Have you ever..

• needed a talking place where people can come and go? A virtual watercooler or VoiceIRC.
• wanted to have an hangout or virtual cafe to visit for talking and chatting with friends or family?
• worked from home and just wished you could drop in to a conversation?
• been part of a group of experts or help desk that answer customer inquiries?
• wanted to run a open focus group around a discussion item
• had to manage disaster management and needed a quick point of contact?
• invited people to talk about a topic?
• run a 24hour talkathon?

Now you can set up your very own Phweet Coffee Talk Cafe in less than a minute. Then invite your friends and colleagues and watch the conversation grow. Each time someone joins “visits” you will get a direct notification from @phweet with the name of who joined and and you can jump into session with them. At first you will want to do this everytime. But later when others are jumping in and you are busy you may just want to skip it. From time to time you may want to promote your URL and bring new people into the conversation.

We need your feedback. Tell us how you want to use it. Help us make it better.

So what happens in practice?
Someone joins the URL Eg http://phweet.com/45bs and everyone that is subscribed get’s a direct message from @phweet that  @twittername has joined http://phweet.com with @names. If you follow the link you can join in or just skip it if you are busy. Right now everyone that joins is auto subscribed. You become a member of this group. Here’s how Sheryl describes this as hyperconnected.

What’s important? The host doesn’t have to be in on the session. Anyone can visit the URL at anytime. Hang out for awhile and if someone else turns up dial-in or take the call on your laptop. Anyone in the Phweet Cafe can invite new users. The host retains the control to “kick” anyone that is disruptive.

This means your friends can meet each other here. At minimum they have you as a common connection even if you aren’t there.

How Create your own Phweet Coffee Talk Cafe:

• Log in to Phweet
• Follow the Link “Start a Coffee Talk Cafe”
• Write your message which sums up what you are going to talk about. This is what I wrote for a http://phweet.com/45bs: “is a conversation cafe to talk about Phweet. Subscribe and visit when others do.”

For further instructions follow these page by page details here

Notes on creating a Phweet Cafe

1. Leave the box un-checked if you want total control over who can join
the Phweet session. (This means they cannot join until you as the
“host” approve or decline their participation. This is just like a
traditional 1 to 1, or 1 to many Phweet.) This may be more appropriate if you want to limit participation to an organization.

2 Tick the box RECOMMENDED and now anyone can join and instantly be
talking with anyone currently in the session. As the host if you really don’t like them you can “kick” them from the call. This makes it much easier for you and your friends to grow this Phweet Cafe as the “host” is no longer an approval bottleneck.

Then Twitter broadcasts the launch of your Phweet. This Phweet session is public. You can now promote this persistent URL for as long as you want. When people visit you will be notified by a direct message from @phweet. It’s best if you set your Twitter notifications (in Twitter Settings) to send you an SMS everytime you get a direct message. That way you can dial in quickly from where ever you are. (Currently US numbers only)

What I’ve learned so far:

Invite a number of people to join you. Remember that people may visit your Phweet Cafe at anytime of day. So potentially the more the merrier. That way you no longer have to jump in all the time.

Everyone is subscribed when they join for the first time. If the updates from the group become overbearing then all you have to do is unsubscribe. Unsubscribing will also remove this persistent Phweet from your list of pending Phweets. If you have it bookmarked you can always return later as long as the host has not ended it.

Note currently you can create as many persistent Phweets as you like. However, that’s likely to become a premium service.

How is this different from other conferencing systems.
You no longer have to remember any number to dial in. All anyone has to know is the PhweetURL. You can use it at both set times or spontaneously at anytime. People can come and go.

How might you use this?
The more visible and more you promote the URL the more likely you are to stimulate the conversation.

Undirected Phweets can be started in “auto-accept” mode where any visitor to the URL is “auto-approved” and immediately joins the Phweet. The host can still “kick” them out. Otherwise, normal request/approve controls are in place, where the host must approve (once) those users that want to join, the same way it works for normal Phweets. Hosts can also create the Phweet URL with normal host acceptance controls, and then “invite” specific users to join, sort of like a “broadcast”, which essentially pre-approves those specific users, but still requires anyone else to ask to join and to be approved by the host.

