Goodbye Twitter. Hello Jaiku.

Apr 6, 2007 at 7:01 PM
61 comments

When I talk about Twitter people think I'm crazy. Who would want to be bugged by hundreds of messages a day from your friends telling you what they're up to. Well, as it turns out, lots of us would. Twitter is positively addictive and everyone, including Mike Arrington at Techcrunch, seems to think it's going to be the next big thing. I'm really happy for Ev and the gang at Obvious. Ev jumpstarted the blogging revolution and tried to do the same with podcasting until Apple jumped into the ring and squashed all the competition. Twitter is his well deserved second home run.

But I'm leaving it.

The problem is the name. I wish to heck he'd named it Tweeter, or Tooter, or anything but Twitter. Twitter is so close to TWiT that I'm afraid it's really confusing. And it hasn't helped the confusion that I've been such a fan of Twitter. I'm sure half the people there think we have some sort of relationship. But we don't. And the proliferation of programs like Twitbox and sites like Twit This are not helping things much. So let me repeat...

Twitter has nothing to do with TWiT.

And, I'm afraid, I can't have anything to do with Twitter, either. It's just fueling the confusion. Fortunately, there are several similar services including Groovr, Dodgeball, and Jaiku. After a cursory glance at all three Jaiku seems to have the best mix of features for me (I'm too old to be groovy, or hooking up) so I'm moving to Jaiku. (In truth, it offers a much richer set of features than Twitter.) My handle is ChiefTWiT. Hope to see some of you there.

And I hope my Twitter friends will consider creating a Jaiku account and adding your Twitter feeds to it so I can still see what you're up to. If you do, please make sure to let me know!

(Of course the Jaiku server crashed the minute I mentioned that on Twitter. Twitter's powerful stuff. I'm gonna miss the mojo.)

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Comments

Crashing sites. Isn't that called the TWiT effect?
The Power of Leo. ;)
Have a great Easter!

PS Unfortunately you have to defend those Trademarks. Sounds like a registered letter will be going out soon.

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I can understand the confusion, and the tradmark issue, but maybe Ev could adjust the name to TWEETER ? I mean, the "messages" are known as "tweets" anyway - seems to make sense, although the TWITTER brand may have gathered too much momentum to make the change possible.

Re: Apple crushing podcasting - I'm not familiar with US trademark law (just Australian) but Apple own the trademark "iPod", not "pod" - otherwise the Greenies would be in trouble too (a "pod" of whales, seed "pod" , etc), so I can't see that "podcasting" should be an issue for them.

Let's face it - Apple have only BEFITTED from podcasting and the (mistaken) belief that some have that you have to have an iPod to play them. I would think that names like "iPodLounge" might upset their legal leeches, but even THAT generates free publicity for Apple, and as they say in marketing "there's nothing better than free publicity".

The term "iPod" has become part of normal language to mean "a music player", and it's not the first brand name to do it - look up Hoover, BandAid, etc...

Re: the TWiT name - you do realise that it has a number of interesting meanings, such as "noun informal, chiefly Brit. a silly or foolish person", "verb (twitted, twitting) informal tease good-humouredly", and my personal favorite from the Macquarie Dictionary "a pregnant goldfish"...:-)

Jon

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Awesome Leo, Welcome to Jaiku! I've been using it for a little over a month and I love it.
BTW: Your Jaiku URL is in the form username.jaiku.com Not jaiku.com/username. In other words you linked to a 404 page instead of your Jaiku page.

Your actual Jaiku page is http://chieftwit.jaiku.com
see you around on Jaiku.

Leo, I have a feeling that once their servers recover from the shock, having you and the TWiT Army migrate to Jaiku will be the best thing that ever happened to them. The TWiT Effect, indeed!

I'll miss your tweets, Leo :) I cried a bit tonight at the news.

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Leo, you broke it. :-D

Ahh, it's your fault! :)

I come back from a long, Easter Saturday walk (I'm down in New Zealand) and my servers are groaning at me... now I know why :)

Leo I don't intend to sound rude about this, but as I read this I thought to myself "what is he thinking?". As popular as TWiT may be, or may become, Twitter will always be more well known and I find it hard to believe that people would have confusion between the two. This may sound harsh but you seem a bit full of yourself on this. Anyway best of luck.

Steve, are you forgetting that Leo is #1 on http://www.twitterholic.com/ ?

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I think you made a good choice Leo...I wrote a review of Jaiku recently at lifestreamblog.com based around the presence streaming features of the service which allows for a more passive approach for allowing friends to track you on multiple services.

Good luck,

Mark

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Since Twitter/Jaiku is getting all the buzz lately, I wanted to know what people think of loopnote.com. I built the site with a couple of buddies and we launched back in December, and there are a lot of similarities with Twitter.

I must admit, Twitter is a lot simpler, do you think that that is the reason for its success? Do you think that they're going to be able to maintain that level of simplicity?

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

I'm sticking with Twitter for now.

