT work on it. twitter does... come'on FriendFeed we want MORE free features! ;-)~
- Susan Beebe
The FF login page breaks on Opera Mini 4.1. Don't know about the rest of FF yet.
- Morton Fox
Does FF work in browsers that don't support AJAX? Progressive enhancement is a frontend engineering best practice that makes it possible for any website to work in a mobile browser without a separate subdomain. AJAX should be a "bonus" for browsers that support it, not a requirement for the site's basic functionality.
- Jason Wehmhoener
I've been talking about this for a while, we definitely need some way to get functionality on all mobile devices. Great it works on an iPhone but we haven't all got iPhones. If we're not going to have m.ff then we need a mobile client that covers ALL bases.
- Colin Walker
No, seriously, not "m." - doing it properly is so much better. The mobile web needs to die. There is just 'the web'.
- Tom Morris
second that. both that we need it, and that we dont need m. we just need a version that knows where its shown on. or some app like twibble for FF.
- kosmar
Wow it sure be hard to read the volume of content on any mobile device
- Tim FitzGerald
Student dumps a gallon of hot water into a bucket of LIQUID NITROGEN? [short video] - http://reddit.com/goto...
Seth, Dan Hsiao, Keith Pelczarski and 14 other people liked this
Why More Stress Is Not Inevitable - http://www.feld.com/blog...
Atul Arora, Akiva Moskovitz, Hutch Carpenter and 4 other people liked this
Sez Brad Feld in the post: "Decide that you aren't so important that the world can't wait 24 hours for you - and give yourself a short break." Best advice I've heard in ages.
- Ginger Makela Riker
Exactly. Stress is caused by poor management of your own importance.
- Vince DeGeorge
Twhirl with Friendfeed support final version 0.8 just pushed http://www.twhirl.org/ what a day!!!
Johnny Sewell, Baard @ Pixum, Joe Dawson and 38 other people liked this
This is soooo not ready for primetime. Looks great, but I cannot get the damn thing to work properly!
- Corvida
from Alert Thingy
Loic, this looks great to me. So far, no problems, and the pic droplet and twitpic integration is awesome!
- Daniel Rothamel
from twhirl
Friends/Followers isn't working for me in Twitter client. Am I missing something?
- Ellen Moore
from twhirl
the screen w/ replies, directs, etc.
- Ellen Moore
from twhirl
great - except I keep getting alerts for this message over and over and over and over again!
- designdyke
from twhirl
every time someone posts a reply...
- designdyke
from twhirl
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I need to update!!
- Mike Lewis
Using Twhirl Version 0.8... It's great! The only thing I would like more is the ability to use one feed which would push FriendFeed and Twitter into the same stream and allow me to post to both from the same stream!
- Dustin Mooney
from twhirl
Great job Loic!
- Elliott Plack
from twhirl
hey super ! alert thingy vs twhirl
- net
from Alert Thingy
Good stuff - nice addition! I would love to have it in a single integrated window with some nice filtering, but the addition of FF is a nice start.
- Kevin Johnson
Excellent Loïc, un billet en parle déjà chez moi ( http://blog.accessoweb.info ) Il ne manque plus qu'à réunir les 2 modules
- philippe
from Alert Thingy
Jaimini both streams from Twitter and Friendfeed in the same windows is planned soon
- Loic Le Meur
from twhirl
seems to be working very well.
- Jeremy Kunz
from twhirl
thank you all for your feedback. @Rick Mahn definitely looking on to this one
- Loic Le Meur
works great for me here!
- Jerome Gotangco
So far it is working great.
- Chris Patterson
from twhirl
Excellent! Works great!
- Andrew Ruess
from twhirl
Can I suggest to make it an option to combine the windows? I would want the feedfriend to be separate to my twitter - I also want to be able to decide to have one open and one closed. Like you can now for different twitter accounts. Sure make it an option to do so but also not to.
- Dave Gray
Working well most of the time. The friend feed window sometimes locks up when I try to navigate between friends and any of the other view buttons. OS X 10.5 Intel. Anyone else have those problems?
- Jeremy Kunz
from twhirl
Awesome. Do I still need Alert Thingy?
- Rick Farris
from twhirl
Agree with David, I'd love to see this integrated into the same window as twitter.
