Today I interviewed Bobby Ullery, Founder of TweepMe.com TweepMe is an application for Twitter users who sign up to follow others who have signed up to follow people. This was recorded as a video, but the file was to big to embed. Thus, we’ve captured theaudio for you. In this interview you will get the following questions answered… and a whole lot more!
Who is Bobby?
What is TweepMe?
What does TweepMe Cost?
What am I limited to for my money?
How exactly does TweepMe work?
What’s up with using my Twitter Password?
Do you infect me with a Tojan or virus?
What can I expect using TweepMe?
Why should I use TweepMe?
Is TweepMe “Spammy?”
Is TweepMe legal?
Why did TweepMe get their account suspended?
I got questions, complaints, and suggestions for TweepMe – Do they care?
What is an API, how does it relate to Twitter, & why should I care?
What was the inspiration for the creation of TweepMe?
What’s in store for the future with TweepMe?
Once most of Twitterville understood TweetMe is a legitimate application program for Twitter users, the debate became heated concerning the altruistic nature of the Twitter community and the use of Twitter.
Twitter now has over eight million users. No one, other than Twitter, is going to tell the users how to use their account, nor how to tweet. It’s clear that some of the naysayers who switched from bashing the program itself, to bashing the idea of following people, are simply panicked! Why?
There are other programs that help accounts grow. There are expensive programs that people have paid big money to use. One of them, Hummingbird, can get accounts suspended. Ask Bobby! Perhaps some of these naysayers are threatened because they do not want the masses to have access to what they alone could previously accomplish.
Ask yourself this question:
Do you want to connect with people you’ve never connected with before who are also looking to connect? If the answer is yes, may I recommend TweepMe. There’s NO rejection!
Sweet! Now listen this great kid teach us all a lesson in graciousness – Enjoy!
Bobby agreed to do a shorter video for us tomorrow to be posted here as an update! Put all questions you have for him in the comments below!
Arleen Anderson
Feel Free to Tweet Me!
A new Twitter application, TweepMe, launched quietly late Tuesday evening. By yesterday morning many in Twitterville had their feathers ruffled and were squawking loudly to their fellow tweeps to not TweepMe. This fury of flying fluff was set off by the issuant retweeting of @Mashable. I saw @BertDecker flow by my tweet stream:
“BertDecker: RT @mashable TweepMe seems to totally misunderstand the point of Twitter. Not recommended. http://www.tweepme.com/“
(Warning! If you’re not using Twitter, you probably don’t want to read this blog post!)
I have great respect for both @Mashable and @BertDecker, but I don’t blurt retweets unless I appreciate or agree with the post. After reviewing their conversations and taking a healthy tour of the TweepMe site, I felt further investigation and thought was in order. As I do exchange tweets with @BertDecker, I sent him this reply:
“AlohaArleen: @BertDecker I check things out B 4 I bash them. Testing http://www.tweepme.com & getting feedback from users. Will let U know”
After carefully reviewing the entire TweepMe site and checking out who the program developer is, I signed up for the service. Please note this was not a light decision on my part! If you know me, you know I do not use any programs to follow, unfollow, or tweet on Twitter! I have run my Twitter account 100% manual from the web.
Signing up for TweepMe was the only way I could test the service and give it an honest review.
I began to reply to Twitter users regarding their questions and concerns they had directed at me regarding TweepMe.
- TweepMe enables people who sign up for the TweepMe service to automatically follow others with their Twitter account who have also signed up for the TweepMe service.
- The user may define his/her own limit of how many other users they will follow per hour (up to 50 – though the developer is now limiting users to a maximum of 30 follows per hour during the beta period)
- This is a mutual follow program. Only those sign up for the service will be followed by others who sign up for the service.
- Following others is completed in rounds. For example; if you had a limit of 30 follows per hour, your account would follow no more than 5 new users every 10 minutes. It could be less.
- Because follows are done in rounds, it may take hours, days, or weeks, to be followed automatically by those who you follow.
