TweetDeck Beta

I think it’s fair to say that the reaction to our User Streams Preview version of TweetDeck was extremely positive.

TechCrunch called it “Crack for Real-time Web Junkies”. The Next Web summarised their experience succinctly as “Twitter in real time. Mind. Blown."

The world of Twitter at true real-time really is a new and exciting place, with Tweets and alerts flying in at lightning speed, making your conversations more like instant messaging rather than asynchronous postings.

When we initially launched our User Streams Preview version we had to put in place a strict whitelisting procedure. The Twitter User Streams Preview API is still very new and we had to be very cautious about our rollout. This was in order to allow the boffins at Twitter HQ to monitor the capacity of their systems and ensure that everything didn’t go up in a puff of blue smoke once we turned our app over to the public.

Well, it seems that everything is going well at their end. So well, in fact, that they are ready to let us extend the preview to anyone that would like to try it!

So, from now on, you can just download the User Streams Preview TweetDeck through its dedicated page at http://www.tweetdeck.com/streaming/ or directly from http://www.tweetdeck.com/go/userstream. No sign-up. No waiting. Just install, run, and hop on The Deck at full-speed.

During the limited preview period we have been constantly improving, refining and ironing out the kinks to bring you the best real-time Twitter experience to date. However, this is still a preview product, so things may still break and change, but we think the advantages that you gain by having true real-time Twitter feeds makes this an essential download for anyone serious about being ahead of the game on Twitter.

Earlier this year, Guillermo, the TweetDeck bird, decided to take some of his well-earned holiday and travel to Majorca. He liked the beaches, the culture and the spoken language so much that he decided to bring some of this back to TweetDeck. Whist snoozing on the beach, Guillermo had a brainwave on how he could incorporate aspects of his holiday into TweetDeck. What if he could make the TweetDeck website available in multiple languages? Brilliant!

This holiday sparked a love for languages and a need to visit other countries, seven to be exact. From the tropical heat of Indonesia to the carnivals of Brazil, Guillermo decided that these languages had to be within Tweetdeck. His travels continued until he had been all over the world, which he conveniently documented for us:

So, we are delighted to announce that the TweetDeck website is now available in the following languages:

• Brazilian Portuguese
• Chinese Simplified
• Dutch
• German
• Indonesian 
• Japanese
• Portuguese
• Spanish

Guillermo and the TweetDeck team would like to thank all of the wonderful TweetDeck Translators that made this possible!

Oh and by the way, all of these languages and more will be coming to the TweetDeck Desktop and Mobile clients soon.... 

Signing off...

Conrad Oldcorn (Analyst @TweetDeck)

It seems like just yesterday we were using our top secret Android TweetDeck, sending mysterious test tweets and working everything into shape for a public release. Actually, it was about a week ago. Last Thursday we unleashed the first public beta of Android Tweetdeck and braced ourselves for impact. 

Things went crazy straight from the get go. An older test build somehow made its way into the wild and started a worldwide warez-tastic tour with Android early adopters. It was interesting to say the least but not quite what we were expecting. Thankfully we were planning on releasing the REAL beta the next day so the damage was minimal. It was even kind of cool to see people's early reactions (although they were picking up on some rough edges we had already polished out.)

The actual proper release went off like gangbusters. We gave out a few early copies to bloggers who were really enthusiastic about our entirely new interface. We setup our emailer to send out the first version and were slammed with 20,000 requests within a few hours. Then we sat back in the pub and eagerly watched for your reaction.

We were really happy with what we heard. For the most part everyone understood that this was the first version and there was a lot more to do. The feedback was great and fit with what we were planning to fix up, and the positive reactions got us all super excited :)

Fast forward to today. We're releasing our fourth version of the beta, fixing more bugs, incorporating more of your feedback and not slowing down a bit. Even though we haven't officially released the app yet, TweetDeck Android is generating more tweets and status updates than our 3 month old iPad app.

Today's build includes a brand new column setting page. We started working in refresh settings in the last build but this really polishes everything. You can now set individual columns with notifications, led flashing, sound and vibrate (or any combination thereof). You'll also be able to set the refresh rate per column and delete the column from this page. 

We're also starting to hook deeper into Android. We've included a share "intent" so you can send images, links and other content into TweetDeck. You'll now see TweetDeck listed when you click share in most Android apps (Gallery for instance).

This build also has support for bit.ly. If you share a link from the browser, the url will be shortened in the compose window. This is rev 1 of this integration, so expect enhancements in future builds.

You can download the new version here.

If you missed out on earlier builds here's a quick list of things we've added:

• font resizing (boy did some you want this :)
• heavy data usage optimizations
• support for more phones
• bug fixes
• lots of polish

It's really great to be developing this app in such short iterations cycles with so much feedback from our users. We're listening so keep up help!

