Twitter

[LiamFitz]

I know this might sound strange... but I was wondering if any Audax riders use Twitter?  I am being lured into trying it out at work and was trying to see if it had any genuine value in my real life.  I see that Audax Australia has a Twitter site but doesn't seem to use it.

Anyone using it?  Can anyone see any practical use for the ability to post 140 character messages? 

Liam

[MSeries]

yes. I used it to report my progress during PBP until I got tired of doing it. The official web tracking was good enough on that event.

[LiamFitz]

I started doing it on a recent ride - but of course no one was listening

I was thinking it might be useful if you wanted to tell several people what time to expect you/put the kettle on...

[perpetual dan]

Carlton Reid's son did ... discussed on ready to ride.

[MSeries]

For the vast majority of my rides so few people seem to care about where I am or what my ETA is going to be so I just text or call them directly !! (and I don't mind that). I may use Twitter for LEL this year.

I quite like the widget to embed in another webpage

[Chris S]

I'm on Twitter, but don't use it for Audax updates - I use SMS to Mrs S for that, just so she knows I'm not dead in a ditch somewhere (it stops her rushing out to spend the life insurance).

There was some mention of using it for LEL updates on a thread I started over in the LEL room.

[MSeries]

I used a MSN twitter type thing for 2005 LEL

MSeries LELBlog - Windows Live

[RichForrest]

I'll probably use it on LEL to update my facebook page so that friends can see how I'm doing on route.

[nic]

I will tweet on LEL (@nichbuick).

[vorsprung]

I was gonna twitter on LEL but I've just looked up the price of Orange texts to twitter

Apparently twitter uses a sms gateway on the Isle of Man

The price of texts to the Isle of Man, despite it being a UK number, is not regulated.  Orange charge them as if international.  This also means you can't buy the texts ahead of use for PAYG

[vistaed]

Mrs Vistaed is going to give me twitter lesson this afternoon, think she would like me to use it to keep her, family and friends up to date with LEL progress. Might ty it out with the Dean as an experiment. I'm not convinced myself as I think it's just something else to faff about with, mind it's something to do whilst waiting for tea to brew!

[LiamFitz]

I am planning on trying it properly on the Dean next week... although I am quite sceptical.

LiamFitz

[Chris N]

I was going to try it out on a DIY 200 today, but couldn't be bothered.  I think it'll be the same on LEL too, unfortunately.

[GrandMaster Flash]

I can't see the point.  On LEL I will probably SMS SWMBO when I  get to a control but if she doesn't hear from me for a while she will assume that I am having an attack of the doozies. 

There were stories on PBP in 2003 that some peole were ringing up the organisers in a panic as the website tracker hadn't shown any progress for their loved ones for a few hours.  My family just assumed I was asleep somewher or riding slowly.  Too much expectation these days of instant message delivery (email and txts are 'fire and forget' with no guarantees of delivery).

Patrick

[D0m1n1c Burford]

For the vast majority of my rides so few people seem to care about where I am or what my ETA is going to be so I just text or call them directly !! (and I don't mind that). I may use Twitter for LEL this year.

I quite like the widget to embed in another webpage

The widget is great, and I've embedded this in my onw web page.  Also, check out the Twitter buttons http://www.twitterbuttons.com/

[Greenbank]

I can't see the point.  On LEL I will probably SMS SWMBO when I  get to a control but if she doesn't hear from me for a while she will assume that I am having an attack of the doozies. 

When I first started this Audaxing lark Mrs G would get worried if I didn't check in (by SMS or call) every 3 or 4 hours (i.e. at each control). On my recent 3-day London to Edinburgh she was visiting a friend in an area of no mobile phone coverage and survived quite well with just one or two updates a day (me calling a landline). I don't plan on doing much else for LEL.

Work pay my phone bill on the understanding that I don't take the piss with it. I wouldn't want to find out whether 20 texts to Twitter in a week is deemed "reasonable" or not, especially if they are classed as international.

[Salvatore]

I was gonna twitter on LEL but I've just looked up the price of Orange texts to twitter

Apparently twitter uses a sms gateway on the Isle of Man

The price of texts to the Isle of Man, despite it being a UK number, is not regulated.  Orange charge them as if international.  This also means you can't buy the texts ahead of use for PAYG

FOr the time being at least, Vodafone would appear to be the supplier of choice for Twitter in the UK.

Extending the power of the real-time network globally through the simple technology of SMS is a driving goal for Twitter. Anyone in the world can update Twitter via SMS but receiving tweets on your mobile has been restricted to North America. Today, we're happy to announce an agreement between Vodafone UK and Twitter. The shortcode for UK Vodafone customers is 86444 and you can activate your mobile in your Twitter settings.

What's The Deal?

Vodafone UK has signed an agreement with Twitter allowing customers to send and receive SMS updates at no additional cost. Sending tweets from your mobile will be part of your normal text messaging bundle with Vodafone—there will be no extra fees. In fact, for the first few weeks, sending tweets won't even affect your bundle. Receiving tweets via SMS on your mobile is totally free. Vodafone loves Twitter!

It costs me 10p to send an SMS to Twitter, and nothing to receive them (Vodafone PAYG).

[vistaed]

I used twitter during the Dean last weekend to see how it works. I found it to be just another thing to do at the controls but it did work quite well. My wife enjoyed following my progress and a few others were watching. I think I will use it on the BCM and the LEL, and maybe for a DIY 400 I'm planning, but that will be it. During 1 day audax's it's not worth the extra faff!

james

[nic]

I suppose twitter on LEL could be an interesting experiment in its own right. I can imagine it coud lead to some interesting chatter between participants, people following the ride.

[marna]

I use twitter a bit anyway, and I really like using it when out on bike rides. I mostly post lists of beasties spotted, and cakes scoffed, and other little snippets that I might otherwise forget, rather than a proper progress update or anything like that.

[D0m1n1c Burford]

I used twitter during the Dean last weekend to see how it works. I found it to be just another thing to do at the controls but it did work quite well. My wife enjoyed following my progress and a few others were watching. I think I will use it on the BCM and the LEL, and maybe for a DIY 400 I'm planning, but that will be it. During 1 day audax's it's not worth the extra faff!

james

Is that what you were doing on your mobile at all the controls 

As much as I like twittering, I'd find sending out tweets at each control to be too much faffing around, and just be another thing to have to remember to do.