Yesterday TweetDeck announced the latest update to their desktop based client and interface for Twitter that merges their separate Streaming API enabled client with the regular desktop client.
This merger makes the Streaming API available to everyone now.
To enable/disable the streaming feature just go to the Twitter options page and check/uncheck the Enable realtime Twitter streaming and then hold on to your hat because you are going to see all of your Tweets in realtime. Of course if that becomes to much then you can throttle it back and turn it off. That will return you to the previous slow version of the Twitter stream on TweetDeck.
They included some good hints for anyone who might be new to the streaming feature:
Hints for new recruits
You can’t just expect to jump into your F-14 and start buzzing the tower without a few pointers. So here are a few key articles from our support site that should help you understand some of the finer points of streaming updates in TweetDeck.
- Twitter may throttle your search results under certain circumstances
- Searches have slightly different rules – here are some tips
- You might want to reduce the amount of popup notifications – read about how TweetDeck batches notifications when streaming
- You can see when you get added to Lists in your New Followers column
- When someone favourites your tweet, you will be notified in your Mentions column
- Twitter does not yet include Lists in the Streaming API. Voice your support for them to be included here
Other than that, just strap yourself in and enjoy Twitter the way it was meant to be – in TweetDeck and in true real-time!
They also hint at a new feature that is included in this build but that is all they say about it except that we will love it.
OK – my curiosity is peaked. Anyone have an idea what that might be?