Just to keep up the visibility on our end here are SOME of the features we'll be adding in upcoming builds as we approach 1.0 launch:

• widget
• 1.6 support
• video upload
• better support for multiple twitter accounts
• native service columns (Facebook, Buzz and Foursquare)

Also, we've had some issues with rogue entities uploading fake (or pirated) copies of our app to the official Google Android Market. We HAVEN'T released our app to the market yet, so if you see a TweetDeck in there it's fake! We're working with Google to fix this issue, but in the meantime steer clear and make sure you get your apks directly from us.

We thought it would be fun to recap some of reactions to the release from the past week. Here are some highlights:

http://gigaom.com/2010/08/14/android-this-week-tweetdeck-dell-streak-voice-actions/

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/08/11/tweetdeck-for-android-our-first-look-and-impressions/

http://androidandme.com/2010/08/applications/first-impressions-of-the-newly-minted-tweetdeck-beta/

http://www.droid-life.com/2010/08/13/review-tweetdeck-open-beta/

Finally, just a quick introduction as this is my first blog post. My name is Toby and I've been helping TweetDeck from the Betaworks office in NY. Good to meet you all and I'm sure we'll be talking soon :)

You begged. You pleaded. You offered us all manner of enticements, some of which we think may be illegal in some countries. We took this to mean that you really wanted TweetDeck on your Android device, and we agreed!

So without any further ado, we are delighted to announce that a beta version of our Android app is now officially available!

In order to receive the beta, you must visit http://www.tweetdeck.com/api/android_whitelist/ and sign in with your TweetDeck account. We will then email you further instructions and a link to download the app.

Don’t forget, even though we’ve worked really hard to make this a truly amazing app for you, it is a “beta” application. This means there may still be some kinks to iron out and more improvements will come along before we reach a full-blown launch.

So why is our Android app so different to what you have seen before?
Well, for starters, we have not just taken the well-trodden path of pulling together some basic screens and calling it an app. TweetDeck has been totally built from the ground up with a new approach. It’s still TweetDeck, with a column-based layout as you’d expect, but we have pushed the boundaries of what you should expect from an app in several ways:

Blended columns

The concept of blended columns is something new and different, but we feel that it is the way forward. Why should you have to scan across multiple columns to find out what your friends are doing? Bringing all your Twitter, Facebook, Buzz and Foursquare feeds into the same column allows you to focus more on what your friends are saying and less on where they are saying it.

The exciting new “me” column gives you an unparallelled view of how your friends are interacting with you by bringing together your Twitter mentions and likes and comments from both Facebook and Google Buzz.

Smooth, slick UI

We were determined that scrolling through your updates and columns in TweetDeck should be a joy, and we think we’ve achieved that. We optimised everything for a mobile display by trimming out anything that wasn't really necessary and focusing on making the key functions work like magic.

Logging in using your TweetDeck account is effortless. Updates scroll up and down with silky-smoothness, and “infinite scroll” means that you can keep gliding back in time to your heart’s content. Tapping the column header springs you back to the top. The update clock in the header lets you know where you are in your timeline without cluttering each update. Yellow indicators that subtly alert you to unread updates. Lots of little details that make the simple things a pleasure.

Key features at your fingertips

For each service, we wanted to make sure you had the most common features available at your fingertips. So for Twitter updates you can reply, retweet and favourite with the touch of an icon. You can comment on, and “Like”, a Facebook or Buzz update. From a Foursquare update you can check in, send a shout, leave a tip, or launch the map mode to explore check-ins and venues in the area.

Update detail views also include image and video previews, and geotagged updates include a map, so you’ll always have fast access to the cool content that your friends are sharing, without the pain of multiple clicks. Stop fumbling around with multiple apps and just breeze through your day with TweetDeck in your pocket.

Clever composing

The compose window has also been designed to be stylish yet powerful. If you just want to fire off your first  “OMG I SO love Justin Bieber” update of the day, then you have a clean & simple compose box. Toggle any of your accounts as desired and TweetDeck will send your update in the background, notifying you via the Android notification bar of the progress.

For the full “Here’s me when I met Justin at NYC” experience, tucked away behind the keyboard are the advanced features, where images and location information can be included.

Quick access to your favourite friends

We know that many of you spend a lot of time speaking to the same group of friends, and TweetDeck allow you to put these friends within easy reach via the contacts button.
This opens up a grid of 12 “slots” where you can store the profiles of any of your friends, from any of the services. From there you can explore their profiles and add columns for their various feeds.

Oh and a quick note about compatibility. Because of all the magic we have had to pack into this app, the beta version has been optimised for Android v2.0 and over for now. However we will work hard to ensure that we support v1.6 and over by the time of the full launch.

As we announced last week, this app not only represents an exciting new departure for us and for Android apps in general, but it also forms the basis of the future of TweetDeck apps moving forward. So please try the app and give us your feedback in our dedicated forum. We want to make this the best app you have ever used and with your help and ideas we think it will happen.

