I'm using twitter more now that I'm trying to type less.

That makes me wonder if it's worth sticking a Twitter Badge on my blog.


follow jzawodn at http://twitter.com

Thoughts?

BTW, my finger is getting better every day. I can't wait to start flying again!

Posted by jzawodn at April 13, 2008 11:07 PM

Reader Comments
# faizal said:

why not, but I prefer the non-java one. look more simple.

on April 14, 2008 12:00 AM
# Jeremy Johnstone said:

I've never been a fan of any of the badges I have seen for twitter. They all feel very amateurish and cheasy. I decided to go the route of having it as plain text on my homepage + a separate section on my site dedicated to the tweets. Check out my new updated homepage to see what I mean. The code to make it work is ultra simple (~33 lines of PHP code), but if you want a copy let me know.

on April 14, 2008 02:36 AM
# Jeremy Zawodny said:

You mean non-Flash? The other option is JavaScript.

on April 14, 2008 06:33 AM
# Jeremy Palmer said:

The JS implementation gives you complete control over styling through the div tag. I think it would look a lot better on your site than one of the flash badges.

Best,
Jeremy

on April 14, 2008 05:54 PM
# Luca said:

Short version: yes.

Long version: yes - why not?

on April 15, 2008 01:51 PM
# Brad Kellett said:

I made a custom job that pulls the Twitter RSS feed with caching. That way I have total control over the display and it won't slow down page loads if Twitter is acting up. See the sidebar on my blog - http://pantsland.com

on April 16, 2008 02:09 AM
# Javaun Moradi said:

I have a javascript badge on my blog that writes my updates out in text.

http://javaunmoradi.com/blog

If you take this route, I would definitely take the extra step of splitting the presentation (div tag) from the JS library that writes code to the page. It will save you a lot of grief.

You put the div tag wherever you want the feed to appear (in my case, the right column). But it's ideal to put the JS file in the footer. Twitter's servers sometimes get overwhelmed and respond slowly. If the JS file is too high up on the page, your blog page may pause and wait to render your Twitter feed before it renders the rest of the page. By putting the JS in the footer, users at least see all the page content when Twitter is bogged down.

Of course, I skipped your original question: should you put in on your blog? I think it depends on how you intend to use Twitter. If you primarily use it to follow others vs. wanting others to follow you (Scoble blogged on this: http://scobleizer.com/2008/04/13/twitter-and-inadequacy-er-the-great-friend-divide/),
I don't think you need to put it on your feed. But if you do plan to tweet a lot, I think you'd be a great contributor to the Twitter community and this is a great way to show others your feed.

on April 16, 2008 07:12 AM
# David Chan said:

If you're still looking for a Twitter badge, and one that's more personal than the official ones, then try a SayTweet badge (humbly called a canvas) at http://saytweet.com .

You can tag yourself and a few other Twitter users in your favorite picture, and it'll create a dynamic badge using that picture that you can post to your web site or blog (works great in your blog's About page).

If you're still looking for a Twitter badge, go check out http://saytweet.com

David

on September 8, 2008 01:45 AM
# mel said:

can i noe where to get the codes of your twitter??
will want to use tht too. =)

on November 28, 2008 06:57 AM
# diana said:

how can i get a code for twittter like u above?

on April 1, 2009 11:02 PM
# Joseph said:

I do not find useful a badge that show off my twitts. What is useful to add to our sites is a real time followers badge. There is a site at www.twittbadges.com where you can create your own badges. It is really interesting.

on June 3, 2009 03:05 AM
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone. My current, past, or previous employers are not responsible for what I write here, the comments left by others, or the photos I may share. If you have questions, please contact me. Also, I am not a journalist or reporter. Don't "pitch" me.

 

Privacy: I do not share or publish the email addresses or IP addresses of anyone posting a comment here without consent. However, I do reserve the right to remove comments that are spammy, off-topic, or otherwise unsuitable based on my comment policy. In a few cases, I may leave spammy comments but remove any URLs they contain.