Perhaps we should call these kinds of a Phweets “Coffee Talk” from the SNL skit where the Linda Richmond character would introduce a topic, such as “The Progressive Era was neither progressive nor an era” and then say “Discuss.”

This new feature is not formally launched yet, but is available for testing.  To create an “Undirected Phweet” sign in to Phweet.com and use this link: http://phweet.com/phweetup.cgi

Try it and give us some feedback about what you think this feature needs.

Dial-in to Phweet and use your phone or mobile Phweet Detail Step by Step with instructions.
Dial-in to Phweet Slideshow (turn ‘info on”) This is the same show below with instructions visible.

Currently dial-in is only available for US numbers. If you have a US number as your Skype CallerID that will work too.

Note if you put your dial-in number in more than one Phweet account it will stop working for it no longer knows which account you are calling in from.

We have many more solutions and choices on the way. My first SIP share uses Gizmo5 a SIP based client that embraces open telephony that has been around almost as long as Skype. The way we use it gives it new meaning. You won’t need to add any buddies or new contacts. You will just need an account setup. Then you will find the audio quality improves and you gain new opportunities to direct calls to where you want for just a few dollars.

Gizmo5 and Phweet Detail Step by Step with instructions.
Gizmo5 and Phweet Slideshow (turn ‘info on”) This is the same show below with instructions visible.

When you follow the complete set of instructions and if you enable this new Phweet client on auto answer you will find that accepting Phweets becomes “seamless”. “Accept Invitiation” and you are talking. However do be aware that if you are hosting the call and have Gizmo5 set this way when the Recipient accepts the call you may just hear them calling out “hey… are you there?” for there won’t be a ring. Disable the auto answer if this bothers you. Key point is when hosting a Phweet you don’t want to miss that call when they accept your request to talk.

For Advanced Users some things to note:

If you have access to any SIP number you can direct calls to that device. For example in your company you may actually have a SIP phone on your desktop and you probably don’t even know it. All you need is the SIP address for that phone and you can insert it in Phweet. Now you can direct calls that handset just by selecting the channel. Ask the IT guys.

I’ve shown this example using Gizmo5. Using it on your desktop costs nothing. Forwarding calls to many other SIP numbers is also free. The only time you pay is when the call has to be connected to a PSTN number (that’s your mobile or landline). One day maybe even your mobile provider will give you a SIP number. Why should you pay for redirecting a VoIP call to your mobile? It’s your handset don’t you just want the convenience? Note in the USA you are running minutes either way! SIP would be cheaper for the mobile operator!

Gizmo5 is also installed on many high end Nokia n-series handsets with WiFi. Similarly Truphone offers a similar service. This makes it easier to integrate using Phweet on your mobile. If you already use Truphone you can insert your SIP number into Phweet the same way we updated channels with Phweet. Unfortunately many companies that use SIP / VoIP related protocols remain closed. Examples of CLOSED TELEPHONEY are Skype, Rebtel, Jajah, Mobivox. We hope they will soon provide their users with SIP connection options so their users can embrace the numberless calling opportunity provided by Phweet. At Phweet we’d suggest you consider moving your “CallOUT” minutes to providers that embrace this philosopy. It won’t cost you anymore to use their services to make your long distance calls.

When you have added other Channel options to Phweet you will find that you can even “leave” a Phweet and return on anther channel. This is something I often do. Taking the call on my mobile and then switching to another phone or application.

Apart from embracing OPEN TELEPHONY, one of the key differences Phweet embraces is the idea of zero switching costs. We don’t want you to download new software to get you talking. We don’t want you to adopt or have to use a headset on a laptop if you hate talking that way. I know I like walking around outside when I’m talking. You like talking on your home phone or office phone? If you have a unique callerID you can simply add that to the channel page and “dial-in” to the Phweet session. I know a number of people that wait for their browser to “whistle” and then change channels to “dial-in” and simply have the number on speed-dial! This only works in the USA for now. Other countries will be coming. See also the iPhone with Phweet instructions.

