Seesmic Blog

New Seesmic 0.4 and Web based Seesmic

2009-07-10T16:03:46-07:00

We are thrilled to announce two new products today, Seesmic Desktop 0.4 (small screen realestate mode, memory and CPU optimized, resize columns) and Seesmic web based in preview mode. I could explain you in details what it is all about but I would rather point you to a few posts we already saw about it and two videos: an HQ video we created showing both apps as well as my demo at the #crunchup. Full release notes coming soon I will update this post.

TechCrunch: Seesmic's Browser Client is like Gmail for Twitter
Mashable: Twitter Everywhere: Seesmic Launches Web App, Plans Mobile Version
ReadWriteWeb: Seesmic launches web-based Twitter client & new version of Seesmic Desktop

and here is my demo at the #crunchup

Here are the full release notes for 0.4

Single Column and Multi-Column Mode

You now have two additional options to view Seesmic Desktop. Our previous version provided a combined fixed column with the ability to detach the columns as a way to manage your stream. In single column mode, you can keep your stream compact and use the sidebar to toggle between accounts, userlists and searches. With the all columns detached mode, you can freely view and control all of your columns in one window. With all three options, you can conveniently navigate your stream any way you want.

Enabling and Setting Fixed Width for Columns

With both the combined fixed/detached column mode and the all columns detached mode, you can now control the width of the detached columns. By setting and controlling a fixed width, you control over your own experience when managing your columns.

Collapsing and Expanding the Sidebar

We've also added a button to collapse and expand the sidebar to improve the user experience of being able to view and manage your stream. With the sidebar in collapsed mode, you can still view minimized buttons with tooltips to toggle between accounts, userlists and searches. This function is available in all three column modes.

Updated API usage controls, Added Options for Timeline Limits and Improved Optimizations for Performance

We understand the resource-intensive nature of client desktop applications. As such, we've made significant internal and external performance improvements, as well as give you more control in the resource management for your stream. Along with internal improvements, we've modified the Twitter API usage per account to accommodate the recent changes from Twitter, and updated the usage control to percentages (%) of allowed requests. You can also set timeline limits in Seesmic Desktop to help control performance. These limits define the maximum number of messages kept in each of your timelines from your friends; replies, private and sent; and searches.

Continued UI modifications, enhancements and fixes include:
* A new search to open when clicking on a hashtag (#) link.
* Mobypicture.com added as add-on authenticated service
* Ensuring links with # appear in seesmic desktop
* Send messages to twitter will now be as "Seesmic"
* Various logic improvements for account and messaging actions * and many other additional fixes

TeamSeesmic Community Site is live

2009-06-28T10:04:04-07:00

50,000 people joined our TeamSeesmic mailing list where we communicate our new releases, as much as we can before we make them public. We feel there is a real community around Seesmic, since the beginning, behind the tools that we build, so we created a simple Ning site for anybody who feels like sharing and learning with us, not only about the tools, but much more. So I shared today what is this community for me and I am listening to what it is for its growing member base. Discuss there please and not on this post if the topic is of interest.
Here is what it is about for me:
-getting to know each other much more than usually online (which has been unique about Seesmic since we created it)
-organizing real life events for the community
-learning and sharing about community management
-discuss social software progress and tools
-of course also discuss the tools Seesmic creates but it should not (and it is not) be only about that
-I think many of you have started / would like to learn to start a business so notes and conversations about entrepreneurship would make a lot of sense too
-why not sharing new ideas as businesses too

I like that it is by membership approval only to comment/create content as I am tired about trolls, anonymous and too negative people who spend their time just shooting any new idea. I would like this place to be focusing on the future and allowing new ideas to emerge, I would also like it to be enthusiastic, energetic and positive, just because life is too short to complain all the time!

Having said that, all improvements and constructive criticism should be accepted and in fact encouraged, because that is how we all progress and we always welcome it.

The most important thing for me remains to stay in daily touch and get to know each other better.

What should teamseesmic become for you? Thanks in advance.

New Seesmic Desktop 0.3 Now Available

2009-06-24T11:32:34-07:00

We've now made Seesmic Desktop version 0.3 available to all our users.

Here are the features that are included in this version:

Multi-Account Posting with Smart Account Enabling:
We've upgraded the user interface to select which accounts to send posts to, saving you the time and effort it takes to post to each account separately. We've also added an option for Smart Account Enabling. With this feature turned on, this will allow Seesmic Desktop to change accounts when messaging your friends based on whom you are replying or direct messaging to. Seesmic will not change the accounts if you do not enable Smart Account.

Multi-Account Posting allows you to send message from more than one account

Smart Account Enabling allows changing accounts when clicking on reply from that account

Authenticated bit.ly Integration:
You can now use your own bit.ly account when using bit.ly as a shortener for Seesmic Desktop. By simply entering your bit. ly API key, you can now keep track of your URL clicks when sharing your links with your friends and followers.

