TweetPhoto Shoots to Take Out TwitPic and Scores

TwitPic has always been the go to application for sharing photos on twitter but a new service, TweetPhoto, aims to changes that.  If you've ever used TwitPic you know it does what it aims to do, share photos, which is nice but I've always felt wanting for more.   The feature set is downright sparse compared to TweetPhoto and you'll see the difference right off the bat.  In addition to signing in with your Twitter user name there are photo and meta-data filters, photo favorites, friends photos, customizable widgets, expansive API and a seamless integration into Twitter and Facebook Connect.  In fact it not only is probably the most complete way to share photos on Twitter, you can share them on Facebook just as easily.  TwitPic has a over a year head start on TweetPhoto but if nothing else I'm sure we'll start to see more capabilities from both and the user wins either way.

TweetPhoto greatly improves the user experience for those people who share photos on Twitter through the service. The capabilities include:

• Upload photos via mobile phone and the web to TweetPhoto; share through Twitter and Facebook


• Favorite the photos you like


• See who views your photos; favorites your photos, comments on your photos


• Track how many people looked at a photo


• Automatically geo-tag photos sent from a GPS enabled phone


• Use an integrated URL shortening service, http://pic.gd     Filter photos by Twitter or Facebook friends


• Self-moderate comments


• Search tagged photos throughout the site


• Subscribe to RSS feeds by user or tags

Twitter users can get started at http://tweetphoto.com by entering their Twitter username and password.

Would a Big Screen Kindle Save The Newspaper?

When I was a kid I always assumed that the newspaper format would change.  I figured we'd be reading from a tablet but that we would receive our daily newspaper via cd rom.  I also thought we'd be in flying cars and our tv would be a hollogram.  I was also 11.  Does that mean those things won't happen, no but it also shows how slow we are to change.  We drive cars today that get less gas mileage than they did ten years ago.  Our televisions are basically the same as they were 50 years ago.  And our newspapers are the same as they were 400 years ago.  We as a society are better at developing new technologies than updating old ones.   Where is our e-ink newsprint?  It's not going to happen but Amazon want's to use a new technology to replace an old one.

Nothing has been announced officially but word is that Amazon will release a bigger screen Kindle to better support newspapers and magazines, two areas that have been hit hard in print.  E-readers have yet to revolutionize the way people read books and it has yet to steer consumers from brick and mortar stores but there has been growth.   About a half a million people bought a kindle last year, and while that's not enough to start a mass exodus of advertisers from print, it is expected to show the growth to tempt them.  Kindle users are in the right age range 25-45 and have the disposable income that ad execs covet.  Is that enough to supplant newspapers?  Probably not.  Radio, television, and the internet all were supposed to be the death of newsprint and so far newspapers and magazines have survived.  Your big city newspaper will do fine as long as they manage to adapt like they have in the past.  Readership will be down but as long as they change thier expectations of what makes a successful newspaper and stay profitable, the 11 year old in me will have to wait a little while longer for the future I dreamed about.  With the trouble automakers are having I might never get my flying car.