Twimailer Enhances Twitter Follow Notifications
Twimailer is a new service that provides a simple, yet extremely useful function: It enhances the standard Twitter email notification with lots of good information on the new follower including recent tweets, follower and following stats, and more. Thanks go to Amber Case (@caseorganic) for the heads-up.
Twimailer is fairly ingenious, and set-up is simple. You start by providing the service an email address. Next, Twimailer gives you an email address to stick in to your Twitter settings for sending notifications. Once you've confirmed everything and Twitter is updated, that's it. Sit back and wait for your next follower.
We love things that make our life simpler, and Twimailer is about as straightforward as you can get. The enhanced email provides a bounty of information about the person that has followed you, and of course provides a link to their profile so you can follow them back. However, we do have to mention some security considerations with a service like this.
First, it stores your email address. Although the site says that it doesn't spam or store email bound for you, it doesn't mention what it does (if anything) with your actual email address. Especially with no fine print, Twimailer may just disappear tomorrow with that information in tow. Second, more than just new follower notifications are sent from Twitter. What happens to direct messages and password reset confirmations? These are risks you will need to think about before signing up.
Amber also wrote about Twimailer and points out a method using Google Mail (or Gmail) that lets you get around having to hand over all email control to Twimailer. Although a bit technical, Chris Messina (@chrismessina on Twitter) describes the process here.
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I reviewed Twimailer a few days ago - and although good, it's nothing on Topify which lets you receive profiles, reply to follow them back and send dm's via email. Wrote about them earlier today: http://thenextweb.com/2009/03/04/topify-do-everything-with-twitter-via-email/
Plus, from what i've heard Twimailer cloned the idea from Topify: http://twitter.com/TechCrunch/status/1275620534 . Not that more than one company can't do the same thing...
Quite interesting, may just give this a whirl, seem to be getting more followers recently and I would love to know more about them at a glance. Thanks for the tip Phil.
Caleb
Phil, i d love you to try http://topify.com which a more evolved service allowing you to follow back without leaving your inbox
We were launched a few weeks ago in private beta. would be very happy to send you an invite. Shoot me an email on ouriel dot ohayon at GMAIL dot com
Zee and Ouriel, thanks for pointing me toward Topify! It does sound interesting and I'd like to take a look at it.
Would you be able to send a few invites to tips@readwriteweb.com so that all the writers here at RWW can look at it? Thanks!
coming to your mail box. hope you enjoy it!
Sounds to good to pass up. I'll have to take a chance regarding the security issues. Nice write up, and thanks for the tip!
It seems to me that this kind of feature improvement is something that Twitter should really do itself, but of course it’s great to see someone from the community pitch in and add incremental value until Twitter gets around to it.
Must have been hard to find a name for this service (or is it just an app, or a whole 2.0 company?)
Twitmail? Tweetmail? Certainly this one lacks verbal comfort.
Again a new services for twitter!
"First, it stores your email address. Although the site says that it doesn't spam or store email bound for you, it doesn't mention what it does (if anything) with your actual email address. Especially with no fine print, Twimailer may just disappear tomorrow with that information in tow."
Phil, think about this again. You can't think of a reason why they might store the email addresses that they, uh... use to send the emails to???
Another concern I have is if they receive your e-mail from Twitter, in theory they could request or reset your password. I trust anyone with a spiffy website...but to me this is a real security concern which they don't adress on their website.
Anyone else feel this way?
Nice app!
I've listed this into Twitdom - Twitter Applications Database.
Thanks for sharing this, I have been saying for a while now I wish the notifications had more detail
@vibhu, it may sound obvious, but what I am trying to convey in my post is that, although emails are not stored, the email address is (and has to be, obviously).. but more importantly, the page has no privacy policy covering the address -- just the email. Does that make sense?
For some reason I can't get this thing to work....
REALLY, all I want is an invite to Topify...anyone have any extras they can spare? I would be VERY appreciative!
EMAIL: brandonblattner@gmail
TWITTER: @masemase
Thanks in advance either way!
http://twimailer.com is great! Loving it.
Twimailer only asks for the email but Topify asks for both email and Twitter account.
On top of that, Topify is not even launched yet!
I'll stick with http://twimailer.com
Anyone know how to get in touch with someone twimailer.
There http://twitter.com/twimailer doesnt exist
There is no other contact info on there web http://twimailer.com/
Thanks
John Piercy
We were launched a few weeks ago in private beta. would be very happy hehe :)