HootSuite blog – Social Media Dashboard

Time flies! Already our little mobile Owl has grown one version older as HootSuite for iPhone celebrates version 1.1.6  for both the Full and Lite versions.

But what do you get an Owl for such a big day? Well we all chipped in and gave our feathered friend some shiny new features — which we suspect you’ll be excited about too.

This mobile Owl enjoys making life easier and these new tools will help you be even friendlier.

HootSuite for iPhone -- Now even Friendlier

Contacts are Special

These people we call “followers” are reaching out to learn your thoughts and actions from morning beverage selection to philosophical discourse — now you can get to know these people on the other end of the Twitters with refined “Contact Management” allowing you to search for user to follow.

Tap the all-new Contacts tab on the main menu to quickly search for people and view profiles. Simply type a friend’s name or nickname and HootSuite will find the most relevant person on Twitter. Then you can follow her in just a couple of clicks, plus add to your lists. Try it out and see how much friendlier you become, instantly.

List O’ Rama

“Lists are the new follow,” says Owly. And now, list management is elegantly integrated into the iPhone. Lists are a powerful way to follow just the stuff and people ‘you really, really care about’ in a simplified view. Within the Lists tab, you can:

• Add new lists — public or private
• Manage existing lists — add and remove people
• Modify lists — change names and descriptions
• View lists created (or subscribed to) by others
• Subscribe to lists created by others (even secretly)
• Save lists as a new tab with a quick click
• Read followed lists in a unique tab

Additionally, lists are a way to share the social affection as a sort of endorsement for your Twitter faves.

Bump, Owly Style

No longer must you fiddle with misspelling weird Twitter nicknames, typing at meetings and wasting time! Instead, just “Bump” to follow.

HootSuite for iPhone’s Bump feature has graduated from the Lab and is ready to make adding people to your social networks easier than ever.

Simply “Bump” your iPhones with a your new friend and the little owl will take care of everything else. (Note: Please, don’t get *too* excited and break your phones).

Even Shinier

To impress your eyes, everything in the new version is even shinier for iPhone 4 users –  each graphic from the icons to the interface elements are now in full hi-res so your phone will sparkle as brightly as your retinas will displays.

Custom Touches

Perhaps we are a tiny bit obsessive about making the app perfect for your tastes. Now with a list of new preference settings, you can adjust settings for a custom experience, including:

• Font size from 13 – 20pt
• Avatar size from none to large
• Geotagging — auto on/off
• Photo upload quality + save to library
• Re-tweet style — classic or native
• Timestamp — relative or absolute

Now you can really tune HootSuite to look and act as you’ve always wanted. If something is still missing, it might appear in the next release. Remember you can offer feature requests and encourage your fellow enthusiast to vote it up.

Mayor of Everywhere

It’s important to have a bit of playtime and the popular social-geo-location “check-in” game Foursquare is ready for your leisure time in HootSuite.

Just click the “menu” arrow from the compose box and choose “geo-location” and send your coordinates to your pals.

Whether you are at the pub or the park, your friend will flock towards you — check-in frequently and you’ll earn badges … and you’ll want these badges.

More from the Owls

Owls do manage to sleep occasionally … but all waking hours are spent making this application the fave tool in your app toolbox.

Always be the early bird by following @HootSuiteiPhone for the latest updates and news. And if you have any problems or concerns, visit the fully-loaded Help Desk and/or follow @HootSuiteHelp.

Download from Apple App Store:

HootSuite for iPhone
HootSuite for iPhone Lite

iPhone, mobile, releases bump, contacts, elf owl, elfowl, Facebook, foursquare, geo-location, HootSuite, iPhone, lists, mobile, mobile social media dashboard, profile, social media, Twitter

Stream Notes

This Owl looks somewhat stern -- pic contrib'ed by @AnneWeiskopf

Something amiss in your streams? Well, you’re not the only one.

Twitter’s API is currently experiencing a critical issue that is causing problems in some third-party clients, including HootSuite.

As such, you may notice that your Home or Mention streams on HootSuite.com are not updating correctly. This is a symptom of the issue with Twitter’s API.

Geek note: API stands for Application Programming Interface which allows sites like Twitter/Facebook/Linkedin to share data with HootSuite.

