The Anatomy of a Whale
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
By Ed Ceaser (@asdf) and Nick Kallen (@nk)Sometimes it's really hard to figure out what's causing problems in a web site like Twitter. But over time we have learned some techniques that help us to solve the variety of problems that occur in our complex web site.
A few weeks ago, we noticed something unusual: over 100 visitors to Twitter per second saw what is popularly known as "the fail whale". Normally these whales are rare; 100 per second was cause for alarm. Although even 100 per second is a very small fraction of our overall traffic, it still means that a lot of users had a bad experience when visiting the site. So we mobilized a team to find out the cause of the problem.
Face-Off: Twitter Apps For BlackBerry
09.09.29
If you’re anything like me, you probably find it easy to burn a lot of time on Twitter. It’s addictive – you get into a conversation and before you know it, it’s 10 or 15 minutes later.
One of the ways I get around Twitter overload is by doing a lot of my tweeting from my BlackBerry – heading to and from meetings; when I’m grabbing lunch; on the way to clients and so on.
Trouble is, there are plenty of these applications around. This is a quick whip-through the best three Twitter applications I’ve used:
TwitterBerry
TwitterBerry was the first Twitter application I tried for the BlackBerry. It had been a little while since I tried it before writing this post, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the changes I observed.
Pros
- Single purpose app – does what it says on the tin
- Easy to set up and configure
- New user interface lets you reply to Tweets without leaving the timeline view
- TwitPic integration
Cons
- According to reports from other people, TwitterBerry can suck the life out of your BlackBerry’s battery
- Slow to refresh updates
- TwitPic is only available when viewing pictures – can only push to TwitterBerry, rather than pull photos in
ÜberTwitter
From the moment I installed ÜberTwitter, I enjoyed its streamlined interface and more advanced options. Note: ÜberTwitter made a controversial (in some peoples’ eyes) move to introduce ads into its application a little while back, and has now released a paid ad-free version on top of the free product.
Pros
- Scrolling auto-refresh is a nice touch
- Support for multiple Twitter accounts (just one at a time)
- Allows you to take/post photos and to post videos from within the app
- Comprehensive menu options, although it can be a bit overwhelming for beginners
- Search function is very handy
- Ad-free version available for those wanting to avoid pesky ads
- Plenty of configuration options (though see cons for the flip side…)
Cons
- Auto-refresh can get irritating when first loading the application
- Keeps flipping back to the default Twitter account; irritating if you’re trying to stick with one for a bit
- ÜberTwitter can be a big memory suck on the BlackBerry – I found my device crashed or hang frequently, requiring a hard reset. Only avoided by setting the app to not run in the background (nullifying the option to have notifications of new Tweets)
- GPS enabled on posts by default; unaware users may not like this
- Configuration options seem to go on for ever – overwhelming for new users
SocialScope
SocialScope is the new kid on the block. Still in closed beta testing (and tightly controlled – they wouldn’t give me any invites to hand out along with this post), access is limited right now but will hopefully open up soon. SocialScope currently integrates with Twitter and Facebook, but bills itself as “a mobile inbox for your social networks” so I wouldn’t be surprised to see more tools added.
Pros
- Tabbed interface keeps you organized and allows access to screens without needing to use the menu
- Facebook and Twitter integrated in one interface
- Support for multiple Twitter accounts
- Less of a memory hog than ÜberTwitter – my BlackBerry has rarely crashed since switching
- Lets you easily associate a Twitter account with a BlackBerry contact – adds the username to that person’s address book entry
- Replying to messages takes you to a threaded view which lets you easily track conversations
- Search option is useful
- Notification of new Tweets means it’s easy to know if you should check in to view conversations involving you
- Intuitive, context-sensitive menu makes navigation through the app a breeze
Cons
- Facebook integration can be irritating – re-authentication bug means you need to log out then back in rather than just re-entering password
- Only supports a single Twitter account
- Has a habit of hanging while uploading photos, requiring a full (i.e. remove the battery) reset of the device to access the app again
- Access is limited right now during the closed beta testing, but that won’t be the case forever
Conclusion
Each of the applications has their pluses:
- TwitterBerry’s simplicity makes it a reasonable option for beginners;
- ÜberTwitter’s multiple accounts and comprehensive options make it a good choice for power users;
- SocialScope integrates Twitter and Facebook in an easy-to-use application.
For me, though, SocialScope wins the battle hands down. The intuitive interface, the user-friendly layout, the integration of Facebook and the easy access to photos makes it an easy winner.
