14 DAY TRIAL // One of the cool things about the new Twitter is the media integration. Tweets are still 140 characters, some links and hashtags, but you can view videos, photos and even music in the right side panel, thanks to integration with third-party services.
Now Twitter is expanding the list of supported third-parties by adding a number of location based services, including the front-runners Foursquare and Gowalla, but also sites like Amazon.
For example, Foursquare checkins that are also tweeted show up on Twitter along with a map of the location, how many checkins there are in total and other data from the site.
"You remember how Twitter launched the awesome #newTwitter, with the detail panes so you got a lot more contwext around all the links in your tweetstream?," Foursquare writes.
"Well, now foursquare check-ins get the royal tweetment. When you tweet your check-in, the tweet’s details will now include the photo, number of comments and pics, a map of the venue, and a top tip. Contwext. From foursquare and Twitter," the company added.
In the latest batch, Twitter added support for Foursquare, Gowalla, Amazon, Meetup, Plancast or AOL Video, with data now included with the tweets, depending on the specifics of the sites.
Twitter has been expanding the number of sites it supports for its media integration feature. Late last year Twitter added support for Blip.tv, Instagram, Slideshare, Rdio and Dipdive. Already, at launch, the New Twitter supported the likes of YouTube, Twitpic, iTunes and so on.
This new focus on media is a very important strategic move from Twitter and the only surprise is that it came so late into the game. It was only after the company was able to provide a stable, scalable infrastructure, that Twitter started looking at ways of enhancing the product itself.
While Twitter has been labeled as a social network before, on account of the social graph that is core to the product, but it was always more about information than anything else.
Information is great and Twitter is an obvious way of delivering it, but it can become a bit too much at one point, especially with so many people just recycling several pieces of content or info. Having a richer experience on the site should help keep users stick around for more, an obvious goal for any site that relies on advertising for revenue.