

Ask HN: Review my app: Firetweets - iampims

It's written in Python and runs on Google Appengine. http://firetweets.appspot.com/<p>It's tracking a dozen of topics — for which I'd like to keep up with what’s new. Other topics (ruby, python, appengine…) are coming soon, but the amount of spam or assimilated spam for these topics on Twitter is significantly higher than for the current ones. I'm working on a solution to reduce noise, and duplicates, but in the mean time, if this micro-service is useful for somebody, that'd make my day.<p>Feedback and suggestions are welcome.
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adrianwaj
I had an idea, which could fit in with a future phase of this app. Grabbing
links from twitter lists and reposting with page title, link, and underlying
tweet. It's about surfacing what's hot in certain user circles, for example,
you might find twitter lists concerning the topics already displayed on
Firetweets. The final display might end up somthing like:
<http://hackerbra.in/links> \-- some lists of interest
<http://twitter.com/tlrobinson/hackernews> <http://twitter.com/DHS/hacker-
news>.

~~~
timhastings
Here's a similar link collecting service I've been developing, e.g. for
#nodejs <http://tagwalk.com/tag/nodejs>

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iampims
That's really interesting. I started firetweets by tracking only node.js
links. I really like the data driven approach you've taken. Do you plan on
expanding to other topics?

edit: You already do track other topics. That's really cool!

~~~
timhastings
Thank you.

It already works for any hashtags or usernames that it encounters, here's
#sundaybaconclub <http://tagwalk.com/tag/sundaybaconclub>

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iampims
I'm impressed. From what I've read on your blog, you have gathered a massive
amount of data. How do you fight spam?

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timhastings
It's many pronged approach. User timelines are loaded for "reputable" users,
(see blog for computing reputation) and search input is used with primative
bayesian filtering.

In my experience, I have found Tweet source (web, Tweetdeck, API etc.) to be
one of the most effective quality/authenticity indicators.

~~~
iampims
Using the tweet source is such a smart idea! So far I rely on username
filtering / patterns. Toughest is to get rid of job postings ! Good luck with
Tagwalk ! You've got a new user ;)

~~~
timhastings
Nice one, thanks, and good luck with Firetweets!

There is tons of job tweets, but most have "job" in the username and/or app
source. Also any app source that contains "bot" or "feed" is most likely safe
to ignore.

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js4all
Great idea. I will use it in the future.

The yellow background however is stressing. If you like yellow to be your
signature color, use it on a single element like a header strip or so.

Also, go get a custom domain for it. When your app gets popular and you do
that later, many people have to update their links.

~~~
iampims
Thanks for the feedback. The background was originally white, and easier on
the eyes, but it wasn't distinctive enough. The site looked like almost every
other site. The yellow paint coat gives it charisma, but I might have over
done it a little bit.

As for the custom domain name, I wanted to test it first before buying a
domain. I used to buy the domain first and write the app afterwards. But most
of the time, I was left with a domain name and no app. But yes, you're right,
doing things properly requires a domain name. That'll give me the opportunity
to change the name — since firetweets was just chosen randomly a long time
ago.

~~~
xsltuser2010
Distinction by design is easy, but your site is distinctive because it is a
simple and useful tool. The 'distinctive' style will grow with its use
becoming more clear and widespread.

Besides that, it really doesnt look like every other site. Almost all other
sites are spoiled with eye sugar.

~~~
iampims
I'm glad to hear that you see this as a useful tool. I've found a handful of
interesting links I hadn't seen mentioned in most popular sites — HN, Reddit,…

And as for simplicity, I'll quote St Exupery:

>A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to
add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

I certainly don't believe that this design is perfect, but it fades away to
let the content shine.

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iampims
The site now lives at <http://www.poplinks.me/> and has been "rebranded"
accordingly.