New Services Panel:
Along with bit.ly, we have set a foundation for managing your accounts for sending images, and be able to set them in our new Services Panel. The Additional Integrated Account Services panel currently includes image services such as Pikchur (where you can set your own account), Posterous, TwitPic, Twitgoo & yfrog (which is currently using your twitter account). More importantly, this allows us to give you more options for integrated accounts with other services that will be coming soon.

Authenticated bit.ly Integration in the new Services Panel

Continued UI modifications, enhancements and fixes:

We've made continued modifications to the Seesmic Desktop user interface saving time when using Seesmic Desktop and space when reading your stream.
Some of the enhancements include:
Minimizing the message panel until you start entering messages to send
Enabling replies in your Facebook friends' avatar to quickly add comments
Inline reminders of what account you are posting from
An added "Cancel" button to erase your messages in the message panel
Updated scrolling arrows for enhanced browsing
Ensuring all replies appear in your integrated timeline
and many other additional fixes

If you have any direct feedback on this version, the best way to send in the feedback is through our help site:http://help.seesmic.com/

If you have any feedback on new feature enhancements, please go to http://feedback.seesmic.com/ to review, vote or add any ideas for our upcoming versions.

And of course, you can contact @askseesmic on Twitter.

New Seesmic Desktop 0.3rc for Team Seesmic

2009-06-16T10:16:05-07:00

We just sent a new version to our TeamSeesmic members (you need to add your name and email in the form at http://desktop.seesmic.com to get it)

Because this will be only be available to our TeamSeesmic friends, this version will not auto-update. Here are the features that are included in this version:

Multi-Account Posting with Smart Account Enabling:
We've upgraded the user interface to select which accounts to send posts to, saving you the time and effort it takes to post to each account separately. We've also added an option for Smart Account Enabling. With this feature turned on, this will allow Seesmic Desktop to change accounts when messaging your friends based on whom you are replying or direct messaging to. Seesmic will not change the accounts if you do not enable Smart Account.
Authenticated bit. ly Integration:
You can now use your own bit.ly account when using bit. ly as a shortener for Seesmic Desktop. By simply entering your bit. ly API key, you can now keep track of your URL clicks when sharing your links with your friends and followers.

New Services Panel:
Along with bit. ly, we have set a foundation for managing your accounts for sending images, and be able to set them in our new Services Panel. The Additional Integrated Account Services panel currently includes image services such as Pikchur (where you can set your own account), Posterous, TwitPic, Twitgoo & yfrog (which is currently using your twitter account). More importantly, this allows us to give you more options for integrated accounts with other services that will be coming soon.

Continued UI modifications, enhancements and fixes:
We've made continued modifications to the Seesmic Desktop user interface saving time when using Seesmic Desktop and space when reading your stream.
Some of the enhancements include:
Minimizing the message panel until you start entering messages to send
Enabling replies in your Facebook friends' avatar to quickly add comments
Inline reminders of what account you are posting from
An added "Cancel" button to erase your messages in the message panel
Updated scrolling arrows for enhanced browsing
Ensuring all replies appear in your integrated timeline
and many other additional fixes
If you have any direct feedback on this version, the best way to send in the feedback is through our help site:http://help.seesmic.com/ (we are currently working on some posts for the new features).
If you have any feedback on new feature enhancements, please go to http://feedback.seesmic.com/ to review, vote or add any ideas for our upcoming versions.
And of course, you can contact @askseesmic on Twitter.

We look forward to hearing your feedback!

Twitter still Available in China with Seesmic Desktop

2009-06-02T08:17:22-07:00

Mike Butcher reported earlier on TechCrunch today that China has shut down Twitter and Bing so I rushed this morning on my friend Thomas Crampton Twitter stream, Thomas is based in China and had the pleasure to see that you can still tweet and read tweets fine in China with Seesmic Desktop (and I guess other API based Twitter applications).

Thomas adds that we're getting help from the Chinese governement that's hilarious. I guess they have blocked the site but they forgot than more than 50% of Twitter updates are coming from other tools than Twitter own tools as far as I know, let's not tell them!

Facebook Comments, Twitter Spam Reporting, Spellcheck and more in this new Seesmic Desktop

2009-05-22T12:55:48-07:00

we have just pushed a new version of Seesmic Desktop, it should self update when you start it or you can just copy and paste in your browser:

http://d.seesmic.com/seesmic/SeesmicDesktop-0.2.1.air

Here is the list of the improvements we have made:

Improvements since Ver 0.2

Ability to view and enter comments into Facebook
Added spellcheck feature with the ability to enable and disable
Now supporting pikchur and yfrog to share images on Twitter
Added spam reporting feature to help send spam warnings to Twitter's @spam account
Ability to block users who are following you on Twitter
Ability to use Tweetshrink before sending messages (see http://tweetshrink.com/about)
Access to view favorites within your Twitter account timeline
Improved profile enhancements (added follow/unfollow within a profile along with the ability to reply and direct message)
Option to start Seesmic Desktop at login
Verification dialog box upon deletions of Userlists, Searches
For OSX: Added standard buttons for OSX and improved idle CPU usage
Displayed version information in update tab

Bug fixes

Fix posting to Facebook with non-US characters
Issues with same usernames showing multiple times - solved
Issues with not removing messages when account is removed - solved

and many more smaller issues. enjoy!

