links for 2008-08-15

Hmmm let's see this took someone a few hours to set it up. Research project or the real deal? Apparently the US is a country… Why would I need it here? The real question is how hard did Twitter look at the data before pulling the plug. Was it just a few hundred that will likely be very vocal or was it 1000's?

Techcrunch writes that the startups are already trying to fill the void. There are other ways to do it. Like use Feedwordpress on your twitter feed and then subscibe to the blog updates via email. Maybe not. Point is innovative people will fill the gap.

Chris Brogan provides a great post and summary reminder of the best way to contact busy people. I like it and it's also one of the reasons for "Phweet". Phweet leads to a world where you decide what conversations should escalate to voice. That's a big change and a giant step forward for telephony.

Good note from Twitter on how they are trying to negotiate a better deal on SMS with mobile operators. One difficulty is Twitter lacks leverage. They have to enhance and broaden their strategy if they are to get the deal they need.