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Leo, this makes no sense. Either Twitter will change it's name or it won't, but your moving to a rival service will not encourage this to happen. While monocultures are bad, splitting the network at this point is not good, no one wants a repeat of the IM wars, which took a decade to be bypassed by services like Meebo.
If anything, Twitters exponential growth will be a boon for TWIT's audience. No existing listener will be confused, as you've explained there's no relationship in the show.Just as none of your listeners tune in in the mistaken belief that it's a weekly documentary about fools.
Your free to switch to whatever service you want, but the way you've frames the change makes it look like petulance.

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ive been pimpin jaiku around the net cos in my opinion its a lot better than twitter, which is just not really a nice experience to use. There are a few features id like to see come to jaiku and i know some of them are already on the way.

c u around on jaiku leo!

I understand the desire to protect your shiny new trademark on a centuries old word, but I find it to be in extremely poor taste to spam those of us who will continue to use Twitter with the news of your decision.

I've been a fan for years, but this pettiness is (I thought) beneath you.

First the name confusion problem is a bit silly. I've never heard of TWiT until today, so a good number of people probably aren't confused at all. That number includes people who think of talk radio/podcasts as a low resolution medium.

I have to admit Jaiku has some attractive features. But these are features Twitter could easily emulate. Importing RSS feeds? A phone app? These are the killer reasons I should consider switching? Both are inevitable add-ons to Twitter. Jaiku is also prettier, which I admit is a plus.

But Twitter has a huge base of users. And I've already invested considerable time getting people to join. There's certainly no way I'm going to start evangelizing for another service. Yes, Jaiku might be a better service, but it hasn't been better at promotion, and that's where the network effects wars are won.

Finally, I'm wondering whether Jaiku offers IM compatibility like Twitter does. That's where I do most of my Twittering. Without the IM functionality, I don't think I've got much use for Jaiku. Unlike adding feeds or a phone app, I'm not sure Jaiku could swiftly offer such a service, so I hope for the sake of those switching from Twitter, that IM is something Jaiku already has. If they have it, they should note that on their site.

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Leo,

I have listened and watched you for many years. I enjoy your endeavors.

Does a copyright dispute entitle you to take business away from the folks with whom you are having a dispute? I like twitter and I like Twit. Don't put fans of yours in the position of leaving twitter to side with you about your dispute with them.

Leo I can't help but think this is too rash of a decision. Is the confusion truly that massive to cause a move like this? Are the majority of the TWiT fanbase/outsiders getting *that* confused?

I'm sure, with a little bit of time, this confusion could subside once enough of the industry helps to echo the brand distinction and smooth out the wrinkles.

I am still not sold on Jaiku over twitter. If the masses move over then maybe... if Vader moves then I am in. I need his wisdom to get me through the day

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You know, I'm a fan of TWiT and Twitter, but never even thought about the quite natural confusion newcomers might have about both. Whether for the name thing or the features, though, I'm glad you're liking Jaiku. They've got a lot of work to do (an API allowing independent developers to extend it, primarily), but when it comes to "presence" and tracking and still accommodating conversations, I think they're doing it better than Twitter does.

I blogged about it in March: Twitter vs. Jaiku

Leo, I was never confused by your promotion of Twit, and I'm an admirer of your show. This seems like the tail wagging the rhino, and I'll miss you on Twit.

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I came. I saw. I joined. Now what? Any hints on learning this easier. And I totally love the lack of "I have 89786 followers! Yeah me!" Will try to follow you on Jaiku, too.

I felt a loss when I received the tweet from you stating you were leaving Twitter to join Jaiku because of confusion over your trademark. While I have been watching/listening to you since the days of ZDTV and have been an avid fan, I can't help but feel that this was a tacky move and a slam in the face to Twitter by telling all your fans to follow you to Jaiku in a mass exodus.

I tried to overlook those emotions, signed up for an account at Jaiku, and decided I just didn't like it. Besides all the friends I have at Twitter, it took me over an hour to go through the signup pages due to server overload then another two hours to receive the activation message on my phone. I think there should be competition, I just think this is a shameless way to promote it.

Of course, I could be over reacting to the "promote the competition business" and the whole underlying issue is ONLY the trademark thing. If so, tell your lawyers to get over themselves before you get the same reputation some big businesses that I won't name. Just because a name "sounds like" yours doesn't mean it is the same thing or will be confused with yours. At this point, I am afraid I have some serious re-evaluating to do regarding TWiT.

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I like this service, but there are two caveats. First, I am having to tell people how to spell the site, and I'm actually not entirely sure how you pronounce it. Second, I'm having a hell of a time getting an activation code sent to my phone...I suppose I'll keep trying.

For the confused people here perhaps I can help explain.

1) Leo has not asked anyone to give up Twitter for Jaiku. You can have two accounts, I do. I am certain mash-ups between the two will bridge any gaps in short order.
2) Leo has a legal obligation to defend the TWiT trademark. He has no choice in this matter if he wants to keep others from destroying a brand he has personally built over several years and countless thousands of hours. Sites Like www.twit_whatever_.com may be infringements of the TWiT trademark even if Twitter.com itself isn't an infringement. (That is is for the courts to decide.)
3) Leo has stated that he has done this regretfully. I take him at his word. I am sure Ev at Twitter does as well, and understands the necessity of the move.

