Interesting development from the Twitterverse. Apparently Twitter is launching a new integration, @anywhere. Simply by mousing over a Twitter connection in one of several well recognized publications, that Twerson’s profile and latest Tweet is presented, as well as a way to connect to that person through Twitter.
Per the Twitter blog; “sites many of us visit every day will be able to recreate these open, engaging interactions providing a new layer of value for visitors without sending them to Twitter.com. Our open technology platform is well known and Twitter APIs are already widely implemented but this is a different approach because we’ve created something incredibly simple. Rather than implementing APIs, site owners need only drop in a few lines of javascript. This new set of frameworks is called @anywhere.”
Where will @anywhere be? How about Amazon, AdAge, Bing, Citysearch, Digg, eBay, The Huffington Post, Meebo, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Salesforce.com, Yahoo!, and YouTube. Not a bad start?
What does this mean? In short, if you are reading the New York TImes and wish to send a comment to the author (who happens to be on Twitter), you can. Will that lead to another level of transparency, or rather, will those journalists and celebrities take a Guy Kawasaki approach and have others handling the inflow of Tweets for them?
One of the most endearing features of Twitter has been the ability for the common Tweep to connect with the celebrity. (Even if @aplusk never did follow me or tweet me back!)
So, does this new pimple in the teenage complexion of Twitter mean acne, or just a bump in the chin? Those of use who love the raw, unadulterated interaction may find the open, unfettered access becoming less pure, more filtered.
Does this signal the beginning of the end for Twitter as we know it, or does it simple create a new deeper connection with others?
Yet to be seen… but we are watching.
Jody Raines is the president of WebMarCom LLC, a Internet Marketing company based in Southern New Jersey. You can find her on Twitter @sunswept
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