HootSuite for iPhone and HootSuite for Android are also affected by this bug. Some users are experiencing crashes when viewing certain streams. Again, this is due to a problem with Twitter’s API.

Twitter is aware of the issue and are working on resolving this as soon as possible. Meanwhile at HootSuite HQ, we thank you for your patience.

Bonus:

Track Twitter’s status with these resources:

Twitter Status | @Twitterapi | API Status

Android, Support, iPhone, mobile android, api, iPhone, streams, Twitter

Good news, owl-lovers! We’ve updated our suite of mobile apps this morning and have rolled out a couple of important bug fixes.

iPhone users, you’ll notice HootSuite v1.1.5.3 is live in the iTunes App Store. This update fixes a recent issue with Twitter search streams, and also resolves a few bugs some users had when composing new messages. Visit our iPhone page for more details and links to download the app.

We’ve also bumped our Android app to v1.0.11. This latest update resolves a few crashing issues that some users were experiencing when sending tweets, and it fixes a force-close problem that sometimes occurred when loading old tweets. Check out our Android page for more details, and links to the app in the Android Market.

We recommend all mobile users update their apps as soon as possible. Happy tweeting!

Android, iPhone, update android, iPhone, mobile, update

Great Day for Mobile!

Yesterday was a big Social CRM release for HootSuite web, but we didn’t stop there and today have a treat for the mobile users. To go along with Apple’s release of the iPhone 4, we’ve updated an iOS4-ready version of HootSuite for iPhone with a number of new features to help you keep on top of the social media game.

This round of treats includes addition of location-based social game “foursquare,” customizable re-sizing of fonts for easy reading, and updates to iPhone’s iOS4 to allow app switching and performance tweaks. Plus a basket full of preference goodies from RT-style choice to custom avatar sizes.

Check It In

Foursquare is a social game which uses location-based services to keep tabs on your friends, discover your city, and earn points. By being the most frequent visitor to your local coffee shop, pizza joint, you might be anointed “mayor” which can include all sorts of perks.

Get social on the town with these tools:

Check-in and Shout out – Check-in then shout out your current location to your friends on Foursquare, Twitter, and Facebook.

Check-ins streams – Find out where all of your foursquare friends have recently checked in so you’re never left out on the fun-times.

Check-in history – Follow your own trail of check-ins and see where you’ve been — ideal for archiving activities for and memory recollections.

Sign-up for a foursquare account to compete for badges and accolades with your friends or share your location on Twitter and Facebook.

Locked and Loaded

HootSuite is ready to go for iPhone 4 and iOS4. This results in performance improvements for iPhone 3G or iPhone 4, including ability to switch apps quickly — if you leave the app, you’ll return right where you left off with no waiting.

Just for You

We listened to your feedback and added more choices in the preferences to allow a customized mobile experience, including:

Re-tweet choice – Choose from Twitter’s native RT style, classic RTs, or both
Font sizing – Change the font size for accessibility and/or convenience
Avatar sizing – Fill the stream with smiling profile pics or minimize for more text space
Username or real name – Select which moniker displays to identify your contacts
Timestamp styles – Display relative or absolute data on timestamps
Auto-enable geotag – Share your location automatically on every update
Photo upload options – Save snaps to the iPhone’s library, plus control the image quality

Wanna change? Adjust preferences as desired starting under the Settings tab.

Pro Tips

Push Notifications with Boxcar — This tool snuck in as part of the last release, but in case you missed it… Connect HootSuite with the Boxcar app (free) for instant push notifications whenever you receive a new @mention or DM.

Instant Ow.ly links in Safari — While you are browsing with Safari and see a tweet-able page, just prepend the url with “owly://” (no quotes) and voila! you’ll pre-populate a HootSuite message with a short link ready send to your network.

On Deck

Suggestions for additional preferences that you’d like to see in a future update? Great! Don’t hesitate to add it to feedback.hootsuite.com. We are constantly looking for ways that we can improve how you compose and converse on-the-go.

HootSuite for iPhone update is available at the iTunes App store in Lite (no-cost) and Full ($2.99 USD) versions. Follow @HootSuiteiPhone for updates. See hootsuite.com/iphone for more details.

