Si Jobling

Anyone who knows me should also know I’m an avid Twitter-holic. Over the last six years, I’ve been through a number of different solutions to monitor and update Twitter, from the original IM client in Jabber to Adobe Air bridges to browser plugins to native apps. Needless to say, each move has introduced as many bug-bears as there are improvements.

For the last few years, I’ve been using Atebits Tweetie official Twitter Mac app. When Loren Brichter created the original app, he took into consideration all the beautiful user interactions associated with well-designed Mac apps and streamlined the Twitter user experience into something rather special. Unfortunately, like most acquisitions, it fell by the way side, losing touch with user’s needs and focussing more on business deliverables.

Over the last few months, I’ve  been using the stunning Tweetbot for my mobile (iOS) Twitter needs. As most users will agree, it is hands above the rest of mobile Twitter apps, an absolute joy to use (and listen to). The user experience is thoroughly thought out and well executed, highlighting some largely desired features missing in many desktop apps.

Whilst I long for Tapbots to create a Mac version (wishful thinking, I realise), I decided to evaluate some of the options available for the Mac desktop.

View the Twitter Apps for Mac Comparison Table

Bear in mind, these are my personal requirements. I’m sure other people use Twitter in different ways with different needs.

(Some people have even questioned my desire for custom short URLs. I like to own my data where possible, hence why I setup jobl.in with YOURLS to manage my own short links. I appreciate it’s extraneous redirects with Twitter directing all traffic via t.co but each to their own.)

If you know of any other options I’ve missed that may fulfil my requirements, send me a tweet so I can add it to the comparison chart.

∞

It may seem a bit late in the year to be writing such a post about annual goals but it was something I considered last December that I never documented. My thinking is if I formally write them down, I’ll be more inclined to attempt them. So, here goes…

1. Get an article published ✔

I’ve worked in the web industry for over ten years now learning a lot along the way. I want to share some of that knowledge with my peers, not just on my blog but in a published medium.

2. Create an app

I’ve created many websites in the past but none of them are user generated. I want to address this by making an app for others to use, either in a web or native mobile form (probably the former). I’ve a few ideas in the pipeline so there’s no excuses there.

3. Redesign and release this website

Like most designers, I redesign and redesign my own website that never get released. This year, I’m determined to release something, even if it starts with a very simple start. I’ve made good progress on a logotype-come-ligature concept so we’ll see where that goes.

4. Produce my first house track

I’ve been producing my house music podcast for seven years now but never produced my own track. Many friends and listeners of the show have asked so I think it’s time to take the plunge and see/hear what I can come up with.

5. Push Funky House Finesse forward

The podcast has built up a loyal following over the many years, downloaded by thousands every month and broadcast on a growing network of radio stations. I’m very proud with how it’s grown. I want to take it to the next level, get more exposure by syndicating it on more stations, possibly collaborate with some musical peers.

As each goal is reached, I’ll tick them off (the first one became a reality this month in .net magazine so that was relatively easy). I’ll be optimistic here. There’s no reason why all five can’t be done in 2012.

∞

The other day, I was astounded at the progress my son has made in learning.

He is fascinated with animals and books. If he’s not watching Deadly 60 or any other BBC natural history programmes, he’s flicking through his growing library of animal literature. I’m particularly proud of his interest in literacy – it’s not been forced on him, he just enjoys books. A rarity in today’s youth.

When he got into bed, he noticed one of the pages in his Deadly 60 book had lost it’s dog-eared corner:

“Mummy, you’ve lost my goshawk.”

Without hesitation or any prompting, he turned to the contents, scanned the list:

“G-O-S… Goshawk. Eight-Zero”.

He then flicked through the pages, counting past 50, 60, 70… “Eight Zero!”

He had found his Goshawk.

”See Mummy, I’ve found my Goshawk now.”

For a five year old, I’m amazed at three things here:

1. His ability to scan book contents looking for the word using phonetics
2. Counting beyond 20 (the benchmark for Key Stage 1)
3. His extensive knowledge of lesser-known animals

This probably bears little interest to other people. It just seemed like a momentous occasion that should be recorded on my son’s development.

∞

Last week, the new GOV.UK website was unveiled to the public.

Released as an early beta product, it is still very early days but my initial reactions are impressive. Unless you’re aware, gov.uk is intended to centralise the vast number of UK government websites into a single solution, allowing the general public to quickly access important data without jumping through all the typical hoops.

As part of the project, I’ve been monitoring the development of the project by following certain individuals of the team on Twitter, including Paul Annett, Relly Annett-Baker, Frances Berriman and Gareth Rushgrove (to name a few). Each of these guys bring unique talents to the table where Paul is a brilliant UI designer, Relly a fantastic knack for writing web copy, Frances as an evangelist of semantic markup and Gareth’s impressive coding brain.

What has really caught my attention is the open nature of the entire project. They have been keen to embrace the open source culture of the Web, actively blogging the design process the team have gone through, creating discussion around design decisions as well as leveraging the power of popular online tools. They have published a vast amount of their development on Github to allow other governments to reuse all the code they have created, as well as manage feedback such as feature requests and bugs on Get Satisfaction.

It’s quite exciting to see the evolution of the online presence of the UK Government with pioneers of the Web community, especially with such an open approach. Whilst it’s only early stages, the results so far have been very promising. It’s a fantastic opportunity to have such a large platform for promoting open source culture.

∞

Yesterday, I was discussing the process of mobile registration forms with a colleague from Uganda. He was asking if I knew of a simple way to capture data quickly from mobile devices whilst minimising potential fraud and human error.

We know smart phones have become common place in the “first world” but technology is not as advanced in developing countries such as Uganda so relying on mobile apps and web forms are not always an option.

However, one common feature of all mobile phones are contacts – a digital representation of a person.

Nearly all mobile phones allow users to store basic contact details for an individual. They store common fields such as first name, last name, telephone number, address and date of birth. These devices also have cameras built in so there is potential to attach a photograph of the owner for security reasons.

Additional to this, most mobile phones also offer the facility to send contact cards via email or SMS so there is a method available for data submission.

If a provider required registration prior to activation, a user should be asked to create a new business card containing all their personal details and send it to a pre-defined point of contact (SMS or email). Not only is this allowing instant activation on a reliable data capture mechanism, it is also minimising chance of error as well as validating the origin (the mobile telephone number).

In a world where mobile apps are fast becoming the norm, it’s easy to forget other audiences where new technology is unavailable. However, this simple approach could revolutionise data capture in a developing world.

What do you think? Is there potential in this process or is it flawed in some way?

∞