Yappd wasn't on the scene long that is for sure. It was basically an exact copy of twitter, a "me too" app that no one thought would last long. With the success of twitter however, more and more companies must recognize that twitter is onto something with the microblogging concept.  Here is the note on Yappd's website:

" We want to let our members know that we have been acquired by a third party. The future of Yappd will be in the form of another website that will most likely employ the same type of technology that we have created. In preparation for that site, we are going to close down the website. November 5, 2007 will be our last day of operation in our current form. We want to thank all of our members and developers, who have created amazing applications, for all of your support. It's because of all of you that we have made Yappd a success."

Can twitter help you lose weight?  Stephanie Quilao seems to thing so and will be twittering her way back into a pair of skinny jeans (http://twitter.com/skinnyjeans ).  Are we kidding?  Nope, she has a whole blog dedicated to the task and now you can follow her on twitter.

Now, is this a "useful use of twitter" or just a way to promote her blog?  Either way, we haven't heard of it being done before and hey, maybe it will help others that follow her by getting ideas on what works and doesn't work to shed the pounds.  Or maybe it will allow others to garner the courage to go public about their goals (not just weight loss), work toward them and update their friends on progress. 

Is this twitter noise?  We don't think so, that is the beauty of twitter.  If you don't like someone's comments or content, don't follow it.  Simple as that.  

So there you go, from weight loss, personal improvement and even business goals.  Some new uses for twitter for you..

Anyone else using twitter to publicise their goals and motivate them further? 

This just in from thisisgoingtobebig.com blog... They have posted a screenshot of what is possibly Twitter Inc. testing mobile phone ads via SMS. They show a tweet on the web and then one on the mobile and the mobile phone displayed tweet has a "Tip: Wow you look *good*" at the bottom. It is thought that this where the ads will be displayed. So, you could be seeing, Tip: The coldest beer in Chicago (or the best steak or..well..you get the drift). Just how localized or directed it is, no one is sure yet. 

Would you mind a small text add at the bottom of the twitter SMS updates?  Would you pay to remove them?  Let us know in the comments!

Original article Twitter Prepping its Mobile Ad Units? It was bound to happen eventually ...here.

There is a good conversation up between Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan. Chris Brogan is a social media expert specializing in building communities using digital tools. He is co-founder of PodCamp, a free unconference exploring the use of social media like podcasting and videoblogging to build relationships.

Here are the first two interview questions to get you started:

1. Question: What problem does Twitter solve?

   Answer: Twitter connects me to my friends, and introduces me to people I don’t know. It lets me reach an audience all at the same time which means that I can tell them what’s got my attention. THAT’s how I answer the question on Twitter because I think “What are you doing?” is too focused on me. I’d rather tell you about something I think is interesting, and show you how to get there. Sometimes it’s about me; sometimes it’s about someone I think deserves more attention.

2. Question: Why is knowing that your friend’s cat rolled important?

   Answer: It’s not that I really want to know about my friend’s cat, but I sure want to know about their lives. Why? Because it helps everyone feel connected across the distance. With the Internet comes the ability to have global friends, and a friend’s life isn’t just what they blog or podcast about. There’s lots of stuff that goes on in between. It’s like the commercial: “For everything else, there’s Twitter.”

The rest of the Chris Brogan and Twitter interview can be found here..

The Chinese Twitter clones are rolling out the software factory doors at a frightening pace. Another new entrant is now trying to get marketshare.

TaoTao is one that has a good chance to make it. It's backers are QQ , the insanely popular messaging network. QQ is currently the number 10 website in the world (according to alexa) and at one point in time, a vast majority of the Chinese net population used QQ as their IM solution. They have millions and millions of users to say the least. If they do a good job of cross marketing they should be able to get almost instant uptake. It will also be interesting on how they integrate with their existing QQ service and mobile phones.

Does any of this Chinese stuff matter? Yes, we think so. At the end of last year there were 137 million web users in China (by official goverment accounts) and by the end of 2007 that is projected to hit 200 million. You see, soon there will be more Internet users in China than ALL OF THE PEOPLE in the USA. The stakes are high and the west doesn't have access to the market (for the most part) due to language and other barriers.

Thanks to Biz Stone for this link to the Ocean Doctor . They are twittering their dives and experiences aboard the "Esperanza" and their trip in the Bering Sea. They are doing deep dives using subs and then twittering! Cool to follow if you are a diver or interested in Sea / Ocean adventuring.

An idea we had from this is, why not have a dive log based on twitter. You go for your dive and then SMS the info to twitter and it somehow gets stored to a personal dive log. It would be recorded forever under your personal log (maybe on a third party website). This way you would never have a dive log book that gets lost or never have the hassle of multiple dive books again (and the consolidation hassle later on). Thoughts?