Advocate's Studio

Oh no! Not another Twitter client! Let’s get this straight: I promise not to talk about them unless there is something new and interesting to report.

Twazzup (link here) is a well-regarded Twitter search engine. From that starting point, Twazzup reader (link here) is now morphing into a new and interesting way to view Twitter on the web. Beta only for now, but very full-figured.

What makes Twazzup appealing? It is web-based, like Brizzly, which is a big plus for me. It offers all the basic Twitter features, but adds some nice tools via a smooth interface. Controls for your stream, mentions and home are located in a menu bar at the top of the screen. Also like Brizzly, it shows media within the stream.

But what is really special about Twazzup is its filtering – you can get “highlights” on your Twitter stream, lists, messages and mentions, which is pretty darn cool. For a webizen like myself, interested in maximizing the value of time spent online, getting the highlights with a click is a massive plus. “Highlights” are determined by your interactions – who you pay the most attention to and interact with, who has the most Twitter clout, etc. You can also filter with searches, with search terms highlighted in the resulting stream. Lawyers using Twitter and short for time (who isn’t?) might appreciate being able to hit the highlights quickly with coffee or between client meetings and court appearances.

Along with this cool “reader”, Twazzup is currently alpha testing a great analytics tool called Insights, which shows detailed information on keyword searches. If you are interested in such fine-grained Twitter detail, submit your request for an invitation at the link here. Lawyers looking to keep a close watch on their brand, their clients or their practice area keywords might appreciate these search and analyze features.

You can check out Twazzup Reader for yourself at the link above. If you would like to see a fantastic run-through on how Twazzup Reader works, check out Louis Gray‘s video below.

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• Twazzup Launches Online Reader (twitterrati.com)
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Image of Matthew Butterick from Typography for Lawyers

Do you know your typography? What is typography? Typography is visual text, the aesthetics of the written word. Your typography affects your message. For lawyers, typography can actually be quite rigid and subject to formal rules of court. But in those grey areas in which the court hath not spake (spoken), there is Typography for Lawyers.

Attorney Matthew Butterick is a typographical nut with a legal bent. He has a background in digital font creation and ran a website development studio. He has created an online “book” using WordPress on typography for lawyers (link here). Besides being an incredibly clever use of the WordPress platform, the “book” provides some very helpful advice and information for lawyers concerned with the physical appearance of their written words.

I found his book very easy to read, interesting and informative. I hope you do too.

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• Typography Fail (slog.thestranger.com)
• What is Typography And How To Select Best Font? (shoutmeloud.com)
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• 50 Stunning Typography Wallpapers For Inspiration (noupe.com)

The AP Stylebook, that tome that governs the lives of news writers of all walks, shapes, and sizes, has spoken. It is no longer “Web site” – it is now “website.” Less shift key, less space bar. According to Mashable (link here), the change took place on the AP website yesterday and will show up in the next printed version of the Stylebook. They still print those things? Well, I guess that they were still writing “Web Site” up until yesterday, so there you have it. It’s all good.

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I am all about having the relevant information brought to me, because I am a lazy reader at heart. Always looking for that virtual newspaper boy or girl, slamming that e-paper at my front door. Enter iCurrent – a customizable “front page” with content from newspapers, blogs, magazines and web sites tuned to your interests. From the site:

Think of iCurrent as a newspaper published constantly just for you. It delivers the latest news and information for your interests

Simply enter as many of your interests as you wish, and immediate get a “front page” showing those interests in newspaper format. Hover over the title and see arrows that enable you to push the subject matter up or down. In four clicks, I was able to tailor my “search” interest to completely omit any missing persons news. “Channels” offer news only about your specific interests. Create new channels by surfing on the site. Follow popular topics and view channels crafted by iChannel’s editors. You can even share your channels with friends.

How does it work? Let iCurrent explain:

iCurrent is based on sophisticated indexing technology that harvests and organizes Internet content and matches newly found articles to your interests, constantly. Our harvester aggregates articles from thousands of newspapers, magazines, blogs, and websites. To make it easy for you to have a rich and varied set of channels, our curators and users share thousands of content channels across a wide range of interests.

It just rocks. Give it a try.

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• Ramana Rao’s – iCurrent, the company (nextnow.net)

Have you heard of / used Scribd? It’s a popular, social document publishing and sharing website that permits users to load, search or  embed documents into websites. It also serves as a popular browsing and reading spot, with 50 million monthly users and 50,000 daily document uploads.

I caught a press release today (link here) advising that Scribd is now offering premium printing options, allowing consumers to print business material, books, magazines and tens of millions of other written works and illustrations using print-on-demand services from HP’s MagCloud, Blurb and Mimeo. From the release:

users can now choose to print commercial-quality, four-color hard and soft cover works with no minimum requirements or upfront costs — and directly from the convenience of their home or office. Printed and bound copies are shipped directly to the consumer from the selected partner. Because of the breadth of available content on the site, Scribd will offer print options based on document types and other criteria: HP’s MagCloud offers self-publishers the ability to print in a magazine format; Blurb makes it easy to print affordable, professional-quality books; and Mimeo provides overnight document printing.

Scribd is clearly moving away from its original tag-line as the YouTube for documents and now looks more like a publishing facilitator for those who need cheaper, alternative methods for getting their publications to the masses. Case in point: their new mobile publishing solution, whereby users can send Scribd content to their mobile device (iPhone, Android, Kindle, and just about any other mobile format you can think of) with two clicks. The sent information consists of a link back to the original PDF.  Read more about the mobile initiative here. Actual mobile applications with place holding and local storage features are in the pipeline.

In a time when people are fearing the demise of the ink and paper version of books, Scribd’s new service appears somewhat anachronistic. But, when you consider their stated desire is to bring to users the ability to consume and share publications on or in any imaginable platform, offering old-fashioned paper books makes a modicum of sense. Got to give them some credit for being thorough. By the way, its pronounced “scribduh”, with emphasis on the “scrib” part. Just in case you were wondering.

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