Favstar.fm

We’re thinking about putting a little pro badge on user...

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:17:41 -0700

We’re thinking about putting a little pro badge on user profiles if the person is a pro member. What do you think?

Twitter for iPhone may not be showing all your mentions

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:03:39 -0700

Favstar’s been getting a lot of criticism recently for not sending notification tweets from @FavstarOfTheDay and other accounts. This has been odd, as when I’ve checked, the notification tweets (@mentions) have been there.

It turns out @Twitter for iPhone will sometimes not show a mention on their Connect -> Mentions tab. This seems to happen when an older mention has been retweeted by another user, which takes the place of the mention that should be there.

These screenshots show @Favstar’s mentions. First, a screenshot from Tweetbot for Mac. Note the mentions from @BauDaLayla and @PaulShipper.

Now the screenshots from Twitter for iPhone. Note that those two mentions don’t appear where they should here, but have been replaced.

And finally I checked in Tweetbot for iPhone, which does show the mentions correctly:

Twitter’s website at Twitter.com also showed these mentions correctly, when clicking on connections, then mentions.

If you rely on receiving your mentions reliably, I would recommend using a second app to check your mentions until Twitter for iPhone is fixed.

Missing mentions? Twitter would like you to report them

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:03:00 -0700

@mentions or @replies are tweets on twitter that mention you by name your @username. Favstar uses these for various kinds of notifications. One Favstar account that people love receiving mentions from is @FavstarOfTheDay. It tells people when someone has awarded their tweet. Understandably, people get upset when they’re not told.

I’m hearing from several people each day that they’re missing notifications from @FavstarOfTheDay. However, when I check @FavstarOfTheDay’s tweets, the mentions that are reported as missing are there.

It appears Twitter may be having problems delivering mentions to people’s mention timelines. Not just from @FavstarOfTheDay, but from other users too. I’ve spoken to someone at Twitter about this, and they would like you to contact support if you’re missing a tweet in your mentions timeline.

After you’ve confirmed the tweet that mentions you does exist but wasn’t in your mentions timeline, please use this form to tell Twitter Support:

https://support.twitter.com/forms/general?subtopic=web_tweets

Use Favstar From Your iPhone or iPad With Tweetbot

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:00:14 -0700

So, you’ve decided to make the jump to Tweetbot. Good call! This is the most-used iOS Twitter app among Favstar staff.

Tweetbot goes great with Favstar. Tweetbot makes it easy to use Favstar from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

To view a user’s Favstar page from within Tweetbot, go to their profile, tap the gear icon, and select “View in Favstar.”

Or you can just double-tap the profile icon on the bottom row of icons to open up the profile in Favstar.

It is also possible to view the Favstar page of an individual tweet. Tap on a tweet to open up the actions drawer, tap the gear icon, and select “View in Favstar.”

You can also set Tweetbot’s triple tap command to open up a tweet in Favstar. Go to Settings, and enable “View in Favstar” in order to open a tweet in Favstar by quickly tapping on it three times.

When opening up a Favstar page, you will automatically be logged in with the account you are currently using in Tweetbot. This makes using Favstar with multiple accounts very easy.

Once on a Favstar page, each tweet has four options. Tapping the star icon will favorite the tweet. Tap the reply icon, and a reply to the user will be composed in Tweetbot. Once the reply is sent, the app will then return to the Favstar page.

The retweet icon will pop up a command box with two options. “Retweet to Followers” will send out a native Twitter retweet that is counted on Favstar. “Quote Tweet” will allow you to send a modifiable retweet, one that will not count on a user’s Favstar page, but will allow you to comment on the tweet.

For users with Bonus Features, it’s also possible to award a Tweet of the Day trophy with Tweetbot. The trophy button on a Favstar page will award a trophy to that tweet. A dialog box will ask to confirm if you want to give the trophy.

You can also award a Tweet of the Day trophy from within Tweetbot itself. Just hold down on the favorite button on a tweet in Tweetbot, and a dialog will pop up to “Award Tweet of the Day.”

All of these commands work in both the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad versions of Tweetbot. This app comes highly recommended if you want to use Favstar while on the go.

Tweetbot for iPhone Download Link

Tweetbot for iPad Download Link

Tweetbot for Mac (alpha) Download Link

Having Trouble Signing in to Favstar on Twitter for iPhone?

