It uses content posted in a network on Twitter to created personalised online newspaper.  The free web application spiders your Twitter network and presents content discussed by people in your network and a level deeper. Stories are ranked by the number of conversations.

Check out my Twitter Tim.es at twittertim.es/wadds.

In the last 48 hours I’ve polled internet retailers to find out whether they have contingency plans in place for the national postal strike.

I asked a dozen brands using Twitter IDs sourced directly or via e-consultancy: @amazon; @CDWOWUK; @espares; @figleaveshome; @firebox; @grazedotcom; @Hotel_Chocolat; @lovefilm; @maplintweet; @overheardatmoo; @playcom; and @waterstonesltd.

I’ve had four responses from @espares, @figleaveshome, @firebox and @lovefilm. @mat_henton from espares deserves special praise. He responded within minutes.

It’s hardly exhaustive or scientific survey (a bit like real life) but it shows that a handful of internet retailers are making extraordinary efforts to use Twitter as a channel and tackle the impending postal strike.

Equally others are using Twitter as a broadcast channel or have work to do to put contingency plans in place for the postal strike.

Spinning so fast you lose all sense of REALITY

A company called Seventy Seven has just launched an online poll to decide on the PR agency of the year.

“Who would YOU make the agency of the year …?” the company asks (capital letters are not mine), and then adds this proviso. “If you can AVOID voting for your own agency it might make it a bit more interesting.”

What happened? A PR company called Cake immediately got 57pc of the vote.

Here’s the original post on the Seventy Seven blog.

Networks are open and can be manipulated but the social element means that it is almost impossible to cheat a network. Rogue behaviour can quickly be identified and outed.

(via @drewb and @daljit_bhurji).

Twitter has introduced a verified account feature. The beta-feature has been introduced for anyone that has experienced identity issues and will see a badge added to the Twitter page of accounts that have been verified.

“We’re starting with well-known accounts that have had problems with impersonation or identity confusion. (For example, well-known artists, athletes, actors, public officials, and public agencies).”

If you fall into this category complete this form on the site.

Twitter could use registration as a mechanism to drive revenue. Users would be will to pay a few dollars to verify their account. But the feature is free and limited to individuals and public organisations.

“We may verify more accounts in the future, but because of the cost and time required, we’re only testing this feature with a small set of folks for the time being. As the test progresses we may be able to expand this test to more accounts over the next several months.”

While there is no plan to open up account verification for business it’s clearly something that it is considering as it has asked businesses to register their interest.

“We’re not testing this feature now with businesses. However, if you’re interested in verification for your business, fill out this feedback form and let us know.”