- Richard Giles
Seems fine here - no problems yet
- Dennis Howlett
I like Alert Thingy's UI better but if twhirl goes single-window, it'll be hard to beat.
- Akiva Moskovitz
from twhirl
I must say, I do prefer Alert Thingy (still). It looks prettier and i like that it expands comments in its own window instead of going to the FF site like twhirl. If I wanted that, I'd be using the site not twhirl. Still, the first client to integrate twitter/FF into one stream, and eliminate duplicate tweets will get my vote
- David Adam
from twhirl
If you follow too many Twitters and FriendFeeds, there is a need to have two windows to sort out everything. How about having the option to use one or two windows. Two windows works for me.
- Freddie Avalos
from twhirl
Interesting point Freddie makes. Perhaps remove the Twitter messages from FF if you allow merged Windows. That way you only see the Twitter messages once.
- Richard Giles
from twhirl
Perhaps the combined window could be an option. I don't know which I would prefer. Right now, I think I like the two windows. But, as others have said, it will be great when we are able to filter out Twitter messages so they don't show up on FriendFeed window as well as the Twitter window.
- Gregory Pittman
from twhirl
Loic, please get Twhirl to open links in a new tab, not a new window. Skype can do it.
- Mick Liubinskas
this is exhausting!
- Sarah Perez
Why does Twhirl insist on using IE instead of my default browser (Flock)? is it only me? gngngngn
- Kamath (नमः)
from twhirl
Thanks for the release! I wish it has "per web service" filtering just like MySocial 24x7. That would make the thing much more useful.. :)
- Leon Ho
Not sure if this is the best place to comment about this, but on MacOSX 10.5.2, there's some weird kerning issues in the FF comment box, specifically with the 'w' eg where is that space coming from - http://skitch.com/jordanb...
- Jordan Brock
from twhirl
would also be great to collapse a FF notification, because this particular one looks like it is going to consume the top of my FF window for a while, and I'd like to see others :)
- Richard Giles
from twhirl
So what's it gonna be, thwirl or alert thingy? both have pretty much the same features now I guess..
- Leo Koivulehto
from Alert Thingy
Hidden entries integration keeps me with Alert Thingy for the moument. I'll also add my voice to having the option to combine windows, auto removing the dupes, and expanding comments in the client.
- Tony, Paradox of FF
from Alert Thingy
And I really hope one or the other lets you sort by service soon.
- Tony, Paradox of FF
from Alert Thingy
I'd like to be able to filter by friend or by service. Like ffapp's greasemonkey script http://www.ffapps.com/filters/
- David Adam
cool
- accesine
Also, both clients are missing an in client player for the things like YouTube favorites and Seesmic posts. Come to think of it, the only reason I end up keeing either client running is for the desktop notifications. Other than that the Friendfeed website itself is still a much better experience. But I guess its all still new and will be sorted out over time.
- Tony, Paradox of FF
Not a lot of luck getting this to work. Comes up fine but doesn't update the screen, unable to open anything.
- 2WheelTech
Twhirl 0.8 work GREAT for me :)
- Scott STEPHEN
from twhirl
I have replaced Alerty Thing with Twhirl. Good acquisition!
- Jeremy Abbett
Dropping comments direct into FF from the Twhirl client would be a nice addition
- Dennis Howlett
@Dennis This is already working. What do you mean ?
- Scott STEPHEN
from twhirl
@Scott - how? I can't see any way to do that as I can on the web or with AltertThingy
- Dennis Howlett
aaah - just found it. Very light grey in comment area. FF post area
- Dennis Howlett
from twhirl
@Dennis ;)
- Scott STEPHEN
from twhirl
great, looks cool!
- Timo Heuer
from twhirl
Twhirl is bugging out on me here ! Scroll to far down the FF window and it disables all the buttons and freezes updates ?
- David Smith
from twhirl
very cool indeed
- Baard @ Pixum
Funny: FriendFeed keeps working even after Twitter fails. I'm liking FriendFeed more and more lately. Twitter better watch out.
Vince DeGeorge, Mike Reynolds, David Smith and 17 other people liked this
Is your Twitter dead today? I'm following you but not getting your Tweets today.
- Cathy Brooks
I am glad I started using FriendFeed based on one of your blog posts
- Fred Grott
My Twitter is not dead, but people aren't getting my messages. Twitter is messed up.