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:01:57 -0700

Since the latest update of Twitter for iPhone, it doesn’t correctly sign you in to Favstar.

A change introduced in Twitter for iPhone 4.3 kicks you out to Safari on the iPhone, and logging in does not return to Favstar properly. This Twitter bug may get fixed in a future version, as it is affecting more than just Favstar.

In the meantime, we recommend trying out Tweetbot for iPhone.

Tweetbot uses our API to ensure that Favstar pages work properly. Your currently-used account will be automatically logged in to Favstar when viewing a page. This works even when you’re using multiple accounts.

It’s possible to easily favorite, retweet, and award tweets of the day from within the app. For the avid Favstar user, it may just be the best choice. We’ll have a rundown of all the ways to use Favstar from within Tweetbot in the near future.

How to set your Twitter URL to your Favstar Page

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:44:42 -0700

Hey there, Favstar users!

A question that we occasionally get is how to set your Twitter Profile URL to your Favstar page. It’s a very simple process, and can be done from either your computer or from mobile apps.

First, get your Favstar URL. This is http://favstar.fm/users/YOUR_USERNAME_HERE. For example, if your username is @FrannyWalsh, your Favstar URL is http://favstar.fm/users/FrannyWalsh. Note the lack of the @ sign in the URL.

Now, you need to add it to your Twitter settings. Log in to your Twitter account, and go to https://twitter.com/settings/profile and add your Favstar URL to the Website field. Then click Save Changes.

While this is easiest to do from the Twitter website on the desktop, some mobile apps support editing your Twitter profile while on the go.

In Twitter for iPhone and Android, tap on Me, View Your Profile, Edit Profile, and add your Favstar URL to the url section.

It’s also possible to do this from some third-party apps. In Tweetbot for iPhone, tap and hold down on one of the two rightmost buttons at the bottom, and select the icon that looks like a person’s head and shoulders. This is your profile page. Then tap Edit on the top right, and the ability to add the URL should be here. This is also possible on Tweetbot for iPad from the Profile button on the left sidebar.

Not all mobile apps support editing your Twitter profile, but if they do, the URL should appear in similar locations. Note that changes to your profile from third-party apps may not show up right away. These instructions should hopefully clear this up for a lot of you.

If there’s anything else we can help explain, please let us know.

Friday 13th special - 1 month of Favstar Bonus Features for $5.

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:12:41 -0800

Would you like to try Favstar Bonus Features? Today you can get 1 month’s bonus features for $5. It’s limited to 20 people. :-) Details here: http://bit.ly/zb997J

The missing favs and retweets

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:00:00 -0800

Update: Twitter wanted me to mention that Sitestreams is a beta product.

Favstar uses a technology from Twitter called Sitestreams to collect favorites and retweets. When it’s working, it works very well, and favs and retweets for hundreds of thousands of users are delivered in real-time.

Unfortunately over the last 24 hours, Twitter had an interruption to their @sitestreams system that Favstar uses to collect favs and retweets. For the worst 12 hours of it, no favs or retweets were collected via this system.

Retweets for users with bonus features will be caught up. Unfortunately Twitter does not provide an accesible way to catch up on bulk missed Favorites, and the method of collecting missed retweets is too resource intensive to be able to do it for everyone.

We hope that Twitter’s @sitestream product won’t suffer another outage this bad, and will shortly put a new process in place to prevent retweets from being missed in the future.

Thanks for your patience and understanding with Favstar over this difficult period.

@favstar

finerios: If you hold the Favorite button in Tweetbot, you can...

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:35:35 -0800

finerios:

If you hold the Favorite button in Tweetbot, you can assign it a Tweet of the Day award at Favstar, a great service for finding and sharing the best of Twitter, as well as checking who favorites and RTs your tweets.

UX and Web Designer - Part-time

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:20:00 -0800

Update: This is an old post. We now have a designer. :-)

Favstar.fm is looking for a designer to help with several mini-projects over the coming months. We’re aiming to retain someone for 15 hours a month for 4 months, with a high chance of extension.

You’ll collaborate on concepts, work on the wireframes, produce high fidelity prototypes in photoshop, and cut the designs into html and css. The projects will be small and discrete, with each one fitting into the time available for the month.