ÜberTwitter certainly puts up a good fight, as evidenced by the response to my quick Twitter query (below). However, for me the additional functionality provided by SocialScope is overwhelming.
There are lots of other mobile interfaces for Twitter out there – Slandr and Dabr (hat tip: Mathew Ingram) – both web-based interfaces – are two examples. Do you use a different way of accessing Twitter on the go?
What do you think?
Response to question: "What's your favourite Twitter application for the BlackBerry?"
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Aplicaciones y recursos para sacarle partido a Twitter
por jlori el 26 Oct 2009, a las 20:26 en recopilaciones, recursos
Una selección de algunas de las aplicaciones y recursos que utilizo para obtener el máximo rendimiento de Twitter.
Búsquedas
Para buscar entre mis propios tuits uso el motor de búsqueda personalizado Mi Twitter y también la búsqueda acotada a la fuente RSS de mi cuenta de Twitter en Google Reader.
Clientes
Mi cliente favorito es TweetDeck tanto para ordenadores como para el iPhone, aunque cuando llego al tope de peticiones por hora tengo que acudir a la web de Twitter
Filtrado social
Resulta cada vez más necesaria la función de filtrado social de tu propia comunidad para jerarquizar los temas y para que no se pierda nada relevante ante la imposibilidad de estar todo el tiempo pendiente del timeline. Uso The Twitter Times y MicroPlaza y los consulto directamente por las respectivas fuentes RSS. También me interesa conocer regularmente las recomendaciones de usuarios a seguir que me sugiere Mr. Tweet (aunque no necesariamente para hacerle caso).
Fuentes RSS
Aunque no es recomendable alimentar una cuenta de Twitter de forma automatizada, mantengo por separado la cuenta @ecuaderno gestionada con TwitterFeed destinada a quienes no usan lectores de RSS y prefieren tener las actualizaciones del blog en su timeline.
Integración en el blog
Publico el último tuit justo debajo de la cabecera del blog mediante el plugin Twitter Tools. Como he contado hace poco, integro en los comentarios de cada posts los enlaces recibidos desde Twitter mediante Topsy, y accedo al escritorio de Twitter en la barra de navegación inferior del blog con Wibiya
Integración en Facebook
He programado mis tuits como estado de Facebook, configurando la Facebook Twitter Application.
Monitorización
Detecto los enlaces de entrada al blog desde Twitter mediante BackTweets que recibo por RSS. Con TwitBlock detecto y elimino los spamers y bots que se hacen pasar por followers. Para descubrir cuáles de mi tuits se han convertido en favoritos me valgo de Favstar y para saber cuáles son los posts de eCuaderno más populares en la tuitosfera me vale Topsy.
Notificaciones
En Gmail tengo programado un filtro que archiva y asigna la etiqueta Twitter a los correos que provienen de Twitter (notificaciones de nuevos followers y mensajes directos). En TweetDeck tengo habilitada la columna New Followers.
Publicación de imágenes
Aunque tengo una cuenta de Twitpic prefiero usar Posterous que además guarda las fotos en Flickr.
Widgets
Utilizo el Profile Widget de Twitter para mostrar mis últimas actualizaciones en la barra lateral de Digital Media Weblog y FriendFeed para mostrar mi actividad reciente en Blogzine.
Relacionados
- Probando plugins sociales en eCuaderno
- En Twitter tu comunidad es el mensaje
- Recursos sobre Twitter
- 10 Curiosidades de Twitter
Follow Me: @jlori
Ver otras entradas sobre: Twitter
10 comentarios
#1 Jose Luis Orihuela el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 Contando mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss
#2 Fiorella Roncal el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 RT @jlori Contando mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss
#3 TIC Tarragona el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 RT @jlori: Contando mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss
#4 Ma. Belén Etchenique el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 RT @jlori: Contando mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss. Interesantes aplicaciones!
#5 Yoriento el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 Muy útil¡ :-)
#6 Alfonso Alcantara el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 Muy útil¡ :) RT @jlori mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss
#7 pedroverdugo el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 RT @Yoriento: Muy útil¡ :) RT @jlori mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss
#8 María Villavicencio el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 RT @jlori mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss –>Bien!
#9 Samuel Negredo el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 RT @jlori Contando mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss
#10 Eder Goitia el 26 Oct 2009 a las 20:26 RT @jlori: Contando mis trucos para sacarle partido a Twitter http://tinyurl.com/ygusyss
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