When you set up a Phweet you create your own private telephone exchange that you then advertise (share) to those you want to talk to by sending them a Twitter message. This message and the PhweetURL it contains replaces the dial-tone. Just keep thinking about it. You don’t need a number to call anyone anymore. You just need to see their profile or a webpage with a little Phweet button on it. Need to see that? Check this out. Adding Phweet to your Twitter page.

iPhone and Phweet Detail Step by Step with instructions.
iPhone and Phweet Slideshow (turn ‘info on”)This is the same show below with instructions visible.

Note: I’ve tested the same basic approach on Nokia n-Series phones. Like the iPhone example (we’re stil an alpha!) the screens have not been optimized. On an N95 if you zoom the browser to 50% Phweet presents ok.

Some things to note.
When you send a Phweet it is a talk request. Depending on how the recipient manages their twitter notifications they may get it instantly (SMS) or there may be a delay (twitter apps) or even longer if it is a direct message and they check their email infrequently.

To be fast and responsive set up SMS notifications to your phone (Twitter limits this to US, Canada, & India for now). You can do this in settings / devices / SMS / on. Concurrently change your settings / notifications / “all @ replies”. Then even people you are not following can send you a message and potentially a call request. This should be the default.

All Phweets set up by “d” direct message are private. Only the host may invite additional people into the Phweet. Friends and Followers may ast the host to join public “@” phweets. That makes them more fun!

Dial-in works great when you receive Phweet however take care using dial-in when you send Phweets to others. If you miss the SMS beep notifying you of your friends acceptance they may be left on the bridge listening to music. Today I recommend solving this by downloading Gizmo5 installing on your PC, going to the profile and adding the SIP number to your channels. Then buying some minutes and setting Gizmo5 to call forward to your mobile. Now when you are not on your laptop or fail to answer the call there your mobile will ring. No need to ever miss that important moment when your Phweet request has been accepted. Plus now you have the freedom to take Phweet calls almost anywhere.

RIght now you must have a US “CallerID’ for this to work. We hope to add other countries in the future. If you have a US SkypeIn number you can also set that as your CallerID and then use Skype to dial-in to your Phweet session.

It will look like this after acceptance. If you do not see a page that looks like this turn off your adblocker for Phweet.com. Refresh the page. It should appear.

Note the popup blue flash widget. How did we get here. You were sent a PhweetURL like http://phweet.com/URL and you then logged in with your Twitter name and password. You then opened the session. You would have seen “accept on my browser”. You clicked on “Accept” and then nothing seemed to happen.

What should happen. You should hear a piercing bird whistle as the Flash widget launches. When it appears you click on it once to talk and the first time the widget will ask you to “allow” the use of your mic and speakers. It is not webcam enabled. Now you should be talking! Note if you get to the exchange bridge before the other party you may hear music. That is just like being on hold waiting for a conference call to start.

Note if you are there first put a message in the window. The first time is always a little weird. After that it can become second nature.

To stop the Flash widget asking you to allow each time right click on it and tick the check box. You can also amend your audio settings.

The Flash solution works best with a headset! You can also leave the call temporarily and return. A little like putting it on mute. Remember your buddy if there is only one in the call will hear music at that point.

In the next generation version we will be improving the Flash detection approach and making other options like “dial-in” more obvious. Tomorrow I will share “dial-in” and how to make it work.

So how do you get smart about and on Twitter? Read More

Settings:
First things first. Fix your settings. Login to Twitter, go to “settings” and then in the tab Notices see the line @replies… change the poorly choosen default from “@ replies to the people I’m following” to “all @ replies“. See my settings below. This is just step one. What it means is you can get a notification when someone anyone sends you an @stuarthenshall you. I believe at one time this was the default. It still should be.

Why change this? If you don’t you may not see all @messages. It also means that if you send an @message and they are not following you they simply won’t see it. That’s dumb! It’s the same as sending an email to an address that doesn’t exist. The problem is on Twitter you don’t know this and thus newbies are left confused.

Note: You cannot send direct messages to people that do not follow you. This means that Twitter can be a fairly safe place to send @messages for you can always see who the other person is and what they Tweet. If you can’t well that’s because they have their updates protected. That too makes little sense to me. What protected should mean is a “for my group” only. Note if you get @messages and approaches from someone you don’t like then simply block them rather than blocking everyone.

