Twitter's New Feature Help to Track Whereabouts of Tweeters

Twitter is adding location to its globally popular microblogging service in a move that will let people see where tweets are coming from.

Twitter is adding location to its globally popular microblogging service in a move that will let people see where "tweets" are coming from.

"We're gearing up to launch a new feature which makes Twitter truly location-aware," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said in a message posted Thursday at the San Francisco-based Internet firm's website.

Twittering Parents Force Withdrawal Of Offensive T-shirts
Outraged Australian parents have succeeded in forcing an Australian clothing firm to withdraw a range of children’s t-shirts carrying offensive slogans.

"A new API (application programming interface) will allow developers to add latitude and longitude to any tweet."

Accurate "tweet-level" location data would let people switch from tracking messages based on individuals or topics to following microblogging by neighborhood or city, according to Stone.

"It's easy to imagine how this might be interesting in an event like a concert or something more dramatic like an earthquake," Stone wrote.

School Dinner Menus Available on Twitter
Somerset County Council is planning to make school dinner menus available on the social networking site Twitter for inspection.

"There will likely be many use cases we haven't even thought of yet which is part of what makes this so exciting."

Outside software developers who create applications for Twitter will be able to experiment with the location API prior to the feature being added to the microblogging service.

Least Easy-going Celebrities on Twitter Revealed
Scientists studying postings on Twitter have put together a list of least easy-going celebrities on the popular microblogging website.

Twitter users interested in letting their whereabouts be known will need to activate the new feature, which will be "off" as a default setting. Exact location data will not be stored for extended periods, according to Twitter.

"If people do opt-in to sharing location on a tweet-by-tweet basis, compelling context will be added to each burst of information," Stone said.

Twitter Sheds E-tears for Michael Jackson
The Internet was flooded with electronic tears for Michael Jackson, with micro-blogging site Twitter notching up hundreds of tributes every minute including many from fellow celebrities.

Outside developers have been incorporating location into Twitter applications "for some time despite having access to only a rudimentary level" of support, according to the microblogging service.

"Most of the location-based projects we see are built using the simple, account-level location field folks can fill out as part of their profile," Stone said. "Since anything can be written in this field, it's interesting but not very dependable."

An everyday chatting tool for many, Twitter has also become a weapon for dissidents to circumvent censorship in places where freedom of speech is suppressed.

Source-AFP
SRM