Introducing poliTwitter.ca a new site by CKA
Canadaka @ Fri May 01, 2009 3:38 pm
I would like to announce http://politwitter.ca the new Canadian political twitter site. poliTwitter.ca is an fun new way to utilize twitter to stay on top of the latest in Canadian politics. From one easy location keep track what your politicians are saying and doing and what regular Canadians have to say about current politics.
I only decided to make the site this on the 27th, and hardly slept the next few days building the core code. I wasn't planning to release the first beta until the end of the week, but somehow someone found the domain and told someone else... and it snowballed. The cat was out of the bag, so I worked extra hard to get it in a working order.
The main focus is to track MPs twitter's but the site also tracks popular politics hash tags and keywords, as well as some in-house hash tags. Anyone can use one of these in-house hash tags to have their political tweet included. These are all combined into a common feed, You can also view tweets by party affiliation and view tweets from MPs only.
The site is focused on Canadian federal politics for the moment, but I plan to expand it to have an option to view provincial, but federal will remain the default. I have included 2 BC Election 2009 hash tags for now, since there is an election on right now.
The site is now fully functional and ready for visitors. I have MANY more features in the works, you can see the about page for some of them.
I hope you enjoy the new site and please feel free to leave any suggestions & feedback.
Public_Domain @ Fri May 01, 2009 4:29 pm
Awesome.
Scape @ Fri May 01, 2009 6:24 pm
Nice job!
DerbyX @ Fri May 01, 2009 6:40 pm
Can somebody explain the appeal of twitter? To me it just seems like a constant stream of specific notifications. Its tough enough dealing with all the email let alone this new feature.
On the radio today I heard that although twitter is currently popular, fewer then 40% of subscribers come back after the initial usage.
Scape @ Fri May 01, 2009 6:58 pm
Ha! I bet I fall in that 40% because that stat is tracking only the main site and not third party aps like Tweetdeck. I think twitter is simply building on already established protocols and using it in new ways. Yes the fad will pass but the utility will not. At it's heart it is sms messaging gone viral. Soon you will integrate the twitter to do the communications automatically when you do certain activities you want others to know of so you can better network with others like social gaming but the real bonus of twitter is when breaking issues are being talked about. The ear to the ground types will be using twitter to see where the next buzz will be, be that an earthquake or the next Brittany outfit. As you can tailor it to your own taste the variations are endless and so is the potential.
When I use twitter, I rarely post but rather read it like a newspaper or radio tuned to stations I like. And I can pick up a good read at any point or can use it to see what is happening local. I want a current restaurant review I use the twitter search function to drudge up timely results.
DerbyX @ Fri May 01, 2009 7:03 pm
Scape Scape:
Ha! I bet I fall in that 40% because that stat is tracking only the main site and not third party aps like Tweetdeck. I think twitter is simply building on already established protocols and using it in new ways. Yes the fad will pass but the utility will not. At it's heart it is sms messaging gone viral. Soon you will integrate the twitter to do the communications automatically when you do certain activities you want others to know of so you can better network with others like social gaming but the real bonus of twitter is when breaking issues are being talked about. The ear to the ground types will be using twitter to see where the next buzz will be, be that an earthquake or the next Brittany outfit. As you can tailor it to your own taste the variations are endless and so is the potential.
When I use twitter, I rarely post but rather read it like a newspaper or radio tuned to stations I like. And I can pick up a good read at any point or can use it to see what is happening local. I want a current restaurant review I use the twitter search function to drudge up timely results.
When I use twitter, I rarely post but rather read it like a newspaper or radio tuned to stations I like. And I can pick up a good read at any point or can use it to see what is happening local. I want a current restaurant review I use the twitter search function to drudge up timely results.
I'll admit I have yet to investigate it at all. It sounds like pop-up spam or like a chat window. How does it work and what is it like?
For instance, as I am posting right now what would twitter be like and how would it appear?
Scape @ Fri May 01, 2009 7:05 pm
Look at the main page of CKA to see that. The topics are already posted on twitter.
DerbyX @ Fri May 01, 2009 7:12 pm
IC, thnxs.
Still it seems almost intrusive. I forgot to check email for a few days and when I checked I had over 50 (well at least half spam). Still, I realize that I have signed up for so many email updates for work, politics, games, news, alma matter, that it can be almost oppressive at times.
If only they could find a way to beam it directly to my brain like the CSIS does!
Scape @ Fri May 01, 2009 8:14 pm
It is being used with cell phones just like skype is and it reinvents itself with every new technology it interacts with, be that xbox live or the iphone.
Twitter is not a news mag, nor is it a web comic. It is an information stream that is highly volatile and has managed to overthrow governments. The best way to describe it is the frontline in the information wars fought in cyberspace for your opinion and ideas. Facebook and email are able to do the same thing but can not do it as quickly to as many people. Twitter starts people talking and then the conversation evolves but it is the flashpoint that gets the ball rolling.
Canadaka @ Fri May 01, 2009 11:41 pm
guys there is already a topic discussing twitter, i don't want this to hijack this thread. You don't have to use twitter, no one is making you.
I personally don't follow tons of random people, like lots do. I only follow a few real life friends and enjoy seeing their updates. I have a firefox plugin that sits in the bottom right and pops up when there is an update, that i glance at. The new facebook interface trys to do the same thing, so I have the plugin I use update both at once.
I don't like twitter for conversations or discussing topics, that’s what forums like this are good for, why change that. They are good for "status updates" that don't require or expect a reply.
Sure a high percentage of people that sign-up don't come back, but the usage of Twitter is still undeniably high and growing.
Proculation @ Sat May 02, 2009 1:13 am
If I want to follow that in TwitDeck, do I only add "cka_politwit" ?
Scape @ Sat May 02, 2009 11:43 am
1) Set up a twitter account.
2) Follow CKA_politwit
3) Download Tweetdeck
4) Sign into twitter account from Tweetdeck
Proculation @ Sat May 02, 2009 11:49 am
yeah I did that but I only get what Trev posted. Not all on the page. Is there some kind of groups we can join ?
Scape @ Sat May 02, 2009 11:52 am
Assign CKA_politwit stream as a favorite
or select group and just toggle CKA_politwit but keep in mind it will be from this point forward only.
Canadaka @ Sat May 02, 2009 7:09 pm
there is no way to follow the data that politwitter aggregates besides visiting the website.
cka_politwit is just updates about the website, which you are more than welcome to follow.