Blackberry Notes

Finally, fans of RIM’s Blackberry phones can almost… finally begin Hoot-ing since HootBerry is just about ready for beta release. To get on-board for early access, simply sign up at: http://ow.ly/2aRUx and you’ll be among the first to try the new tool.

Notes:

foursquare is ™ foursquare
Boxcar is ™ Boxcar

iPhone, releases apple, check in, features, foursquare, geo tagging, geo-location, ios4, iPhone, itouch, release, update

Social World Cup

With the football matches in South Africa dominating the Twitter streams, HootSuite is here to help you stay on-side of the global chatter as the social web carries the conversation up-field for a goooooaaaaallll!

This fresh release of the HootSuite mobile social media dashboard for iPhone features localization for Arabic and Korean plus OAuth security migration, push notifications and deeper conversation browsing.

“Salam and Annyong Haseyo”

Building upon the localizations added in the last release of HootSuite iPhone, two more languages join German, Spanish, Japanese and Portuguese to (almost) round out the top 10 worldwide Internet languages. Now, the dozens of Arabic-speaking countries, along with the voracious Internet user population of Korea, can enjoy full interface elements in their familiar language.

سلام

Use of Arabic language on the web increased 2,297.7 % from 2000-2009 compared to world average of 399.03 %. The total adoption was led by Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Algeria.

HootSuite’s new Arabic localized version reads right to left and will be a communication boon for over half a billion people who speak Arabic as a first or second language in the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere around the world.

안녕하세요

As an early Internet adopter, South Korea was the 5th country to join the 30 club for over 30 million Internet users in 2004 (following US, China, Japan and Germany). South Korea remains in the top ten of total Internet users per country and boasts the highest Internet penetration rate of any top 10 country at 77.3 % (as of end of 2009).

Though Korean is a top 10 language on the web, scant statistics are available for Internet use in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (AKA North Korea) aside from a ranking of 227th in the “Internet Hosts” category by the CIA Factbook.

Push Notification

Fresh from the HootSuite Labs comes baked-in push notifications via Boxcar. This integration will alert you with a noise, buzz or pop-up whenever a new messages arrives. Tune it to receive @ replies, DMs or your whole home feed, and you’ll have one less reason to miss any mention of your name, brand or keyword.

Deeper Conversation

In the previous release, we added a threaded conversation view. Now we’ve made the conversations interactive allowing you to drill deeper into the back-story to quickly grasp context.

This update allows you to dig back into the stream to send replies and follow links from previous messages in the thread.

Avatar Zooming

Wondering who that stunning new follower is? Does that face look familiar? What’s your friend holding in that picture anyhow?

Zoom in on their profile pic to see their face in a full screen view. Handy at conferences and bars alike.

Security Migration

This release stays in step with Twitter’s evolving systems with a migration to the OAuth security protocol.

After installing the new version of HootSuite iPhone App, simply follow the prompts to upgrade your authentication scheme to OAuth which is: “An open protocol to allow secure API authorization in a simple and standard method from desktop and web applications.”

Keep in mind, you must update your app to OAuth before July 1st 2010 to keep your HootSuite app happily hooting with Twitter.

Owl-ized Addresses from Safari

Want to shorten a link quick while browsing the web? Just add “owly://” (no quotes) to the start of the URL in the Safari browser bar to instantly create a message in HootSuite including the short URL.

Kick Off

Get Hooting with HootSuite for iPhone by downloading from the iTunes App Store – all new features are released in both the Full ($2.99) or Lite (no-cost) versions and upgrades are FREE.

More Stats

Many nuggets of information for this article came from http://www.internetworldstats.com – thanks!

iPhone, releases arabic, avatar, boxcar, features, iPhone, korean, localization, oauth, push notification, secure, security, Twitter, world cup

Designed to Simplify

HootSuite keeners likely noticed a handful of new features for HootSuite iPhone released recently including language localization and a batch of handy tools which allow you to forward Twitter messages by email and save links to Instapaper. But this was only part one of the “Elf Owl” release.

Today, you can fill your toolbox with even more goodies designed to make social media experience more efficient and enjoyable. Ahhh … feels better already doesn’t it?