Devices:
The big secret to making Twitter more responsive and you being more active is getting the notifications of @ and direct messages when they happen. Right now the only way to do this is activate SMS notifications. Unfortunately Twitter just turned them off for those outside the US, Canada and India. (See my post here, and these 2% Importance? and Industry Impact .) That means that if you have a number of followers and you are out in the woods you will probably miss that @message which could just be the one to make your day. So if you can. Activate SMS notifications. Now you will get all @ and ‘d” messages sent to your cellphone. You can respond with updates there too.

This means if you have a lot of buddies you better have an unlimited text plan in the US and Canada. HUGE WARNING>>> Unlimted text plan! You can respond to in the US to 40404. You can also turn this “on” and “off”

Following:
There are two types of activity levels that I now follow. First. I have a strategy to follow everyone. That means they can send me direct messages. It also means they have a little more confidence that I’ll respond. I just find it hard to keep up with the approval process which Twitter makes more cumbersome than it should be.

Second. I have a few a real few favorites (those I work with type of things) which I am prepared to follow there every tweet with a beep to my phone. Here’s a screenshot where I have “device notifications follow everything on”. Note if you have used this function in the past for pushing notifcations for to chat which is now broken then you may get more SMS’s than you expected. You will want to stop the notifications on some of these individuals.

So in this example. Change Dan from Yes to No and I no longer get SMS’s of his updates. However I will still get SMS updates when directed to me via an @ or “d” message.

Summary:
Direct notifications of @ and “d” messages to SMS and set your very favorite buddies to on! Use SMS to update when you are just around. Or use Twinkle or another twitter client on your mobile.

Now you are more connected to your Twitter world and one step closer to your Phweet Smart Life. The benefit for those using Phweet. You won’t miss the notifications and your friends thinking you didn’t want to talk.

People discuss how asynchronous Twitter is. For some it is and that is why they don’t get it. For those that know how Twitter is just as fast and often more rewarding than IM. Every Twitter super user should be trying to get the apparent latency out of 1 to 1 correspondence. You can’t do it with the default settings or any of the current desktop clients (I’m yet to hear it) for they don’t make different signals for @ and “d” messages. A huge oversight.

Twitter and Phweet work better when you apply the above. Happy Phweet Tweet Life!

Here’s what it looks like:

Note: If you are not yet logged into Phweet you will be asked to first. This is just like any Twitter web app. Phweet uses your Twittername and password to send updates via the API. After the first time Phweet will remember you. Any questions just @stuarthenshall. Your friend will decide when or if to accept your talk request. You are most likely to get a quick response if they recently updated or follow @ or ‘D’ replies on SMS or on a web app like Tweetdeck, Twhirl or Twitterriffic.

How to make your Twitter Phweet Smart!

My colleague David (@mrblog) developed a simple little Greasemonkey hack for Phweet. It provides an easy-to-use Phweet button- all you do is click on the icon next to the name and you start talking! No extra clicks or registration!

Currently it only works with Firefox. To install the hack in Firefox:

• Install the Greasemonkey add-on in Firefox
• Visit PhweetLinkify or just click this Link to install the phweet.user.js script.
• Then re-load your Twitter page. Voila!

Now go and think about your web service and consider how quickly Phweet can bring a seamless voice activation to your users. Phweet! The whole world could be talking at the click of a button!

]]> http://blog.phweet.com/2008/08/18/phweet-from-your-twitter-web-page/feed/ 1 http://blog.phweet.com/2008/08/09/phweet-support-and-faqs/ http://blog.phweet.com/2008/08/09/phweet-support-and-faqs/#comments Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:37:30 +0000 dina http://blog.phweet.com/?p=114 Phweet Support and FAQ’s is up.  Thanks for all your feedback, we’ve begun to address many of your queries in there. It is work in progress and we look forward to learning about new issues and questions you may have.  And we continue to welcome your feedback.

Do send a Tweet to @stuarthenshall or @phweeter on Twitter if you need any assistance or have suggestions for us.  Happy Phweeting!