Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer

UPDATE: As of about 1pm Eastern this issue has been resolved. -Matthew

If you’ve ever been browsing Twellow and wanted to know where a location is, like “Gaborone“, you can now just click the map icon next to the location and Twellow will provide a map, courtesy of the good folks at Google. You’ll see a pop-up that shows the user and their location on the map.

We’ve also included options for zooming, panning, and alternating between Map, Satellite, and Hybrid views. So if you think Gaborone (or Gabs as it’s affectionately known) sounds like a nice place to visit, then you can switch to the Satellite view to see the landscape.

The maps also identify and pinpoint users that are using the Twitter iPhone location feature. If you see a user that lists an iPhone coordinate, the map will show you where that is, so you don’t have to head on over to Google maps to paste it in. We do that all for you.

And if you find a user that says they’re located “all over the place“, then Google will do their best to guess where that is (I don’t think “all over the place” is strictly limited to Montana, but it’s a good guess!). For some locations nothing will be found, so we’ll let you know that, too.

So give it a try and see if it doesn’t make your work of finding and connecting with people who matter to you just a little bit easier, and a lot more fun!

Enjoy,

Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer

Since the creation of our “What are people saying?” feature on Twellow we’ve thought it’d be a great idea if our users could consolidate what people are saying about their favorite categories all in one place. With this in mind we’ve gone ahead and created a new service on Twellow called Twellow Pulse.

What exactly is Twellow Pulse? It’s a simple subscription page on Twellow where users can select up to twenty categories from Twellow and track what people are saying about each, all in one place. By allowing users to place all of their favorites on one page we’ve greatly simplified the ability for our patrons to follow conversations that matter right now, right here on Twellow. No more jumping between multiple pages or opening multiple tabs in your browser to have all the chatter that interests you accessible. Simply login to your Twellow account, go to the Twellow Pulse page, and start adding topics that you want to follow.

We’ve tweaked the initial setup of Twellow Pulse so any categories you currently belong to will be automatically added to your Pulse page on your first visit. You can easily modify your Pulse by adding or removing categories via the simple tools on the page. If you don’t initially belong to any categories on Twellow then just go ahead and add the ones you want.

Twellow Pulse tracks your Pulse categories of interest separately from the categories you belong to, so even if you have nothing to do with, say NASA, you can still track NASA chatter with Twellow Pulse.

And because we know a lot of people like to read their late-breaking updates in an RSS reader or other application, we’ve added RSS links to each Twellow Pulse. This way you can get your Pulse updates however you choose.

So give it a try. We’re sure Twellow Pulse will be a worthwhile addition to the social-networking tool kits of a lot of people.

Cheers,

Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer

What is Twellow Trending Categories? This is a new list on our main page that shows what categories are being talked about the most, right now. It automatically pulls trending data from hundreds of thousands of messages and points you to the categories that are hottest among social media chatter. And you can see exactly who is discussing what by following the links to the categories and expanding the What are people saying section.

In addition to the trending data, we’ve added a few more items to our mainpage to give you an idea of who is currently new and active on Twellow: the Recently Claimed Profiles and the Recently Extended Bios sections. These areas show you who has recently claimed their Twellow profile, and who has recently entered an extended bio.

These new features are designed to help you find and follow people and conversations that matter to you. Which is really the whole point of Twellow. Connecting with people who matter.

Enjoy,

Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer

This new feature provides our Twellow users with an additional layer of usefulness. Not only can you find people that have been categorized within a certain subject, you can also find people that are talking about that subject, even if they aren’t categorized by Twellow. And because people are constantly posting, you can see a more recent snapshot of those who are active in your areas of interest.

While our list of what people are talking about in each subject is not comprehensive, it does offer a good idea of what is going on in that category, and in a much more recent and updated manner. So if you’ve used Twellow in the past to find people to follow, bookmark your favorite categories and come back often to see what new and interesting people are talking about regarding your favorite subjects. We’re sure you’ll find even more people that you’d be interested in following!

