Twitter

"Twitter is a privately funded startup with offices in the SoMA neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. Started as a side project in March of 2006, Twitter has grown into a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. In countries all around the world, people follow the sources most relevant to them and access information via Twitter as it happens—from breaking world news to updates from friends. [|See what people are doing right now]. " (from Twitter website) // ||
 * Date |||| // 10-9-08 // || Rating ||  ê ê ê    (3 of 5 stars)  ||
 * Reviewer |||||||| // Jenny Conklin // ||
 * Web 2.0 tool name |||||| // Twitter // ||
 * Web address |||||| // [|http://www.twitter.com] // ||
 * Description of tool |||||| //
 * Cost |||||| // Free // ||

// || // You can also use twitter with your mobile phone. You can follow people with 'short codes' and update your message by calling into some sort of number. Again, this is explained in the help, but was too confusing to attempt on my own. || // (public, private) // ||||  ê  || // This is a very transparent application with very little privacy... it is meant to be a public application. // ||
 * ** Ease of use ** ||
 * Ease of navigation ||||  ê ê ê    || // The site is not very easy to navigate because it is a concept that is difficult to attain. It is hard to figure out how to follow people and how to be followed. When you click on the names of people who are following you or you are following, it brings you to their page and stats. It is confusing to find your way back to your own page. Also, finding friends and looking up people is not as user-friendly as I would have like. // ||
 * Accessibility of help ||||  ê ê ê ê     || // Found as a link at the bottom of the page. // ||
 * Quality of help ||||  ê ê   || // The help is in the form of a FAQ section that does not provide very much visual or step-by-step instructions.
 * On-line tutorials |||| No || ||
 * ** Compatibility ** ||
 * Export capabilities ||||  ê  || // no // ||
 * Embedding capabilities ||||  ê  || // you can embed things like blogs and slide sharing apps into twitter, but I was not able to figure out how. // ||
 * Compatible with these programs |||| // Twitter is compatible with many other programs.. I have seen the Twitter logo often, but am cannot figure out how to use it.
 * Advanced Features |||| // unsure // ||
 * ** Customization ** ||
 * Ease of editing ||||  ê  || // You cannot edit a comment once you have posted it. // ||
 * Ability to personalize ||||  ê ê   || // You can personalize your page with various templates. // ||
 * ** Credibility ** ||
 * Quality of resources ||||  ê  || ||
 * Citation & sources ||||  ê  || ||
 * Endorsements ||||  ê  || ||
 * ** Safety ** ||
 * User registration ||||  ê ê ê ê ê      || // Easy to sign up for Twitter, you need a username and password attached to an email. // ||
 * Website access
 * Advertisements |||| || // na // ||
 * External Links ||||  ê  || // You can add a link to your comment, etc. So there are many opportunities for external links, those with content that is impossible to monitor. // ||


 * ** Comparable Tools ** ||
 * Ning ||  ê ê ê ê ê      ||   ||
 * Plurk ||  ê  || ||