Frequently Asked Questions

Why another iPhone Twitter client?

One of the things that becomes apparent very quickly when you solicit feedback on a Twitter client is that there are many different ways of thinking about Twitter, and there are incredibly passionate advocates for all of them. Twitter’s very simplicity gives it an ability few other social networks have: it can effectively become whatever its users want it to be. For many, especially those of us who have been using Twitter since its early days, it’s primarily an ambient intimacy system we use to keep in touch with friends and family. For others, it’s a broadcasting platform for punditry or humor. For others still, it’s a forum for professional networking and business advancement. The reason Twitter is so successful is that it’s a concept big enough to encompass all of these uses, and it’s not inconsistent or uncommon for people to even own and use multiple clients suited to various purposes. I would argue that this isn’t a bad thing—it’s just a symptom of Twitter’s versatility and the prodigious size of the market.

We developed Birdfeed because we have our own strongly held opinions about what we want from a Twitter client, and they don’t exactly match anything else out there. Some of this (the simple, friendly design; the embrace of iPhone-native user experience concepts; the focus on messaging and notifications) is hopefully apparent in 1.0. Some of what we want to do will take some time. We have a fairly ambitious road map, and hopefully the differentiation of our vision will only become more apparent over time.

Why $4.99?

Artificially low App Store prices notwithstanding, developing a Twitter client for the iPhone is significantly more difficult than writing a desktop Twitter app for a variety of reasons. The severe limitations of the device mean that developers have to be concerned about resource usage and performance in a way they don’t in other modern computing environments. The slowness and inconsistent nature of the network connection means they have to be concerned with error conditions much more than on the desktop. And the constraints of the small screen mean that they have to think far more creatively about UI design and make far tougher calls about user experience.

Because of this, and because we put a lot of sweat into producing a polished, Apple-caliber application, we feel Birdfeed is worth $4.99. We know times are tight and you might be reluctant to spend the money, but consider that Birdfeed is a highly functional app you’re likely to use far more frequently than many iPhone games that cost twice as much. If you don’t agree, however, we understand and don’t begrudge you your opinion—there are plenty of other options out there.

Why doesn't Birdfeed have [feature]?

No software project is ever truly finished, and Birdfeed 1.0 represents only the very beginning of an ambitious road map. As Steve Jobs himself once said, “Real artists ship,” and, in our experience, the single biggest thing that separates the shippers from the non-shippers is the ruthless ability to say “No, we’re not doing that for 1.0.” It’s a tough call to make, especially in a hypercompetitive environment like the iPhone Twitter client market. But without such strategic compromises, no one would ever actually ship software.

All of that said, we believe Birdfeed actually represents a very strong 1.0 release feature-wise. Birdfeed has many features our main competitors don’t have, and many of the common features people have been asking for are very much on the roadmap—some are even partly implemented in the codebase and merely awaiting that extra bit of polish and thoughtfulness we try to give every feature in Birdfeed. Keep your eye on us—this is only the beginning.

But *will* you add [feature]?

One of our most important design goals in developing Birdfeed has always been simplicity. To maintain a simple, uncluttered user experience in the constrained environment of the iPhone, we have had to carefully weigh every feature and design decision we make to ensure we aren’t hindering the 90% use case to accommodate a 10% use case. This often means we need to say no to new features that might make some subset of users extremely happy, but only at some cost to experience of the vast majority of other users.

We’re always interested in hearing how we could make your experience with Birdfeed better, however, so don't hesitate to let us know. One of the great strengths of Twitter its sensitivity to the innovations of its users, and we on the Birdfeed team definitely want to stay aware of how Twitter’s users are continuing to evolve the service. We can’t promise we’ll implement your idea, but we can assure you we’ll carefully consider your request.

Does Birdfeed support Apple Push Notifications?

As of right now, the answer is no. At the time of writing, adding push notifications to a Twitter client would require the developer to create and maintain a server infrastructure to act as a bridge between Twitter and Apple’s push notification system. This would mean writing and maintaining a server app to monitor Twitter in real time and pass events of interest on to the appropriate device. While such a thing isn’t completely out of the question, the costs and time commitment involved start to seem a bit prohibitive for a small team like us.

We are, however, keenly aware that people want this feature, and we are exploring some potential solutions. We promise we’ll keep you updated.

Where can I find Birdfeed's settings?

Birdfeed's settings are located in the Birdfeed area of your iPhone's Settings application.

Where can I find Twitter Trends in Birdfeed?

To get to Trends, click on the rounded, blue bookmarks button on the right side of the input field in the Search view, then on the “Trends” segment of the button on the bottom toolbar.

How do I use Birdfeed's URL shortening integration?

Right now, you can use Birdfeed's integration with the tr.im URL shortening service in two places:

• From the built-in browser. Tap the "forward" button button in the top right of the browser view, then tap the "Post to Twitter" button. Birdfeed will request a shortened version of the browser's currently displayed URL from tr.im, then open the posting interface with the short URL in the entry field.



• From the tweet detail screen. Tap the button labeled "Forward" under the tweet text, then click the "Post Link to Tweet" button in the menu sheet that comes up. Birdfeed will request a shortened version of the tweet's URL on the Twitter website, then open the posting interface with the short URL in the entry field.