Get Your Fingers Working

HootSuite for iPhone update is available at the iTunes App store in Lite (no-cost) and Full ($2.99 USD) versions. Follow @HootSuiteiPhone for updates.

Internationally Comfortable

We know it’s nice to see an interface in your own language so we added full localization for Japanese, German, Spanish and Portuguese speakers.

Users will see all interface elements including options, settings and basic functions translated so no more fumbling to figure it out.

The localization is an industry-first for a Twitter iPhone app — including Twitter’s official app (formerly Tweetie) — and reflects Twitters rapid growth in markets beyond the US.

Which languages would you like to see localized next? Add your thoughts at the Feedback channel.

Handier Translation

The localization is a great addition to the translation tools which interpret to/from 50+ languages. Extra useful for monitoring brand sentiment which is critical for social-savvy marketers who must be aware of public opinion to amplify messages or prevent PR blunders.

Plus, now a single click translates foreign messages into your phone’s default language so you can get the gist of what your customers from Thailand to Timbuktu think about you, your brand, or your industry.

Fun: Try translating comments from rival team’s fans during the upcoming World Cup matches .

Clear your Mind

Whether you are reading Twitter and Facebook for business or pleasure, you want to interact with your social streams efficiently. Some people call this “getting things done” but we call it “simply handy.” Meet some of the new tools the mobile owls sprinkled in to clear your mind — many of which were submitted by HootSuite enthusiasts through the feedback channel.

Conversational Context
Don’t let replies confuse you – know the original context of conversations from days before with threaded messages arranged chronologically in chat-like bubbles.

Facebook Comments
Easily participate in the conversation by commenting on anything on your Facebook News Feed — along with posting messages to Facebook Pages and Profiles.

Keep your Place
HootSuite remembers your position and places you right back in the stream so no more re-reading to find your place when you take a phone call or use another App.

Saved as a Draft
Need more info for your update? Interrupted while typing? Save your message as a draft and finish it up later at your leisure without starting from scratch.

Read it Later
Don’t want to read an article right away? Just click to save links to the (free) Instapaper service to save for future reading on the big screen when you have the time.

Email that Tweet
Want to share a message with someone not using Twitter? Send any micro-update by email to share the news with bosses or pals to bring them into the conversation.

Remember to Bump
Released a few weeks ago in HootSuite Labs, the “Bump to Follow” tool is gaining fans in noisy clubs and quiet rooms alike who follow by “bumping” phones. Try it ~ but hold on to your phone!

Spreading the Word

HootSuite isn’t in the league of Ichiro, Godzilla or Spinal Tap in Japan… but we’re getting there. CEO Ryan Holmes recently visited Nippon to show off the localized iPhone at numerous events including speaking at Open Network Labs Live event, meeting users at a Tweetup, attending a Maker Faire, plus talking tech with the CEO of Softbank — Japan’s largest “keitei” mobile phone provider.

Curious? Catch the recaps of Ryan’s journey to Japan including pics, vids, and interviews.

While not quite as “exotic” as Tokyo, Community Director Dave Olson spoke about community building and shared HootSuite power-tuning tips in Bellingham, Washington plus hosted a mobile-industry trade mission visiting Vancouver from the Netherlands.

Stay up with all the HootSuite news and recaps here on the HootSuite blog and by following @hootwatch as well at @hootsuite and @hootsuite_help.

Seeking more company information including descriptions, logos and media contact? Visit the online Media Kit.

iPhone, releases elf owl, Facebook, german, iPhone, japanese, localization, portuguese, spanish, translation, Twitter, zen

Languages, Email and Instapaper

Hoot hoot! We’ve listened to your feedback and suggestions added new tools into a fresh update to the HootSuite iPhone apps (both Full and Lite versions). This release includes localization for four languages plus makes sharing content even easier – both with others via email and yourself with Instapaper.

Translation to 4 Languages

First off, on the internationalization front: HootSuite for the iPhone now has native support for Japanese, German, Spanish, and Portuguese!

We’re excited to make HootSuite easier to use for non-English speakers and wonder “What language would you like to see next?” Let us know in the Feedback channel.