New Seesmic Desktop v0.2 available

2009-05-12T12:03:48-07:00

We have a new version of seesmic desktop you can install simply by closing and opening the application it should offer you to self update or just download it here:

copy and paste this link in your browser:
http://d.seesmic.com/seesmic/SeesmicDesktop-0.2.air

Improvements since v0.1.2
Add your Facebook account (since v0.2-rc2)
Aggregated timelines for Twitter and Facebook accounts (since v0.2-rc2)
Now supporting Twitgoo and Posterous in addition to Twitpic to share images on Twitter
Cleaner column look and feel
Optimized use of space to display more tweets
More tooltips on buttons
Improved error handling (especially for connection problems)
Improved pre-selection of "SHARED as" account to reply or retweet from
Remembering your preferred image sharing and short URL service across restarts
Auto-updating the timestamps in timelines
Sidebar can be scrolled when there is more content than available space

Bug fixes
Issues with webcam dialog - solved
Userlists and searches could get lost under certain circumstances - solved
Empty error message when trying to lookup a protected Twitter user - solved and many more smaller issues

We can't wait for your feedback at feedback.seesmic.com and we are here to help at @askseesmic and help.seesmic.com

Griffin AirCurve Giveaway in May

2009-05-06T06:06:11-07:00

I know that there's been a lot of talk and buzz about the Seesmic Desktop, but we haven't forgot about our users in our video site. Seesmic and Griffin are working together to give lucky music lovers an AirCurve in May.

AirCurve is an acoustic iPhone amplifier that increases your music by up to 10 decibels. The best part is that it is powerless, it uses no electricity!

Here's the deal:

At the end of each week, Seesmic will be randomly selecting 5 lucky winners of an AirCurve in our AirCurve in May Giveaway.

To enter:

Reply to the AirCurve in May Giveaway video thread (make sure to click on the "replies" link)
Tell us what your favorite song is.
That's it! Easy. Good luck.

Features
Acoustically amplifies your iPhone
Custom-engineered waveguide requires no power
Great for nightstand or tabletop
Amplifies by about 10 decibels

You can check out the AirCurve in action here (link: http://seesmic.com/griffintech).

Special Thanks to Dave Delaney for getting this set up and Griffin Technology.

Facebook Just Landed in Seesmic Desktop

2009-05-02T15:17:57-07:00

What a week-end! It starts with Ashton Kutcher say "this facebook version is a social networking Dream. Love that you can jump directly to someones individual page. wow" then with Brad Stone in the New York Times "Tinker Away, Facebook Says". I cannot describe how excited I am and we just pushed our Facebook integration in Seesmic Desktop. It is still an early build, for interaction we have likes in it but Facebook comments not quite yet, we want to get it right. Here is the changelog:

Facebook Integration (yes, we're pretty excited, too!)
Following and Unfollowing Twitter users
Fonts enlarged by 1 point.
Updated user interface for easier viewing
Ability to "Favorite" tweets and "Like" Facebook posts
Allowing to rename the account from the configuration window
Clearing the timeline from a "USERLIST" with the "CLEAR" button
Various bug fixes (for Mac and Windows) thanks to your huge feedback - Bug fixes include:
- webcam snapshot tool when opening
- ensuring userlists and searches are saved
- correcting various actions when Seesmic Desktop window is closed and reopened
- various validation messages (url validation for short url, credential validation to share images)

Seesmic Desktop Gets Full Facebook Open Stream API Support

2009-04-27T08:59:06-07:00

After the launch of Seesmic for Facebook a weeks days ago, Seesmic Desktop will have in a few days full new Facebook Open Stream API support that Facebook just announced, add your name and email on the Seesmic Desktop page to join our "Team Seesmic" preview group get it as soon as we make it available for testing.

-this new release of Seesmic Desktop supports the full new Facebook Open Stream API with not only status updates but all its content (pics, links, videos, likes and comments)

-Facebook integrates as a new account in our interface that already supports multiple Twitter accounts with a new, Facebook only column and account type

-You can now have side by side your full Facebook stream and Twitter stream

-our home timeline provides a combined feed of both Facebook + Twitter accounts

Seesmic Desktop brings you in one single space, all your community sharing and receiving activity. Seesmic Desktop is only at a preview stage but already used by tens of thousands of users who help us build it with their feedback.