• Advanced users can also take advantage of tr.im's link tracking and statistics features by specifying a tr.im login in the Birdfeed area of the iPhone Settings application. The tr.im setting is located in the "Integration" section.

Does Birdfeed support a URL protocol/bookmarklet for link posting from Safari?

Currently, no. However, this feature is a very high priority for us, and we intend to have it in a release very shortly.

How do I use Birdfeed's Instapaper integration?

Unlike Birdfeed's URL shortening and image sharing integration, Instapaper needs a little advance configuration. Instapaper requires an account, which can be obtained by registering at the Instapaper site. Once you have account credentials, you may enter them in the Birdfeed area of the iPhone Settings application. The Instapaper settings are located in the "Integration" section.

Once you've entered your account credentials, you can save a link to Instapaper by opening it in the built in browser, tapping the "forward" button button in the top right of the browser view, then tapping the "Add to Instapaper" button.

Does Birdfeed allow me to view following/followers lists?

Currently, no. However, this feature is a very high priority for us, and we intend to have it in a release very shortly.

Does Birdfeed have a built-in image viewer?

Currently, no. However, this feature is a very high priority for us, and we intend to have it in a release very shortly.

Is the font size in Birdfeed configurable?

Currently, no. However, we have heard your feedback about readability and will consider this in future design revisions.

Can Birdfeed show me nearby tweets?

One of Birdfeed's unique features is an "All/Nearby" filter, which allows you to specify whether the current search should include all tweets, or only tweets originating from within a certain radius of your current location (as determined by Twitter Search using the profile locations).

The radius of the nearby search, expressed in kilometers (remember, a kilometer is about .6 miles), can be specified from the Birdfeed area of the iPhone Settings application.

Birdfeed does not currently support viewing nearby tweets without a search term. We have heard your feedback about this, and are looking at adding that functionality for a future release.

Does Birdfeed send my location information anywhere?

Currently, Birdfeed uses location information in only one place: nearby search. Your location is sent to the Twitter Search API, and nowhere else. We can definitely promise if we ever use location data anywhere else in Birdfeed, it will be obvious and voluntary--we would never surreptitiously reveal your location.

Birdfeed crashed for me. What's up?

This problem could have any number of causes, but one thing that's emerged as a bit of a trend in such crash reports: people are often running ad blocking software on a "jailbroken" iPhone. This is an unsupported configuration of the iPhone, and, like Apple, we make no guarantees about functionality when a phone is set up in such a way.

If this isn't the case with your phone, the best thing you can do to help us figure out the cause of your crash is to send us a crash log. You can find crash logs in the following locations on the computer you use to sync your iPhone, depending on the operating system:

• Mac OS X: [HOME FOLDER]/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/[DEVICE_NAME]
• Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Application Data\Apple computer\Logs\CrashReporter\[IPHONE DEVICE NAME]
• Windows Vista: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\Apple computer\Logs\CrashReporter\MobileDevice\[IPHONE DEVICE NAME]

Collect any files containing the word "Birdfeed" in those locations, and mail them to us, along with the version of Birdfeed you're using and a description of what you were doing when the crash occurred. We will do our best to research your problem.

Why does Birdfeed forget my account, or crash every time I try to log in with a certain account?

Unfortunately, Birdfeed 1.0 had a problem with usernames that have uppercase characters in them. If the username you specified when signing up for Twitter has uppercase letters in it (e.g. “BirdFeedUser”), Birdfeed 1.0 would consistently forget that account and require you to login again on relaunch.

We have a fix for this problem in Birdfeed 1.0.1, which has been approved by Apple and is available on the App Store. If you haven’t yet, update to 1.0.1 and it should fix the problem.

Some users upgrading from 1.0 to 1.0.1, depending on the state of the existing Birdfeed account data in the iPhone Keychain, may see a crash upon trying to log in after updating to 1.0.1. If this is happening to you, try deleting your existing account in Birdfeed (go to the Accounts view, tap the “Edit” button, then tap the red circle next to the account), then logging in with the account again using all lowercase letters this time (i.e. if your account is called “BirdFeedUser” try logging in with “birdfeeduser”).

I got a new phone and now Birdfeed crashes when I log into an account. What's up?

There is a bug in 1.0 and 1.0.1 that causes Birdfeed to crash when it is restored to a new phone using an iTunes backup from an old phone. You can solve the problem by simply deleting and recreating the account in the accounts screen. This problem will be addressed in the next update.

Why is Birdfeed missing the "@" on the username when I retweet?

Birdfeed 1.0 shipped with a typo in our retweet code that leaves out the "@" before the username when you post a retweet. This problem is fixed in our 1.0.1 update, which has been approved by Apple and is available on the App Store.

Why does Birdfeed overwrite existing tweet text in the posting interface with the photo URL after taking a photo?

When the iPhone runs into a low memory condition, it starts trying to free up memory by getting rid of offscreen views (which can simply be recreated later as they are needed again). If such a low memory condition occurs while you are in the photo picker and the posting interface is hidden, it is possible for the posting interface's views to be automatically removed from memory by the iPhone. When the views are recreated after the photo picker is dismissed, the previously entered tweet text will have disappeared.

We definitely will be fixing the problem in the next update. In the meantime, a workaround is to be sure to upload your photo before entering any text.