Twitter Alternative

[marlis]

I have a client for a sports team website which I created with WD8 Premium. The client is also the team coach and wants to be able to post daily news items in real time on the website. E.g., "Due to lightening storm, today's practice is cancelled. Don't forget to wear your team shirt tomorrow for photos." I suggested using the team's Twitter account and I would place the Twitter widget on the home page. However, he said he does not like Twitter.

Are there any alternatives for such functionality where he can easily create a message and I can easily incorporate it into the Xara website?

[Boy]

With the examples that you are using, I would think that sending text messages would be more effective. The coach cannot expect his players to check the team's website every time. I did a quick Google search and came up with this link: http://mashable.com/2008/04/19/send-text-messages/

Perhaps there is also some variation whereby messages posted on a website are also sent as text messages.

[marlis]

Thank you Boy. The coach does not want to send texts. He wants the team to get in the habit of checking the website after school and before practice. So I still need a twitter feed alternative for him to compose the message and a widget for me to include on the homepage that displays the most current message (s).

[gwpriester]

Well, there's always Facebook. You could set up a FB page for the team which could also be used for photos and team interaction.

Twitter is perfect for what he wants, but obviously he has some personal problem with Twitter and probably will not like Facebook either.

I did a Google search for Alternative to Twitter. There appear to be a few to investigate.

[marlis]

Thank you GWPriester,

They have 2 facebook pages. One for girls and one for boys. He really just wants to use the website homepage to display a daily message. I looked into tools where he could create his own RSS feed and I could add a widget to display the RSS feed on the homepage. But it looks like the RSS feed tool would requite him to be on windows and then to ftp the feed to some syndication service. Unless I am missing something, this seems way too complicated and less flexible than him sending out a twitter message which goes to the twitter widget on the homepage.

m

[jamesd]

This should work for you
http://www.snippetmaster.com/index.php

[Miko]

What about Google Docs?

[Cloud]

sounds like this coach is being an awkward sod. Here most team coaches will either phone or text as these will get through straight away. How many of the kids will actually obey their coach and go over to the website. Plus he seems to shoot down all your ideas even though they are very good, the twitter feed sounds perfect if he wants them to visit the website, what does he hate about twitter? the concept? Hate having customers like that. I have just had a customer who left the design for some flyers to us and then said he didn't expect the design to look like that and then decided to give us the EXACT way he wanted it, we have charged him for the design change as it is in our terms & conditions that any changes made when the design is left to our discretion will be charged.

[marlis]

Thank you Jamesd,

Snippetmaster looks very interesting, but I am becoming more convinced that Twitter is the easiest thing for him to use. Whether he is on a computer or on his phone at the boathouse he's can easily send a message that will appear on the website. I will file away Snippetmaster for some other projects.

[marlis]

Thanks Miko,

Google Docs is overkill for getting a line or two of text up to the homepage.