Twatter

Twitter just suspended the client I use (Twidroyd) and sent me a notification suggesting I go download the official Twitter client and use that instead. I guess that's one fewer reason to use Twitter.

I used to think Twitter was pretty pointless, but having used it for a few months, I think I am more qualified to offer a question based on experience.

Twitter is pretty pointless.

At least, it is for the individual user. I can see how it would be useful for corporations or famous people that actually have some sort of following. In short, any entity that needs to worry about public relations. The unilateral "follow" system on Twitter is useful for these people/groups because they don't have to follow back when someone follows them. The Facebook "Pages" system works on the same principle but just doesn't work quite as well.

The idea of <140 characters seems like one is much more likely to get a response to an inquiry or comment on Twitter than it is through Facebook pages, and especially so if it's a complaint. To the user, it's also much easier to fire off a quick complaint tweet instead of a structured e-mail. It also helps that the interaction becomes public, as corporations feel more pressure to rectify the situation and maintain a positive image.

But for the average individual? Having a regular Facebook account makes more sense. If you don't want to connect with someone, you don't have to accept them as a "friend." The only thing you can do on Twitter is make all your tweets private. It's much easier to manage comments to something you've posted; the threaded view allows easy interaction between more than two people, instead of the back-and-forth conversation that crowds up the Twitter feed when two of your friends engage in a heated discussion. Should your Twitter feed become engulfed in a conversation between @PersonA and @PersonB, you really need to tweet "@PersonA @PersonB THIS IS NOT THE APPROPRIATE WAY TO USE TWITTER"

And then there are the people that link Twitter and Facebook to pots the same thing on both. They are hopeless.

The Market

The Android platform is gradually maturing and mounting a serious challenge on Apple's iOS. One recent change is the browser-based Market interface, which makes it a bit easier to express some gripes about mobile application developers search for and manage applications.

I currently have 11 apps which have updates available that I am not updating for various reasons.

Some are on hold because the developer was being a twit and decided to "update" the app by adding ads to an application that previously did not have any. Maybe I'll update when you've included a useful new feature as well.

Others are on hold because the comments section is littered with people complaining that the app no longer works properly. Granted, unhappy people are more likely to post comments, but when almost every comment is suggesting the app took a turn for the worse, I'm going to wait and see.

An example:

 

I'm also wary of applications that make preposterous permission requests. What Android needs is a mechanism for enabling and disabling permissions for each application. I'm not one of those paranoid people that are like, "You don't need access to my contacts, you stalker!" But really, does a dictionary really need my fine GPS location? At the very least they ought to explain why each permission is necessary. The GPS is most likely for advertising, but even then it should be okay with coarse location. If anything it's an unnecessary drain on my battery.

 

UB

 

Union Bank of California and the University of Bedfordshire have remarkably similar logos. Incidentally, they're both "UB" although I'm fairly certain neither is referred to as such.

No, I Actually Meant To Do That

Seriously?

Out and About

I went to San Francisco AND New York last week. Both were excellent, and this only made me realize how awful Los Angeles is.

Apart from the In-N-Out by the airport.