Just tested out a cool little process that allows you to save and monitor your tweetstream. I read about it first on Steve Rubel’s blog, and then tested it out for myself.
So the idea behind it is that using two free services (Twistory.net and Google Calendar) you can set up a searchable calendar of your tweets (or of anyone else’s who has a public Twitter timeline).
Your reasons for doing this might be 1) you want to know what you were talking about a few months ago, 2) you want to keep track of important information or tips you had shared, and/or 3) you want to add another layer of searchability to your tweetstream, which might help you “get found” by more people, because the twistory link you generate is apparently searchable by Google.
The process works like this- it’s really easy and takes less than 5 minutes to set up.
First, you go to Twistory.net, and enter your Twitter username- just your username, no @ symbol. It takes a few seconds, but then you are given a listing of all your tweets, and you are given the option to pull these into either iCal, Google Calendar, or one other calendar format. You select whichever format you want (I chose Google Calendar), and then you add this link as another calendar in your account.
It takes a little bit of time to pull in your tweets, so it, at first, seems like it’s not working. But log out of the calendar, wait a little while, and log back in- you’ll see your tweetstream appear.
I believe that Twitter only archives your most recent past 3000 tweets, so using this system is one way to keep track of your tweetstream much longer.
I’ve been using Twitter for just over a year and a half, and it was a bit of a trip down memory lane to see what I was talking about then and contrasting it to what I talk about now.
Thank God for personal growth! (Just kidding, sort of.)
Anyway, if you want to save and monitor your tweetstream, twistory.net + Google calendar is a good way to do it.
Have fun!