- Everyone using TweepMe will get more out of the program if they routinely check their new followers and follow them back immediately.
- As always with Twitter, anyone can always unfollow you. And you can unfollow anyone you chose to unfollow.
The first 1,000 followers receive the TweepMe service for free – for life! From user 1,001 on TweepMe would cost a monthly fee of less than ten dollars. I went back to the site to check the dollar amount, yet it seems to have been taken down. (I believe it said $8.95 a month originally.) I did get one of the first 1,000 free accounts, but they were quickly gone.
I sent TweepMe an email suggesting they extend the free offer to the first 5,000 accounts.
Then I checked my email. I’d had a response from using the “Feedback” section of TweepMe:
“Looks like Twitter may have shut us down. – TweepMe”
My next thought was, “That was the shortest lived application on Twitter yet!”
The Twitter account @TweepMe was suspended. Questions regarding TweepMe continued to pour in. Clearly people wanted this service! But, under the circumstances, I could only reply that they were being shut down and there was no point to signing up.
A couple hours later, I got another email and a tweet from them… TweepMe was up and working, PLUS the free offer was extended to the first 5,000 users! You bet I tweeted that up for people to take advantage of!
Also good to note: All those who paid for TweepMe subscriptions after the initial 1,000 free offers were taken are having their money reimbursed. This was a decision made immediately upon increasing the number of free subscriptions to 5,000.
And the controversy again pursued. Through the wee hours of the morning I shared my humbled perspective on following. Here’s the bottom line for me:
- I can learn something from everyone, thus it is my honor to follow everyone.
- Reading my “Home” page on Twitter (following 57K) is like taking the pulse of the world.
It’s a beautiful view!
It was a little after 2:00 am here in Hawaii, when I called TweepMe programmer and designer, Bobby Ullery.
The TweepMe Programmer:
Bobby, 24 years old, has been coding half his life. He’s a bit shy so we’ll keep this biography part simple. Bobby owns his own company with prominent clients (I’d already checked out that part). Bobby just wants to fill a need with the TweepMe application – Help Twitter users who want, and perhaps need, additional followers add them, and make it easy to do.
Why charge for TweepMe?
The cost of servers, general overhead, and labor for such an application can be extensive. (I think programmers should make money when they provide valuable service!) Bobby’s not looking to get rich off of TweepMe, just make sure the bills are paid.
Suspended!
I asked, “Bobby, your Twitter account @TweepMe got suspended. Do you know why?”
“We were using a hummingbird program to find accounts that would automatically follow accounts back that followed them. This way we would have accounts for our initial users to start adding followers right away. We shouldn’t have done that, and we aren’t going to do it again,” said Bobby. “We are working with Twitter now to get the @TweepMe account reinstated.”
What can TweepMe users expect now from using the service?
Bobby said, “Although users can limit the number of Twitter accounts they follow per hour, up to 50 maximum, we’ll be setting the number lower initially. If a user sets their limit at 30 follows per hour, they’ll see less. We want to make sure that people don’t max out the number of calls per hour their account makes to Twitter’s API if they are using another application such as TweetDeck.”
The Twitter API has a limit of 100 calls (requests) per account per hour.
Why does TweepMe require the use of a user’s password?
“The TweepMe program is following other users. It’s a function done from inside an account. That requires a password, and it is also a call to the Twitter API from the users account,” said Bobby.
I shared with Bobby that people who don’t want to do automatic follows with their Twitter accounts are concerned about the impact TweepMe will have on them. Bobby assured me that they are no longer looking for accounts with automatic follow backs enabled. TweepMe will only have user accounts follow others who have signed up for the service.
What plans does Bobby have for TweepMe in the future?
“We are looking at several different ways to give users more flexibility and control in regards to whom they follow, but that may require a separate application. We are also looking into how to provide additional data on the TweepMe activity to the users. Currently, there is no way to tell if someone followed you because TweepMe followed you on behalf of another user, or for some other reason.”