As well being able to create a nice looking visual design, you’ll have a good interaction design sense. You’ll be able to iterate quickly, have good initiative and self management skills, and a knack for problem solving.

Favstar’s website has both desktop and mobile web views, with most of the UI shared across both. You’ll understand the intricacies of designing for a touch-based mobile device, and will own an iPhone or Android phone.

We’re looking for reliability from someone who communicates well, and is used to working remotely over Skype and email. You can be based anywhere, but must be able to work in the Pacific timezone daytime hours.

If you’re interested, please email jobs@favstar, and include:

A short self-introduction and tell us how you heard about this job.
A link to your portfolio or sites you’ve worked on - tell us your favorites and why you enjoyed working on them.
Your twitter username
Your hourly rate and when you’d be able to start
It’s a bonus if you have illustration or Ruby on Rails skills, but not a requirement.

Plagio: Cómo lidiar con un plagiario en Twitter.

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:38:35 -0800

Cada semana me avisan de alguien que copia los tuits de otra persona sin darle crédito. A veces es un neófito en Twitter con 10 seguidores que de veras no entiende que eso está mal, otras veces son usuarios con más de 100, 000 seguidores que a sabiendas roban buenos tuits para ser retuiteados y obtener nuevos seguidores.

Muchos usuarios de Favstar pasan tiempo puliendo sus tuits y su personaje, y han logrado hacer de ello un arte. Ver robados sus tuits es frustrante en extremo, y si no saben qué hacer pueden sentirse desamparados.

Twitter no lo dice explícitamente, pero puede suprimir la cuenta de un plagiario si se sigue el procedimiento correcto. Este requiere que la persona objeto de plagio siga algunos pasos y tenga paciencia mientras la demanda sigue su curso en el sistema de Twitter.

Es importante que la persona plagiada sea la que siga el proceso. No reportes a un plagiario si no están copiando TUS twitts. En cambio, informa la persona que está siendo plagiada sobre el procedimiento que debe seguir.

Si alguien está copiando tus twitts sin darte crédito:

Confirma que los tuits que te han copiado sean originales. Búscalos en Google: si los encuentras con fecha anterior a la de los tuyos, no son originales y olvida el asunto.
Si los tuits son originales, pide públicamente al plagiario que cese de copiarte. Si parece un neófito en Twitter, dale el beneficio de la duda y explícale por qué no está bien
Si persiste una vez que le has pedido que pare, notifica claramente por escrito tu caso a Twitter. Usa esta forma: https://support.twitter.com/forms/general y en el abanico de asuntos escoge “Mi asunto no está en la lista”. Explica lo que ocurre y no dejes de incluir enlaces a tus tuits originales; a las copias del plagiario; al tuit en que le pides que cese de copiarte; y a los originales y las copias aparecidos DESPUÉS del tuit en que le pediste que dejara de hacerlo. Explica que ya has buscado en Google los tuits y que son originales, y que has notificado al plagiario que deje de hacerlo y no lo ha hecho.
Twitter tomará cierto tiempo para procesar la información. Pueden ser una o dos semanas. Si el plagiario no ha borrado los tuits, lo normal es que Twitter le advierta que cese, y te avise que lo ha hecho.
Una vez que Twitter ha hecho una advertencia al plagiario, si este insiste, tendrás que actualizar la notificación, aclarando que no ha cesado en su proceder e incluyendo los enlaces a un tuit original tuyo y a la copia publicada por el plagiario DESPUÉS de la advertencia de Twitter.
Twitter se tomará un tiempo para procesar esto: normalmente, unos cuantos días. En este punto, si el plagiario ha reincidido después de que Twitter le advirtiera de no hacerlo, lo más probable es que le sea suprimida la cuenta. Nunca he visto que el proceso, llegado a este punto, fracase.

Ojala nunca te asalte un plagiario y, si te ocurre, esto te sirva de guía para lidiar con ello.

NSFW tweets on Favstar. Opt-in if you want 'em

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:29:34 -0700

Favstar now gives you the choice if you want to see NSFW tweets or not. Visit your settings page if you’d like to see NSFW tweets, and look for the checkbox at the bottom.