             

Click here to download:

tweetdeck-on-android-come-and-get-it-rrtrsoukdcujEqGGgkaJ.zip (541 KB)

To get straight to the point, we're nearing completion of Android TweetDeck and we've really been pushing the limits of what Android can do. Hence we will be opening up a public beta testing period this week for some serious device testing. But before all that happens I wanted to briefly explain what Android TweetDeck means to us because it's more than just TweetDeck on Android.

First off, we've built Android TweetDeck from the ground up to be true multi-stream, laser focused on showing you all your friends' cross-service activity in one app. Multi-column is still the order of the day but now columns are blended based on the type of activity rather than the service. And all this whilst retaining the most powerful functionality from each included service.

We've spent an inordinate amount of time making the app silky smooth from the column scrolling to the custom views - so much so that one of Google's Android Developer Advocates recently described it as "a thing of beauty". So look out for the beta test later this week and please do get involved.

Interestingly Android TweetDeck also represents the future of our iPhone and iPad applications. We'll have a few bug fix releases shortly (awaiting approval in the app store) but in the background we are working on porting Android to iPhone in as quick a time as possible. Finally, it won't be long before most of the new concepts in Android TweetDeck make it to the desktop and web - we're also working on this now.

Speaking of the desktop, we have a new build available now which contains a workaround for a Facebook bug which caused TweetDeck to order updates incorrectly.

These days you hear a lot of talk about “The Real-Time Web”, with instant delivery of information to your desktop from across the globe. But in reality, many services are not actually operating in real-time.

Take the example of most desktop Twitter clients. If @aplusk choses to tweet some hints about his latest blockbuster movie, his gazillions of followers won’t receive this message straight away; They will have to wait until their Twitter client fetches the next batch of updates from the Twitter API. Depending on current API limits, this could take a couple of minutes - and in a world where sometimes 3000 tweets per second are being generated, that could feel like a long time.

However, all is not lost...

Twitter recently announced a “developer preview” of their User Streams API. This preview version of their API is not generally available yet, but is currently being tested by some of the biggest users of the Twitter API, including TweetDeck of course. The User Streams API works differently to the original, poll-based API in that apps no longer have to check for updates on a regular interval. Instead, an app will open what is, in theory (but almost certainly not literally), a big pipe from Twitter to the app. Then, when Ashton hits Send on his latest tweet, that tweet gets pushed straight down the big pipe and lands in your Twitter client instantly.

That’s real “Real Time”.

And its not only tweets that get the supercharged treatment. Other actions that are relevant to you are also brought immediately to your attention. For example, if someone follows you - WOOSH, it’s there. If someone favourites one of your tweets - BAM, straight into your Mentions. Oh and discovering new people to follow is made a lot easier with the addition of an option to see @replies from your friends to other people that you don’t follow. This is a big change from the standard behaviour where you only see replies to people that you actually follow.

And of course, what better way to consume this true real-time feed than via an experimental version of TweetDeck for Desktop?

We have been working closely with Twitter to develop a version of TweetDeck that makes use of their User Streams API and we are delighted to announce that we are now in a position to open this up to a very limited public preview.

Now, before you all go crazy hitting the download link and getting giddy with excitement, there are some important things you need to know.

1. This is a VERY experimental version of TweetDeck
2. You need to sign-up with a TweetDeck account in order to use it
3. Initially only 5000 TweetDeck accounts will be granted access.
4. There may be problems, changes, disruptions and other issues that could affect the operation of this version of TweetDeck.
5. If you wish to stop using this version of TweetDeck, you will need to uninstall it and reinstall the latest “live” version from www.tweetdeck.com

If you want to help us test out this cool new version of TweetDeck, please visit the sign-up page at https://www.tweetdeck.com/api/stream_whitelist.

Once signed-up, we will then send you an email when we are ready to enable your access, which will include a link to download the new client.

You can then start sampling your Twitter feed in TweetDeck at the speed of "Wow!".

As we burn down the home stretch toward the release of TweetDeck for Android, our development team is operating at maximum capacity. Recently Max gave a talk at Betaworks about how we keep such a well-oiled machine moving.

In addition to being our lead mobile developer and all-round splendid chap, Max also has deep roots in the open-source community, and helped bring some of his collaboration techniques to TweetDeck.

WARNING: The rest of this article comes under the category "Hardcore Geek" :-)

Since Max's arrival we've switched source code repositories from Mercurial to Git and Github. Max's highly popular open-source project Homebrew was built entirely on Git/Github and we wanted to leverage some of that mojo for our development process. 

Check out Max's six-part talk below to learn all about how Git's distributed nature, and Github's amazing collaboration tools, helped him succeed with Homebrew and helped us take our development to the next level at TweetDeck. 