I asked Bobby, “Anything you want to add?”
“Our purpose with TweetMe is to provide Twitter users who want more followers a simple and consistent way to add those who want to be followed, and will want to follow them back,” said Bobby.
He went on to request, “I hope all our users take advantage of the Feedback Tab on the side of the site pages! We want to hear everyone’s suggestions, complaints, moans and groans. It’s all important for us to make TweepMe everything people want it to be.”
Are you one of those worried about receiving unwanted followers?
Be glad TweepMe has arrived in Twitterville! It only makes sense that the more successful TweepMe is; the less you will have to worry about accounts following you simply for the sake of wanting you to follow them back!
People come to Twitterville for different reasons. TweepMe is a tool which can help keep it a harmonious community. It’s your decision to use it, or not.
What are your thoughts? Any and all comments are welcome!
(Note: Any comments with vulgarities will be pulled)
Aloha!
Arleen Anderson
Andy Bumatai Interview 1st TV Show Twitter Tweet Up! [30:32m]:
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Listen to Andy Bumatai share plans for the first ever major network TV “Twitter Tweet Up” Social Media broadcast! Andy will be interviewing three special social media guests including:
Deborah Micek @CoachDeb
Lincoln Jacobe Founder & CEO of Hawaii Pacific Entertainment & Technology News Network
Arleen Anderson - Yes, yours truly - me! @AlohaArleen
Everyone who uses Twitter is invited to Andy’s studio for the taping.
If you can’t attend in person, DO tweet Andy during the taping @Andy_Bumatai
What: The Andy Bumatai Show
When: Wednesday, January 21st 2009. Be there at 6 PM Hawaii Time Sharp!
Taping Starts at 6:30 PM HT, 8:30 PM Pacific Time, 11:30 ET
Where: ING Direct Studios 2nd Floor above the ING Direct Cafe, Waikiki, Hawaii
Be Prepared: Be prepared to tweet during the show! Bring your iPhones, BlackBerrys, netbooks, etc.
Notes:
A) Parking is very limited. Carpooling encouraged.
B) Try not to wear green as the cameras may pan to the tweeters.
C) Seating is limited. Feel free to bring cushions.
The Andy Bumata Show airs at 9:35 PM on K5 (KFVE) after the local news. The show is NOT edited! This is an “Almost Live” broadcast!
Whether you can attend in person or virtually, be a part of the first TV Twitter Tweet Up!
Aloha!
Arleen Anderson
Tweet Me! @AlohaArleen
http://www.twitter.com/AlohaArleen
I adore Macs for their simplicity and cool applications, but I’m forced to use a PC for business. We PC users encounter many more virus attacks and problems with anti-virus software.
Last night I noticed the dreaded big fat exclamation point on my AVG icon. It said I was unprotected! Yikes! Being too tired to deal with it, I turned off my computer and set to resolved the problem this morning.
I use the AVG anti-virus program. Speaking with a friend today, I understand that McAffee is having a similiar problem. Here’s the scoop and the fix for AVG users:
Check your anti-virus icon. If it shows a warning, this post is for you!
(If not, check out my previous post on Damon’s Twitter DM Whacker - very useful tool!)
AVG users will see something like “Could Not Update Control CTF Files!” Don’t Panic! Your anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc. segments are most likely still functioning. But it is important for you to fix this so you can get updates.
For Window Explorer users:
1) Click “Start” then “Search” then “All files and folders”
2) Under “A word or phrase in the file” type “*.ctf” then click on “More advanced options.”
3) Check box “Search hidden files and folders” and click “Search”
4) Let it run. In a bit you will see 2 files listed “avginfoavi.ctf” and “avginfowin.ctf”
5) Click “Stop” once they appear. Highlight ONLY those two files.
6) Right click on the 2 highlighted files, click “delete,” and confirm
7) Reboot your computer and your AVG anti-virus should be update happy!
