You can get an invite directly from Google (https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/) or you can be invited by an existing member, which is why there are so many people simply asking and begging existing members for a spare invitation. Twitter is riddled with people blatantly asking for invitations, and I have heard of people actually selling them to others! If you want to see the chatter, follow the hashtag #googlewaveinvite on twitter.

I am lucky enough to still have some invites available, and have allocated 15 out of my stash to give away to desperate people in need on an invite.

I will be randomly choosing 15 names from the people who tweet or comment on this post, and inviting them to Google Wave. I will choose 5 random names from people who tweet, 5 from people who comment using a disqus profile, and 5 from people who comment using a non-disqus profile.

If for some reason very few people comment or tweet this post, then everyone will get an invite.

I use websites like Twitter all the time, and see loads of shortened URL’s being used, and every time I see one I dont recognize, I go check out the website, to see what they have to offer. Some of the websites simply create a shortened URL, that redirects to your website link, these ones sometimes expire after a certain amount of time, so beware!

I absolutely hate tinyurl.com, and think the only reason it has been so popular, is because it was one of the first, and because it was super simple to instantly shorten a url, no login or account required.

That being said, one that I have come to really like is called Trim (http://tr.im), and is one of those ‘no hassle’ websites we all like. Its possible to sign up for free, and be using their services in no time whatsoever.

What I like about their service, is that you have a record of all your shortened URL’s, and can see stats on them at any time.  Another great feature, is the option to automatically tweet your links as you make them, which is pretty sweet. For me though, the icing on the cake is the ability to custom make your url! Yep, you heard me, you can customize your URL, eg http://tr.im/FrancoisHarris will take you through to this blog!

Another really good one is http://bit.ly, which seems to have the same functionality as http://tr.im, also allowing you to also create a custom URL, and track the click through stats, as well as giving you the option to tweet your shortened URL. It also seems that bit.ly and twitter are good friends too, as twitter is using them for url shortening now.

One downfall Trim and Bitly both seem to have, is that I am not able to edit the destination URL AFTER it has been created.

I would like to be able to use affiliate links for instance, so that they are shortened and I can track the clicks, but what happens if I want to change the destination URL to a different provider, but keep the custom URL I have created? It would be far better to edit the destination URL, than to go through all my old websites, changing all the shortened URL’s. ClickAudit was able to do this, and it was one of their great features.

I do realize that these services are designed primarily for shortening the length of a URL, and NOT for tracking affiliate clicks, but why cant they be used for both?

I would love to hear what services you are all using, and what makes them so special, please feel free to post a comment.

Cheers for now

Every time you type a response to the question, your response is pasted onto your profile page, and also slotted in with everyone elses responses on the main twitter page, in near real time. Now some people have slated the twitter service, asking why would anyone be interested if I am ‘out shopping’ or ‘watching tv’, and why would anyone want to let the world know the fact. These people obviously have not used the system for any length of time, or thought very hard about the possibilities available. I am gonna outline a few reasons why it is such a great service, that already there are clones popping up, with big business trying to jump onto the twitter bandwagon.

Twitter is accessable on the twitter.com website, but also via plugins for your browser, or widgets for your computer. I personally have the twitter plugin for firefox running, and everytime I get an update or need to update my status, I do it from my status bar, I dont even have to visit the twitter site.

One of the great features of twitter is the ‘follow’ option. A twitter user is able to ‘follow’ the ‘tweets’ or posts of another fellow twitter user, basically keeping track of everything they are doing. How is this a great feature? One way is where two or more twitter users can keep each other updated on work or projects they are working on together, by posting to twitter. Imaging an office where everyone knows exactly what each other is working on at all times, what someone on the team is waiting for from another member and so on, all updated in near real time. Keep team members up to date on schedules, time changes, sign offs, events etc. Followers are also able to receive updates via email as well as rss feeds of your profile page.

Its possible to let followers know exactly what website you are on, supply the url, and invite them to the address. Think about that for web marketing purposes! Because your posts are added to the main twitter feed, as well as your profile page, other twitter users who arent even following you will also see your posts with web addresses. Imagine you wanted to promote a competition or something on a website, and needed loads of traffic fast, making a post to twitter could be the solution.

Twitter is mobile! Thats right, twitter can be operated from all decent mobile phones! You are able to keep track of the people you are following, as well as update them via your mobile phone. Think how cool that could be to get breaking news delivered direct to your phone from someone you are following. Speaking of news, many news websites and reporters have already made profiles for themselves, and are already posting headlines and breaking news stories. All you have to do is follow the profile, and you could be getting breaking news on your mobile from your favourite newspaper within seconds of it happening! Forget going to press, loading onto a website etc, that all takes time, now you can get a news story within seconds of it happening. Even some fire departments, police stations, community watch projects etc, have begun to use twitter to keep the public informed.

Many corporations have also seen the potential, and have started using twitter to advertise specials, sales, competitions etc to followers. Some have even started to use twitter to keep sales reps, managers and other employees up to date, and informed of orders, problems, meetings, presentations etc. Even some celebrity personalities have also seen the potential and have started to use twitter as a means to keep their fans updated with what they are doing. This goes too for industry leaders in their fields, who have almost cult like followings of twitter fans, who lap up every post you make. Some politicians have also started using the twitter service in their election campaigns! Yep, keeping the voters informed all the time, building loyalty, and continually expressing their policies directly to the mobile phones and desktops of potential voters!

One feature I like about twitter is the ability to see who is following a particular user. So I can see who a competitor / leader / celebrity / personality is following, and who they basically feel is worthy to recieve updates from. I have taken the time to in turn follow these people myself, after all, if person x feels they are worth following, maybe I should be following them too. This has worked in reverse too, where I have got notification of people following me, who live on the other end of the world, and who I have never met.

A variety of great twitter related websites have also started, all enhancing the twitter experience for the browser. From showing the geographical location of twitter users on a map, to a great one which allows you to organise and group your twitter contacts, enableing you to post updates to specific groups instead of all your followers. Even Facebook.com has been effected, with a variety of twitter plugins available.

For me, twitter is amazingly powerful, and is about to explode in popularity as soon as the rest of the web catches on to this already extremely busy web service. Currently there is around 500 000 active users of the twitter service, which incidently is running on a Ruby on Rails system for you geeks out there.

If you are not a member already, join NOW, and while you are at it, you may as well visit my profile and follow me! Visit http://twitter.com/southafricadude