Enjoy!

Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer

This simple method allows you to add a much larger bio with up to 2,000 characters. You can also include some limited HTML formatting to further enhance the appearance of your Extended Bio. Twellow currently allows the following HTML tags which you can add to your Extended Bio:

• <p>
• <a href=”value” title=”value”>
• <i>
• <b>
• <br>

These basic tags allow you to create bold text, italic text, paragraph and line breaks, and to add links to your bio so you can better direct people to the information that you want them to find. This effectively allows you to post a mini-resume of sorts, so people looking for your particular talents will have a better idea of how you might be able to help them. Profiles with Extended Bios are marked in Twellow listings so you can see who has filled their Bio out.

Another modest change to the site is the highlighting of claimed profiles in Twellow listings. We’ve added a simple, blue background to any user profiles that have been claimed by their owners. This helps you to better see those listings that have been claimed, and thus the listings that are most likely to be relevant to what you are searching for.

So if you haven’t already, claim your Twellow profile and enter your Extended Bio information. Your listings and connections will be much better off.

Cheers!

Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer

Some of our newest categories are as follows:

• Social Science - includes Archaeology, History, Philosophy and Sociology
  
• Science - includes Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Math, and Physics
• Pets - includes Cats, Dogs, Ferrets, Fish, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, and Rabbits
• Financial Services - added Banking, Insurance, and Venture Capital
• Poker
• Alternative Medicine - includes Chiropractic, Holistic Medicine, and Massage Therapy
• Paganism
• Lodging
• Tourism
• Travel
• Wine
• Unpowered Flight
• Music - added Singer and Songwriter
• Politics - added Conservative, Liberal, and Libertarian

In addition to these new categories, we’ve also added the following “Social Links”:

• Ipernity - social media-sharing service
• Ma.gnolia - social bookmarking service
• Stumbleupon - social bookmarking service

Special thanks to all our Twellow users who’ve offered their feedback on these categories and services.

Enjoy!

Matthew Daines
Twellow.com Lead Developer
twellow.com/user/iematthew

In the past it was necessary to first find yourself on Twellow and then use the login form next to your listing. The new login page can be accessed from any page on Twellow via the login link at the top right of the website. After accessing the page, just go ahead and enter your screen name and password and we’ll get you right in.

For those who have already claimed their profile on Twellow, you will be welcomed back. For those who haven’t yet claimed their profile, logging in will automatically claim the profile and allow you to then edit your information and categories.

Thanks to all who’ve had questions and suggestions on this, and we hope you continue to enjoy using Twellow. And be sure to let us know if you have any other issues or questions about the website.

Thanks!

Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer

The Social Links are simply small icons on the right of each user profile. For many Twellow listings these icons are faded out, indicating the person has not entered a link to a profile for that service. You can make your listing stand out by logging in and entering the links to your other profiles on the web. Each service for which you enter your profile data will then be displayed in full-contrast color, giving your listing an extra level of visibility.

To add your social links, log in to your Twellow profile and enter your username or ID for the various social media outlets that you participate in. We’ll then highlight these in your listing, giving other users a better idea of how to follow you on the web.

Once you’ve added your links, then your listing will highlight each of the services you participate in. You may add or remove links as you desire, so feel free to log into your profile and update as you see fit.

Social Links

We’ve added a feature to Twellow that allows you to include links for various social media outlets in your Twellow profile. Simply log in to your profile and enter your user name or ID for your various social media profiles. We’ll put links to these on your Twellow listing to better show your presence on the web.

Latest Updates

We’ve also added a nifty little feature that pulls in the five latest status updates from Twitter and lists them on Twellow profile pages. This makes it easier for you to see what a person is talking about and if they are someone that interests you.

So come check out your profile on Twellow, and add some of your favorite social media links. Your friends and fans will thank you for it.

Regards!

Matthew Daines
Twellow Lead Developer
twellow.com/user/iematthew