For Vista Users:
1) Go to C:\ProgramData\avg8\update\download and delete the .ctf files
2) DO NOT delete any files other than those ending in “.ctf”
3) Reboot and you should be fine!
If problems persist your control files are most likely corrupt. Go here to Delete AVG Utility Updates.
If the problem still persists you will have to unstall AVG, download a clean new version, and reinstall.
If you are having the problem with McAfee, my friend said just go to their site and there is a simple update fix.
Happy Puting! Tweet me if this helps @AlohaArleen !
Aloha,
Arleen Anderson
Twitter Phisher Attack Solution [30:12m]:
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Tonight Twitter users continue to be under attack by a nasty phisher virus program. We’re getting the word out on “the fix.” An added bonus is to discover how to clean out your DM files. Get to know the developer of the application program so you are comfortable that it’s cool to use it in the first place!
A phisher virus is a program that gathers or “fishes” for information. Yesterday some yet unknown jerk unleashed one of these on Twitter users getting access to people’s accounts. There is a simple fix.
The first step for Twitter users is to change their password. The second step is a mult-phase process which is also fairly easy to do, even for novices. There’s also a wonderful “byproduct.” You can get rid of all your Direct Messages (DMs) cluttering up your DM page and slowing your page loads.
Listen to program developer, Damon Cortesi, of DM Whacker share his Twitter tool. This is one Twitter application tool you’ll want to use over and over again.
NEWS FLASH! Damon just activated a new feature which allows you to delete DMs with a specific text! This is handy for deleting DMs sent by a phisher. Just insert the text of the nasty phisher DM messages and it will take all those out for you - leaving others untouched. (Under Advanced Features - Text Matching) Thanks for your quick and brilliant work Damon!
Helpful links mentioned in this podcast include:
www.twitter.com/dacort
www.tinyurl.com/deleteDMs
www.tweetake.com
http://dcortesi.com/tools/dm-deleter/
Arleen Anderson signing off! Tweet me www.twitter.com/AlohaArleen
TweetChat Gets You Focused [35:39m]:
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Tonight on Twitter a new application was introduced by Brooks Bennett. He created TweetChat.com as a tool for tweeps (people on Twitter) which enables you to focus on one conversation, or thread, as it’s being discussed online.
Why is that important? Because if you use Twitter, then you know there can be hundreds or even thousands of different subjects of conversations floating by your page. Being part of a large social media community is great for meeting people, being connected, and getting information on the fly. Yet, if there is one subject you want to follow in particular, it’s easy to miss parts of the conversation.
TweetChat makes it simple to watch, follow, and participate in a conversation. Listen to the creator of TweetChat.com and find out easy it is to focus.
Brooks uses his genius for all kinds of fun. There are a couple additional sites he mentions at the end of the podcast…
Matthew Ebel Smitten With Surf Chicks [7:52m]:
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Matthew Ebel, new media music artist, is one down to earth space cadet.
Hawaiian tweeps (Hawaiian members of social media community Twitter.com) experienced the insanity, and pleasure, of Matthew’s humor and insights Sunday morning at the Shorebird Restaurant in Waikiki.
Fans and Twitter.com followers of Matthew found him to be as funny in real life as he is on his site www.MatthewEbel.com Yet, there’s another side to Matthew. He’s twisted. Just listen to his music. This gifted musical artist takes the most depressing subject and somehow manages to make you feel happy about it.
Not only does he write, perform, and produce his music, he’s also the marketing geek promoting his works. There’s yet another contradiction. Few people in any industry have the brilliance of mind in both marketing and the technical know-how Matthew holds.
Go to www.MatthewEbel.net and get your own “back stage pass” to his works in advance to release. You’ll also get music that will never be released anywhere else. Want ringtones? It’s there. Watch his videos. Get his “live” tracks. This man is Mr. Social Media of the music world.
Don’t forget to follow him at www.Twitter.com/MatthewEbel. His tweets are definitely sweet.
