One intention I have with this website is to try and bring the various social media sites under control. I have a number of accounts which serve different purposes and it would be useful if I could link them together in order that I can post to one account from whichever media I choose and for the other accounts to be updated accordingly. The first one I am linking to is Twitter. If I’m being honest I don’t really use Twitter as much as I could, mainly for receiving news updates rather than posting messages myself. However as I am currently developing this website I thought it was an ideal opportunity to try and maximise my use of Twitter rather than let the account gather dust until I have forgotten how to access it.
If you think Twitter is something to do with walking around with a pair of binoculars trying to catch a glimpse of one bird or another (usually the feathered kind) then Iam sorry to say that you are barking up the wrong tree! According to Wikipedia, Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Since late 2009, users can follow lists of authors instead of following individual authors. All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS), or external applications (notably including those developed for smart-phones).
The underlying tool behind this website is named WordPress. I tried two plugins, WP to Twitter and Post to Twitter. In the end it was WP to Twitter that has won out. Whilst Post to Twitter is a clean, easy to use plugin WP to Twitter provided me with that little bit extra functionality I required and allows me to edit the content of the message that is then updated to my Twitter account with links back to the original post on alistairlangston.com. In addition I have also used a plugin named Twitter for WordPress which enables me to display Twitter posts in the sidebar on the website and thus keeping all you lucky readers informed and up to date with whatever I may be doing the rest of the time.
If you have a Twitter account and want to keep up to date on with the latest posts on alistairlangston.com then click the link below: