Kevin -
My question was not about sending twitter updates ("tweets") via text
messaging (yes, I realize you can do this), but rather can you receive
"tweets" from others via text messaging on your cell phone. Obviously you
would want to limit this to just those "tweets" w/ a specific hash tag. At
minimum a birder in the field could text a rare bird sighting to twitter
which could then be forwarded to say the tweeters-alert email list and
distributed to the group. (Of course they could simply call someone to get
the word out but twitter distributes messages to a lot of people quickly.)
At some point there will be the critical mass, if not with us then certainly
with the next generation of birders, many of whom are already using these
rapidly evolving technologies.

Charles.

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 4:01 PM, Kevin Purcell <kevinpurcell at pobox.com>wrote:

> On Aug 31, 2009, at 2:50 PM, Charles Swift wrote:
>
> I don't know if it's possible to receive twitter updates via text
>> messaging - further research needed.
>>
>
> Yes, you can. That's why Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters so
> they fit in a standard SMS ("text") message.
>
> In fact, you can twitter by SMS i.e. you can send a rare bird tweet whilst
> actually looking at the Crested Caracara at the Fill by just sending a text
> message.
>
> From http://twitter.com/devices
>
> Twitter with SMS
>> Sending tweets while you're away from your computer makes things much more
>> interesting.
>>
>> It's all done through text messages (aka "SMS"), which you probably use
>> all the time anyway, so there's not much to learn.
>>
>> Twitter doesn't charge anything for this, but standard text messaging
>> rates or bundles may apply from your carrier.
>>
>> If you use your mobile in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or
>> New Zealand you can also receive tweets via SMS. You can text "OFF" to stop
>> receiving and "ON" to start again.
>>
>>
> To send tweets
>
> To update Twitter via SMS, you'll need to add your phone number to your
>> Twitter account, and verify it.
>>
>> 1. Go to http://twitter.com/devices (you'll need to log in)
>> 2. Add your phone number in the form provided.
>> 3. Follow the instructions provided to verify your phone.
>>
>> Once your phone is verified, you send updates via sms by sending your
>> 140-character message to Twitter's SMS number.
>> - If you're in the US, send to 40404
>> - If you're in Canada, send to 21212
>>
>
> Just remember that you get charged your providers rate for each text
> message tweet you receive.
>
> The biggest issue is getting a critical mass of birders to do this ...
> --
> Kevin Purcell
> kevinpurcell at pobox.com
>
>
>


--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura at gmail.com
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