If I started a podcast network called VOXERS I'm sure the legal C&D papers would be here in short order.

Hi Leo

I would only imagine anyone who is a fan of yours, net@nite, techguy,security now etc... would know that you are a fan of Twitter and that it is not a part of TWiT.

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Okay Leo, I thought about leaving Twitter to keep up with what you're doing, but I can't do it. I like Twitter too much and maybe, for the first time, I think you're really wrong about pursuing action against Twitter.

You've spoken publicly that you guys have nothing in common. Twitter doesn't negatively affect your netcast network, so not really sure, other than via sounding similar, how you feel it impacts you so that you have to take action and send a C&D to them. Or for that matter that Twitter could licence Twit from you.

C'mon Leo, let this one slide. The people who follow you are starting to worry... put our minds at ease will ya?

The timing of the trademark infringement and his posting of leaving Twitter DOES infer he is asking us to leave.

He is using his influence to sway us.

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Longtime TWiT listener, viewer, lover. Longtime Leo Fan. Sticking with Twitter. Leo, do what you must to protect your trademark.

If any court cares... I have NOT been confused between the trademarks TWiT and Twitter.

I leave you with a haiku (not to be confused with a jaiku)

Messages online
From people I've never met
Junk food for the brain

Actually, a bit ago I coined what happenned to Jaiku as the "Laporte Effect".

Of course Leo has to react. There might not be a problem right now but what happens when Ev sells twitter to Murdoch for 560 millions?

Besides Twitter won't last long. It's dependent on users willingness to update and keep up the pace. Right now Scoble is the only one who can keep it up and that's only because he writes about 10 "now I'm really going to bed" messages every night. i doubt I will stay on Twitter to read that.

Not sure if you came back to Twitter already or the more likely thing of there being an impostor over there now pretending to be you Leo. I just wanted to find out. Best thing would be to post something about it on your blog so we no it is you or not. Thanks Leo.

Even though i find Jaiku to be lacking quite a bit of the notification features twitter has, i made an account on it anyway just so I can be a relentless leo fanboy. See you there.

I'll check out Jaiku. I'm on Twitter now. By the way, Leo have you tried Joost yet? If you still need an invite let me know, my hubby is saving one for you in case you need it.

First of all, SHAME ON YOU for bailing out on Twitter! LAME! LAME! LAME! I've heard you plugging Twitter at least half a dozen times on various podcasts and now you make it out to be as if it is some evil empire? WTF?!

You could have just left Twitter without making a big deal out of it...

Personally I think you were paid by Twitter in the first place..and now you have been paid by Jaiku.

I wonder who will pay you off next to move to the next startup?

SELLOUT!

P.S. To all of the Leo Laporte ass kissers... get a life! Do you have a brain? Maybe you should try something with it you may have never tried before: THINK FOR YOURSELF!

Since you said to let you know, I joined Jaiku and my Jaiku url is here:
http://laserone.jaiku.com/
:)

If I manufacture and sell computers using the mark "Apple," my use of that mark will likely cause confusion among consumers, since they may be misled into thinking that the computers are made by Apple Computer, Inc. Using a very similar mark on the same product may also give rise to a claim of infringement, if the marks are close enough in sound, appearance, or meaning so as to cause confusion. So, for example, "Applet" computers may be off-limits; perhaps also "Apricot." On the other end of the spectrum, using the same term on a completely unrelated product will not likely give rise to an infringement claim. Thus, Apple Computer and Apple Records can peacefully co-exist, since consumers are not likely to think that the computers are being made by the record company, or vice versa.

Soo..... Twitter is not a podcast network related to technology... so, Twitter - I think you're safe. Bug off, TWiT!

Twitter is one of the pointless wastes of time I've ever seen on teh internets, and
that's saying a lot.

That said, I love that Leo is leaving Twitter because of brand confusion, or
whatever. I also love that he has put the Registered symbol in the header of
twit.tv.

It's rapidly getting to the point where the only TWiT pod sorry, netcasts worth listening to are Security Now, because Steve Gibson
actually seems to care about releasing on a consistent schedule and providing quality
content, and The Tech Guy, because being paid for something has a certain
effect on the professionalism of any endevour.

The rest of the netcasts are devolving into tangents, snipe-fests, and just plain
boredom.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

to Bobomonkey. I'm sorry you have an unsatisfying home-life and feel the need to lash out at others for your inward feelings of self loathing and inadequacy. I'm sure that a therapist can help you.

Do you confuse TWiT with "Twitter"? Um, I don't?! ... It's just sad to see someone you admire stoop so low.

http://twitter.com/arnold/statuses/23353501

Leo, I followed you since TechTV, and for you to act like this is unbecoming. You embraced the technology/app then start talking about how people are confused by it?

Oh, thanks for not calling it "Netcast" any longer.

Good luck to Jaiku and Twitter. I hope they both have their place in this large community.

hanapbuhay replied to Chris’ comment: