Life Without Toast - Sibling Rivalry

SO!

Step 1: Twitter

First things first, if you haven't already done it, set up a Twitter account. If you haven't got one, reading on past here is totally pointless, and will probably be a mite confusing.

Now, start Tweeting. You may be a bit confused as to what the fuss is at first, but if you have any sort of web presence, chances are you'll know someone else that does too, and chances are that that person also has a Twitter account. Find them (there's a handy "search" box) and click "follow". Do this at least 10 or so times, more if possible. The more people you follow, the more people who will probably be following you, and the more people will know that they're following you.

Don't make the mistake, as most people do, of only updating with things like "is making toast" or "needs to go to the toilet" and other stuff which people don't want or need to read or know. Stuff like "is about to cross the international date line" or "is going to the cinema tonight to see I Am Legend, anyone interested?" is more what people want to hear. That said, "really needs to take a crap" is always good for a laugh, as are things like "just had his last meal with Peter, Judas and the guys, going to see dad soon".

Step 2: Tweetr/Twitteriffic

While Twitter recommends a few ways to update your status, like on their website (duh) or by "txt msg". There are currently approximately one million desktop/browser Twitter clients, a few of which are considerably better than having to open a browser and update on the Twitter site, and a lot cheaper than sending a text message. The two best ones I've come across are Tweetr (PC/Mac, requires Adobe AIR®) and Twitteriffic (Mac only, free or $15 for ad-free version).

I thought installing Tweetr was easy, but maybe it's not so for n00bs. Go to http://www.tweet-r.com/ and click on the "install now" button (it's the image on the top-left).

This will download and install the Adobe AIR runtime environment (Beta 2 - which Tweetr runs on top of), using the Adobe AIR Beta 2 seamless install Feature, and will install Tweetr as well. When it's installed, sign in, and you should see something like this:

Buttons on top are timeline (you and people you're following), replies (when someone types @your username to reply to a message), and direct messages (messages sent to you, and only visible by you). The camera button takes a pic with your webcam and uploads it to tw3t.com, and gives you it's url, and the paperclip allows you to upload a file, also to tw3t.com, and also gives you the url. The heart is your settings.

It should be as easy as that. If you have AIR Beta 1 or 3 installed you may run into some problems with installation, but then again if this is the case, you should be enough of a geek to be able to figure out the solution yourself. Tweetr is awesome.

On the other hand, and if you're a Mac user, you can just install Twitteriffic. I prefer Tweetr, because it's free I can view my replies and direct messages with a single click, and attach files and photos just as easily. Granted, it doesn't look as nice as Twitteriffic, but looks ain't everything. Twitteriffic looks like this:

The buttons on the bottom are home (your Twitter page, in your browser), settings, and "refresh timeline".

Step 3: Facebook & Twitter, up a tree

Okay, so now you have a Twitter account, and a nice shiny desktop application from which to post your Tweets (preferable, imho, to having to go to Twitter every time). Good for you! But have you ever considered the fact that you can update your Facebook status from Twitter?

(Okay, once again, if you haven't got a Facebook account, reading past here is a bit of a waste of time. Got a Facebook account? Good, read on...)

Everybody updates their Facebook status, most every day. But what if you could update it as often as you post a Tweet, ad far easier than going to Facebook all the time (fun though that can be)

First, install the Twitter Facebook application. Then click the big button at the top that says "Want Twitter to update your Facebook status?". This one:

Tick the box on the next page ("Allow Twitter to update my status without notifying me"), and click "Authorize Twitter" (or "cancel" if you're a big scaredy-pants).

Now every time you post a Tweet, your Facebook status will be updated with the same text, prefaced with "is Twittering:" (which is quite annoying, but will probably change if you ask it to be changed enough times, much like Facebook getting rid of the "is" in the first place).

Personally, I have un-linked my Twitter and Facebook updates, at least until that "Twittering:" thing is fixed. I kinda like having my Facebook status sticking around for longer than it takes me to post another Tweet, too. This may change.

So there you have it. Any questions? Post them in the comments, or send me a mail.