What is Twitter? An introduction...
Twitter
is an information network, much like Facebook or LinkedIn - where people exchange
news and conversation relating to their current activities; their views or even
their workplace. Twitter is somewhat different, in that it is designed to
be mobile and so each message (or 'Tweet') is limited to 140 characters - no
photos or long paragraphs; just enough room for a couple of sentances please!
Although limited in size of it messages, Twitter can provide a great platform
for cricket! Never before has an amateur league had the chance
to get live scores during league games and provide coverage on the web.
Before twitter, there would have to be a correspondant at every match. In
the Saddleworth League (for the Senior matches) this would need 20 people, full
season.
By using Twitter, anyone with a mobile phone can post 'tweets', which are then
filtered to provide the stayleyscores feed on the web.
This is a free service - Twitter put up the network, and Stayley thought of a
really good use for it. We just need feedback from the matches to carry on
How it works
First of all, you need to register your own account at Twitter, and activate
your mobile phone to that account. If you are having any difficulty with
this process, please
email
and I will endeavour to help you with the problem. Stayley members
can simply send a text 'Dot Com' - a twitter account is not necessary and your
captain/clubhouse will have my details.
Secondly, once on Twitter, you need to 'follow' #stayleyscores.
To send messages to stayleyscores, please use the five-digit text code provided
by Twitter, and use #stayleyscores as your opening word.
It is a good idea to try out a couple of test messages first, but please
remember that the text is limited to 140 characters. Team names should be kept to four
characters and texts just report the basics.
For example, if Stayley (batting first) played Austerlands
in the firxt XI competition, your text should
simply read:
First XI. STAY 220 for 10 tea
At the end of play, the score could be
First XI. STAY 220 for 10 AUST 221 for 8
By using this format, it gives enough room for special events such as rain or
poor light (!?), but please use different tweets for good performances etc.
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