Photo

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:02:13 -0700

502 Bad Gateway

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:55:15 -0700

I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ve fixed the 502 Bad Gateway’s. Please do let me know (via Twitter) if you see one over the next couple of days.

What's happening with missed deletes, favs, and retweets

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:08:43 -0700

Over the last couple of weeks, Favstar has missed deleting some tweets that users have deleted on Twitter, and has sometimes missed collecting a retweet or favorite.

It’s become my top priority to get this resolved, and I’d like to share a little more detail about what’s going on, and what’s being done about it.

The way that Favstar receives information from Twitter regarding deleted tweets is via a new product from Twitter called Sitestreams. Sitestreams allow Twitter to push Favstar signals that tell Favstar when a tweet is deleted, or a tweet is retweeted.

Until about 2 weeks ago, Favstar has been working fantastically well with very good reliability. Over the last 2 weeks, it hasn’t been working as well as it has previously.

Unfortunately there’s a large number of working parts involved, so it’s proven difficult to track down what’s going wrong.

I’ve been working with engineers both at Twitter, Softlayer (who host Favstar’s servers and networking infrastructure), and reviewing Favstar’s internal systems to improve logging to determine what’s going wrong. A few links in the chain have been identified as potential failure points, and all three parties are working on improving the reliability. I’m not certain how long it’s going to take, but I expect in the next week or two the problems will be resolved, and the service will be more reliable again.

In the mean time, if you have deleted a tweet and it remains on Favstar, feel free to DM me a link to it on Favstar and I’ll remove it for you. Please be aware that I won’t always be able to do this immediately, but I will get to it.

Thanks for your patience with this issue.

Tim
@favstar

Deleted Tweets

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:53:00 -0700

Something’s happened with Favstar not correctly deleting tweets that are deleted from Twitter. I’ve added some instrumentation to figure out what’s going on.

If after reading this, you delete a new tweet from Twitter, and it’s not removed from Favstar, and the ID is a bigger number than 80692683324145665, please let me know.

For tweets that don’t get correctly removed, via a DM or mention on Twitter, please send @favstar:

a link to the tweet on Favstar,
let me know when you deleted it,
which app you used to delete it,
how many favs/RTs Favstar was showing when you did delete it.

Hopefully we can get this solved.

Faved by and Retweeted By

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:46:03 -0700

I’ve heard from a few new users that are using the Faved By and Retweeted By screens to count how many favs they’ve received, or how many times they’ve been retweeted.

These pages don’t work for that purpose.

The Faved By and Retweeted By screens only consider your 100 most recent faved/retweeted tweets. This means the numbers shown on these pages will fluctuate.

Example: your 100th most recent tweet (from last week) got 100 favs. You tweet again and receive 1 fav, and your 100th tweet becomes number 101. Those 100 favs will disappear from the Faved By page, to be replaced with the 1 new one.

The pages are design simply to give you an idea of who is faving your tweets the most, and who is retweeting them - not to represent total favs and retweets.

Offering Promotion to Bonus Feature Users

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:37:03 -0800

Next week Favstar is going to start promoting users with the Bonus Features a little more. It’s going to be kept subtle, so that users with Bonus Features are shown in appropriate places. They won’t be flashing with neon lights on the top of the home page, but will appear in a couple of spots.

I surveyed some of the users with the Bonus Features earlier, and 95% said they were looking forward to this, and 5% said they’d rather not be shown. We want to respect the desires of privacy for the 5%, so we’ve added a way to opt out of being promoted.

If you have the bonus features, and you don’t want to be shown, please visit your settings page, and un-check the ‘Promote Me’ box and save your settings.

An Example

One of the first places users will be shown is on the Bonus Features page itself. An example of what this may look like when users visit this page is shown below.

I’m excited to be introducing more benefits for users that have supported Favstar and purchased the Bonus Features in the near future.

If you have any feedback on this, please DM @favstar or email support@favstar.fm

girl-detective: @GirlDetective: Appreciated by men holding...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:03:59 -0800

girl-detective:

@GirlDetective: Appreciated by men holding teacups since 2011.

Lolled.

Thought I’d 1-up @hotdogsladies with the whole joke about...

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 05:31:45 -0800

Thought I’d 1-up @hotdogsladies with the whole joke about nothing.