We’ve also made it a little simpler to see what people are saying in other languages with a single click to translate a tweet into your phone’s default language rather than scrolling through 50+ choices. This is extra handy for monitoring brand sentiment from other countries as well as tapping into local conversations when traveling.

Tweet to Email

Want to send a tweet or link to someone who doesn’t use Twitter? Perhaps an interesting link or compelling comment about your company? … No problem.

With the new “Email Tweet” option, you can pass content along to your non-Tweeting friends and co-workers with a quick click using your phone’s built in mail app.

Save it for Later

Also new in this version is another frequently requested feature: support for Instapaper. This popular web tool allows you save web content to read later with a quick click directly from HootSuite. This allows you to peruse the content at the end of a link when you have the time.

How sweet is that? Folks commuting by transit or mining brand mentions will certainly love this feature. Let us know it makes life easier for you.

Both the Email and Instapaper tools are accessed from an expanded menu with finger-friendly buttons … starting by clicking the arrow.

More Down the Road

That’s not all from the HootSuite iPhone team as even more updates are in the works with even more compelling features coming soon to make HootSuite iPhone the fave choice of jet-setters, commuters, marketers on the go and anyone with a need for convenient communication.

Have a great feature idea? Please contribute to the Feedback channel which allows other users to vote for your idea … plus you’ll experience lovely warm fuzzy feelings each time you use the new feature that you requested.

iPhone, releases german, HootSuite, instapaper, iPhone, japanese, localization, portuguese, spanish, update

Built for Socializing

HootSuite adds more tools to the iPhone version of the popular social media dashboard including: instant language translation, geo-location, and Facebook integration plus several key interface enhancements.

With the latest update, you’re still able to manage and monitor multiple Twitter accounts, track keywords and brands, plus explore on-board click-through stats… but we’ve added even more treats.

This release adds the ability to translate Twitter and Facebook messages on the fly — in 50+ languages! Additionally, users can update Facebook accounts, compose Twitter messages in landscape view, share geo-location info, “reply-to-all” with one click, and “Bump™” iPhones to follow one another.

Time for a Holiday

No matter where you’re headed, this Owl will help you stay in touch and informed with instant translation to 50+ languages, geo-location to pinpoint yourself on the globe, and Facebook Profiles and Pages added to the mix — plus a few surprises in the suitcase. With all these new tools, the Owl decided to hop on the plane for a worldwide tour with iPhone in tow.

Check out the new features in action at exotic world locales in this video then get your thumbs on the updated HootSuite for iPhone for a bundle of surprises designed for any quest — from your neighborhood to around the world.

Facebook your Fans

The new release adds Facebook support, allowing you to update your status (in the aforementioned world languages), track your friends’ news updates, and schedule your messages for future publishing. Beyond Facebook Profiles, you can import Facebook Pages from your HootSuite account, and add “likes” to your friends’ posts.

Translate-ability

This Owl is international – Track Twitter conversations from around the world with instant translation to and from over 50 languages — ideal for monitoring relevant topics and brand mentions from global friends and customers. You can also compose in your native language and translate on the go — then post your update to both Twitter and Facebook — makes running international outreach campaigns easy.

Wherever you Go … Geo

Alert the world to your exact location by including geo-location data with your Twitter update. Great for chronicling a trip, remembering a special spot, or for helping friends find you for fun times. Just click a button to pinpoint your location, and your Twitter posts will be tagged with your whereabouts.

Well Groomed Owl

The new HootSuite for iPhone enjoys a freshened interface with large, intuitive buttons, plus a landscape view for composing Twitter updates in a larger, thumb-friendly space. Additionally, you can easily catch up with all the messages since the last time you checked with a “drag and refresh” option, plus quickly populate a message with all recipients using the “Reply to All” option.

Enter the Lab

Seeking a fun way to add followers in person? Dig into HootSuite Labs to try the “Bump™ to follow” feature — to try, just high five another HootSuite-enabled iPhone and you’ll see the chance to follow each other with a confirmation click. Fist pump, low five, freeze frame five — they all work. Enjoy testing this beta feature, no lab coat required.

More:

Press release with screenshots

HootSuite for iPhone page

Time for a Holiday video – features music “The Nostalgic Buffoon” by Jeremiah Jacobs (@jeremiahjacobs)

Note: “Bump” is ™ of Bump Technologies, Inc. http://bu.mp/

iPhone, releases Facebook, geo-location, iPhone, release, releases, Support, translation, tweetie, Twitter, upgrade

[Update: As of 5PM PST on Tuesday, April 6th, the update is live on iTunes App Store - please go download and update and continue to enjoy HootSuite for iPhone]

If you’re a HootSuite for iPhone user, you may have noticed problems recently with Search streams in your app.

Twitter  released an update for their Search API that changed the format of results. Because of this, Search streams on the iPhone app weren’t displaying properly.

We have a fix in place for this issue, and we’ve submitted an update to Apple on Friday, April 1st. The update will be available to all HootSuite for iPhone users as soon as it’s approved for the App Store.

Remember that if you’re having problems with HootSuite, you can visit our help site to view FAQs, support updates, and submit a ticket to our friendly support team owls. You can also ping us on Twitter at @hootsuite_help for assistance. And if you’ve got feature requests or ideas for future development of the app, feel free to drop us a line on our feedback site.

customer service, iPhone, mobile, update bug, fix, iPhone

As you likely noticed, HootSuite added to our social media dashboard offerings with the release of a version for Google’s Android open mobile platform, then followed up the release with the acquisition of Swift App, the company behind the creation of the popular Android Twitter app.

Plenty of Android fans, users and pundits noticed and reported on the news, so … for the record, here’s some of the reaction from around the web:

Venture/Mobile Beat – HootSuite acquires developer Swift App to bolster its Android efforts – Kim-Mai Cutler

Fresh off its recent Android launch, Canadian social media startup HootSuite acquired developer Swift App to beef up its presence on Google’s mobile platform. Sebastian Delmont, the developer behind Swift App, will join HootSuite as a mobile adviser. His company built a Twitter client of the same name for Android phones (the first picture below). Neither company released terms of the deal.

Paid Content – HootSuite Buys Android Developer Swift App – Joseph Tartakoff

Twitter client HootSuite, which recently raised $1.9 million in funding, has now made an acquisition, buying up Android app developer Swift App. HootSuite says that Swift App was behind the development of HootSuite’s own Android app, which was released last week. The company says the acquisition “means quicker development for the growing Android market.”

Androinica – HootSuite for Android balances heavy features and light loading times [Video app review]

Swift was my favorite Android Twitter app last fall, mainly because it was among the fastest and easiest to navigate. However, I needed multiple account support to make it my full-time choice. Swift’s developer, Sebastian Delmont, has since added multiple accounts and a long list of other features to Swift – only he’s done it under the HootSuite banner.

AndroidGuys – Hootsuite Acquires Swift App

Days after launching its Android application, Hootsuite is announcing that they have acquired developer Swift App. This doesn’t come as a total surprise as Swift App was the company behind the development of Hootsuite’s recent twitter client for Android. Observant Android users who had previous experience with Swift app noticed striking similarities between the two apps. As part of the acquisition, Sebastian Delmont, will join the HootSuite team as a mobile adviser.

mocoNews – HootSuite Buys Android Developer Swift App

Twitter client HootSuite, which recently raised $1.9 million in funding, has now made an acquisition, buying up Android app developer Swift App. HootSuite says that Swift App was behind the development of HootSuite’s own Android app, which was released last week. The company says the acquisition “means quicker development for the growing Android market.”

Mediacaster Magazine – BC Company Uses Android for Social Media Marketing

Vancouver-based social web development company HootSuite Media has acquired Swift App, a company focused on developing social media applications for Google’s open mobile platform, Android. The announcement comes shortly after HootSuite released its version of the social media dashboard for Android handsets based on Swift App.

Finally, here’s our own Press Release (PR Web) – HootSuite Acquires Android Developer Swift App to Speed Development for Google’s Open Mobile Platform

HootSuite Media, Inc. announces acquisition of Swift App, Inc. a company focused on developing social media applications for Google’s open mobile platform, Android. The announcement comes shortly after HootSuite released a version of the social media dashboard for Android handsets based on Swift App.

Android, News Roundup acquisition, android, HootSuite, swift, swift app