Max Howell - Git/Github Talk

Links to individual videos:

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6  

Excellent progress has been made by our localisation team and we are now looking for more translators to join the following languages:

• Chinese Traditional

• Japanese

If you’d like to get involved, we ask that you be fluent in written and spoken English as well as your selected translation language.

We can’t offer you payment, but we can promise you our eternal gratitude, some TweetDeck freebies and credit for the completed translations on our site. We’re also happy to provide you with a letter to acknowledge your volunteer work on this project, so you can add this experience to your CV

Please apply by sending an email to: localisation@tweetdeck.com and include the following in the subject line: "Localisation Application: Your Language" (eg Localisation Application: Japanese)

NB: Any emails that do not include the subject format will be discarded.

Having spent the past hour or so diving into our referrer logs for tweetdeck.com (#nowitsaparty) I was surprised to see the diversity of our top referring twitter acounts for the past 7 days. So in a kind of blog-related pseudo FollowFriday I just wanted to say thank-you, in no particular order, to the following twitterers for all the viral traffic they send our way and pay back a little of the love...

Diego Forlan (Madrid) - Footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid and Uruguay
Bio Uruguayo, Balón de Oro del Mundial 2010, Doble Bota de Oro, Embajador de Unicef y jugador del Atlético

Ivete Sangalo (Brazil) - Latin Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter
Bio Twitter Oficial da cantora brasileira Ivete Sangalo. Twitter atualizado pela própria Ivete e pela equipe do seu site.

Scuderia Ferrari (Maranello) - Racing team division of Ferrari
Bio Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro - The Official Page

Simon Pegg (London) - English actor, comedian, writer, producer and director
Bio Actor/writer/dog owner/winner of 50m flat race 1977-1981

Yu Darvish (Japan) - Starting pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Bio 野球の事や、思ったことを書いていきたいと思います。よろしくお願いします。

Ana Hickman (Sãu Paulo) - Brazilian model and TV presenter
Bio Apresentadora de TV

Fledgling Wine (San Francisco) - http://www.fledglingwine.com
Bio A Twitter wine project that promotes literacy around the world.

Pepe Aguilar (Mexico) - Singer-songwriter of ranchera, mariachi & pop music
Bio Bienvenidos a la página oficial de Pepe Aguilar en Twitter!.

Lily Allen (London) - Recording artist, talk show host, and actress
Bio I can babble a little

Tyra Banks (US) - Model, media personality, actress and businesswoman
Bio Business woman by day, SMIZE-r by night. Favs: ANYTHING in BBQ sauce & perfecting H2T poses in the mirror.

Sunday 4th July 2010 was TweetDeck's 2nd Birthday which means this is a great opportunity to highlight what we've achieved over the over the past 12 months and what's in store for the next.

Over the past 12 months we have:

• attracted over $3.5m in funding from some of the most respected investors in the world 
• grown the company from 1 to 15 superb people with offices in both London and New York...and a small outbuilding in western France
• won the Shorty Award for Best Application and .Net Award for Best API use
• worked with Warner Bros, EMI, Black Eyed Peas, Huffington Post, Zeit Online and Channel 4 to release special edition TweetDecks 
• moved from the desktop to iPhone, iPad and soon Android and mobile web
• been involved in a number of fascinating and strategic discussions with household-name companies which have been...both fascinating and strategic
• become a de-facto tool for various journalists in establishments such as Sky News and the Guardian

Some numbers:

• desktop TweetDeck has been downloaded over 15 million times
• iPhone TweetDeck has been downloaded over 2.5 million times
• our servers are syncing over 7 million twitter search columns, adding 25,000 per day
• 30,000 images are uploaded each day from TweetDecks
• approximately 4 million tweets, status updates and buzz's are sent out every day via TweetDeck
• far and away the most popular desktop client for twitter, and if measuring in outbound tweets we are 5 times bigger than our closest competitor
• general usage of TweetDeck indicates our userbase is super-engaged, extremely active and, in many cases, highly influential

So what's next?

That's a fairly big question.

We believe the future holds even more fast-moving streams of socially relevant information. Our mission is to help our users manage and harness these information flows. To that end, we are moving towards being truly multi-stream, re-building our clients from the ground-up with multi-stream functionality ingrained rather than simply bolting on new disconnected networks.

Our Android TweetDeck is a great example of our belief that "true multi-stream", the intersection of social networks, can be infinitely greater than the sum of its parts - or to put it another way TweetDeck should be more about what your friends are saying rather than the networks they are using to say it.

The other major trend is the maturation of the real-time ecosystem into a business. Consistent monetization is necessary for companies in the space, from big to small, and we are committed to working with our integrated networks to make sure that the user experience remains paramount as revenue streams are introduced.  

One thing is certain - our third year is going to be incredibly interesting.