Twackle = Twitter on Your Website

I just got off the phone w/ Jim from Twackle.com, they are the providers of our Recent Tweets application on NascarView and provide a great product for a lot of different sports as well. In terms of twitter applications and widgets that you can utilize on your website, there are literally hundreds out there, but there are only a select few that I would actually recommend to my clients for a couple of different reasons, this is actually one that I utilize on my own personal project, if that tells you anything… 

I spoke to Jim about possibly further extending what we are doing on NascarView and Twitter as well as a ministry idea that Bobby Shirley from the Ramp and myself were brainstorming on this morning. 

If you are unfamiliar w/ Twackle, I recommend checking out their website, http://www.twackle.com, also here’s a little bit of info I pulled from their Frequently Asked Questions section of their website:

What is Twackle?
Think of it as your online sports hangout with the latest Twitters about sports leagues, teams, athletes, events, and news in a single, easy-to-use destination. We’ve done the heavy lifting (and searching) and put it all into easy to use Twackle feeds.

Is that it?
Actually, no, it gets even better. You can respond back to any Twitter message you see on Twackle (just click on “Reply” next to the message) or add to any conversation right from Twackle.com (we call it the barstool). We also provide widgets to let you embed your favorite Twackle feeds on your website or blog. And there’s even a Twackle Facebook application.

So what do I do now?
Need some hand holding? Don’t worry, it’s easy. Just use the navigation bar on the top of every page to browse the Twackle feeds for your favorite league, team, athlete, or sporting event.

I’m kind of shy, do I have to write anything?
Maybe it’s time you break out of your shell, wallflower? But no, you don’t need to write anything. At Twackle, you can just see what everyone else is saying in the twittersphere about your favorite league, team, athlete, or sporting event.

OK, I’m feeling more outgoing now.
Good for you! See that “Reply” button under each tweet in a Twackle feed? Go ahead and click on it and you can add to the conversation. Or, if you want to add to the feed without replying to any one user, just click in the barstool and trash talk away (keep it clean, buddy!). By the way, all those messages you are writing in the Twackle barstool will also show up in your Twitter feed – we know, pretty sweet.

Can I still post a new message or a reply if I’m not a Twitter member?
Not yet (but soon), but maybe you should look in the mirror and ask why you’re not part of Twitter yet? All the cool kids are doing it. Go sign up. I mean right now, seriously. It’s embarrassing.

OK, fair point. But say I’m on Twitter. Can I post a message on Twackle from my Twitter page or mobile device?
What do you think this is, amateur hour? Of course you can. Just put “#Twackle” anywhere in your tweet and it will automatically show up in our “Latest From Fellow Twacklers” Feed. (For example: “#Twackle At the game, we’re down by 2 at half.”)

What’s the skinny on myTwackle?
myTwackle lets you have all your favorite feeds on one page so you don’t have to go hunting around for them. Just click on the “Favorite” button over any feed, or the “Follow On Twackle” link for any Twackler, and they’ll be added to your myTwackle page. For any Twackler that you follow, you’ll see any message they write on Twackle.com, and messages they send on Twitter that we pull in from the twittersphere.

I don’t see tweets to and from some of my favorite athletes. What’s up with that Twackle?
Unfortunately, we can only show tweets to and from athletes that are actually using Twitter. But, if you know about an athlete using Twitter that is not listed on Twackle, drop us a line and let us know.

What’s all this I’m hearing about Twackle widgets?
Say you love Twackle (a given), but you’re too lazy to come back to us every day and look at your favorite Twackle feeds (don’t worry, we don’t take it personally, everyone knows you’re lazy). Well, then a Twackle widget is for you, slacker. Just create a widget out of a single Twackle feed, or any combination of Twackle feeds, and we’ll give you the embed code to insert the widget on your website or blog.

Is it hard to get a Twackle widget?
Of course not. Just click on the "Grab This Widget" link for any feed. All of your feeds will pop up in a toolbar on the bottom of the screen. Once you have the feeds you want in the toolbar, click on the “Customize Widget” button in the toolbar. All you have to do now is choose a size and a color, and hit the “Generate Widget Code” button. All done.

Your colors are lame. How do I add a custom color to a Twackle widget?
(Ignoring insult) Know anything about hexadecimal color codes? If you do (showoff), just enter in the six-digit color code in the Custom Color field on the Generate Widget Code page.

Um, I don’t want to call you out, but you said I could add Twackle widgets to my blog, and it’s not working on WordPress.
Good news bad news here. First, the good news. If you host your own WordPress blog, you can download a plug-in that allows you to embed IFrame widgets onto your blog. These are general steps to install the IFrame plug-in:

1. Unzip the IFrame plug-in file
2. Copy the files to your ‘/wp-content/plugins’ directory where your blog is hosted
3. Activate plug-in

WordPress provides further instructions on how to install and manage plug-ins that you have downloaded if you are not sure how to copy the files over or how to activate the plug-in.

And the bad news?

Unfortunately, WordPress does not allow IFrames or plug-ins to be added to blogs hosted on WordPress, so you may be out of luck until you start hosting your blog. But, if you have any ideas on how to embed IFrames on WordPress.com blogs, shout it out to us.

This is so cool, but I’m really social (I have like 700 friends on Facebook). Can I put the Twackle widgets on Facebook? If you’re on Facebook, Mr. Popular, then yes. Check out our Twackle Facebook application.

What’s in store for the future?
I can’t say, but get ready for tons of awesomeness.

Twackle – Frequently Asked Questions