- Robert Scoble
I get your messages via FriendFeed though. Anyone else find that odd? ...via AlertThingy
- Michael Koby
I'm getting most my tweets on FriendFeed (I think), but definitely a much smaller percentage through Twitter :( ...via AlertThingy
- Jennifer Van Grove
@Scobleizer friendfeed and Gtalk are the only way I know some people are still alive!
- Christopher Dickens
Yes I found the odd too! I can also get your messages from IM. Now I can only trust IM & Alertthingy (and FriendFeed of course) ...via AlertThingy
- Christine Yang
I didn't know Twitter was "down" until I saw the Tweets about it on FriendFeed lol. Ignorance is bliss. ...via AlertThingy
- Bwana ☠
Yeah, I think it would be awesome if we could post things to both Twitter and Friend Feed at the same time, and then Friend Feed would show it as one entry
- Tyler (Chacha)
yeah I am liking ff more than twitter now. I wish there was an easier way to import twitter contacts to here. ...via AlertThingy
- ilteris
Check Mashable for Twitter fix. ...via AlertThingy
- Stan Schroeder
@ilteris http://friendfeed.com/e...
- Alejandro
Same here, my twits are getting thru via FriendFeed.
- Mike Reynolds
@prototypeinvest can't see the real value in FriendFeed. Hint: IT FREAKING WORKS. Second: It aggregates. Third: It's more fun than Twitter.
Bruno Afonso, Jason Wehmhoener, Frederic and 13 other people liked this
I like the first reason/hint. Actually working is an important part ! ...via AlertThingy
- Bwana ☠
Spot on!, the easy of use and aggregation of FriendFeed keeps me connected, gives me the feeds I want and results in a net gain in time per day from the efficiencies it provides
- Fred Neil
Okay, I like FF, too (obviously), but net gain in time?! Dude, I wanna be smoking what you're smoking :P
- Adam Lasnik
It does work and it's far more interesting than Twitter ...via AlertThingy
- Sally Church
I never spend time on Twitter, I'm spending time on FriendFeed every day.
- Thomas Hawk
'Third: It's more fun than Twitter.' Yet, you're using Twitter to post this ;-)
- Rubin Sfadj
I'm surprised with all the "Friend Feed is a better Twitter" that no one is writing about my tools to import your tweeps http://is.gd/7Ll
- engtech
they are two different things that complement very well.
- Alejandro
Friend Feed is awesome for being able to combine all of the places you put up content into a single feed
- Tyler (Chacha)
@jonezy click on the thwirl logo then add friendfeed account and get remote key from FF, it should work. @scottstephen Adobe Air download1st
Nir Ben Yona, Derek van Vliet, Michael Groner and Chris Jones liked this
I would lke to see a unified Twitter+Twhirl window. FriendFeed sends "Friends of Friends" messages, which isn't clear in Twhirl. I'd prefer to see user avatars rather that service icone (that may be a FriendFeed limitation). Other than that, love it. ...via twhirl
- Yanik Proulx
this is great ...via twhirl
- Bart Mroz
posting this from twhirl! I agree with yanik though, at least an option for an integrated timeline would be great ...via twhirl
- Chris Jones
yes ! that's working great job twhirl !! ...via twhirl
- Frédérick 2 Baro
I would also like one unified timeline, with options to filter for just twitter or just FF items. I switched back to Alert Thingy for my FF client because, as far as I could tell, I can't post FF updates from twhirl. I can only comment or like specific items ...via twhirl
- David Adam
Sorry, I meant a Twitter+FriendFeed unified timeline ...via twhirl
- Yanik Proulx
great job. it would be nice if the friendfeed and twitter timelines could be integrated into one and have the redundant ones filtered out. ...via twhirl
- Derek van Vliet
Nice update. One request, is there a way to make the comment text larger? ...via twhirl
- Michael Groner
pas tout à fait évidant comme processus d'installation, mais bravo à votre gang pour avoir réagit si vite! ...via twhirl
- Eric Baillargeon
works for me, writing it up on my blog now ...via twhirl
- Tom Raftery
this is the right move; as I´m switching more to friendfeed I can still use twhirl; but alert thingy is pretty good for Friendfeed... ...via twhirl
- Torsten Eckert
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