Part 4 of my pre-season post covers Twitter, TwitterBar and Twhirl for the 30 Day Challenge in 2008 followed by a checklist of action items.

Sign up for Twitter, Setup TwitterBar and Configure Twhirl

1. Signup for Twitter and familiarize yourself with the Twitter interface.
2. Follow Ed Dale and Dan Raine on Twitter.
3. Twitter can be used from the People sidebar in Flock but there are a couple of limitations like not being able to see the entire tweet of people you are following (unless you hover) and the inbuilt Post Link feature not being able to shorten URLs. Fret not as TwitterBar overcomes these shortcomings. Configure TwitterBar by clicking Tools -> Add-ons in Flock and then clicking the “Options” button (highlighted in red). Choose “Safe” mode if you are not sharing the computer with anyone else choose the “Secure” mode. Leave other options as default and click the “OK” button
   
   
   
   
4. Now the TwitterBar is setup, type your tweet on the Flock address bar and click the small + sign (highlighted in red) to post your tweet.
   
   
5. Install Twhirl automatically by clicking the “Install Now” link on the right column. Twhirl can be used for other social software apart from Twitter.
6. Log into Twitter via Twhirl by inputting your twitter username and clicking the + sign. Thereafter, click Connect and enter your password.
   
   
7. The main icons of Twhirl and its meanings. Within the area highlighted by the blue box, the funnel icon is the filter toggle, the checkmark with list icon marks all as seen, the curved arrow icon will refresh, the trash can icon clears everything, the camera icon allows you to post image to TwitPic and the URL of the image will be posted on your tweet, the link icon shortens long URLs (use twurl.nl for shortened URLs as it supports click tracking) and the tick icon sends the tweet and the number above it denotes how many characters are remaining. Within the area highlighted by the red box, the blurb icon toggles the input panel, Home is self-explanatory, the @ icon allows you to direct messages to other users whether they follow you or not, for instance, clicking the @ symbol will allow me to see all the messages that have been directed to me using @dipankarsubba, the envelope icon gives access all of your direct messages which can only be sent to people following you, the heart icon gives you access to all your favorites, the people icon gives you access to your friends and followers, the person with a question mark icon allows you to lookup any Twitter user and the magnifying glass icon allows you to search through Twitter posts.
   
   

Action Items for Twitter, Twitterbar and Thwirl

1. Signup for Twitter and familiarize yourself with the interface.
2. Follow Ed and Dan on Twitter.
3. Install and configure TwitterBar
4. Install Thwirl, configure it and familiarize yourself with its interface.