In 5 hours my husband will be home from work. 6 hours later we’ll be heading out to the Midwest. I’ve packed, I’ve cleaned and scrubbed the house (since we have a house-sitter), and I’ve booked a ride to the airport.

The internet was just down for many users in the Vancouver area (as I can see from all the Tweets) although just before it went out I found Sleeping Sickness and I’ve been replaying it ever since.

This song by City and Colour is good until Gord Downie makes a cameo – he then makes it great.

It seems like many people got a Twitter account for Christmas; It’s great to see so many new faces, organizations, and businesses using this tool that connects so many across the globe.

For a bit of background…. “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.”

Over the last year or so I’ve reviewed Twitter clients and applications however it’s always those fun little web-based gadgets that create a bit of buzz. Here’s a quick list of some “fun” Twitter tools.

Just for fun

TweetCloud
Find out what you’re talking about the most on Twitter by way of a generated tag cloud. (http://tweetclouds.com/)

TwitterKeys
Since Twitter only allows for 140 character updates, why not use some fun little symbols instead? TwitterKeys is a super simple copy/paste guide to the usable symbols and tiny images you can use on Twitter.

StrawPoll
Create your own polls on Twitter and view the results on StrawPoll.

Twitt Groups
Being the 4th person to join the Vancouver “TwittGroup” it was pretty fun to spread the word and watch it grow. It’s a way to reach, comment and message all who have joined and also find new people to follow in your city. (http://twittgroups.com/)

My First Follow
Very quick, simple and straightforward, check out who you first followed on Twitter. (http://dcortesi.com/tools/my-first-follow/)

Just Tweet It
Very useful blog and website that contains directories of Twitter users. Find new people to follow and add your name to the list using personal, industry, or professional keywords so people can find you. (http://justtweetit.com/)

Statistics and Rank

Twinfluence
Find out how influential your tweets are (based on followers and reach) with Twinfluence (note: this is one of the online services that asks for your account name and password). (http://twinfluence.com/)

Twitemperature
This quick and easy gauge simply measures how hot your topics are based on your last 100 tweets. It checks to see if you are a part of the conversation and if so who else was talking about the same thing. Warning, this can change quickly and you can go from Volcanic to Wet Fish in a heartbeat (don’t take it personally).(http://twitemperature.com/)

Twitter Grader
Because people love stats (even if they say they don’t) and they also love lists (even though they say they don’t). You can type in your account name and get your “grade” then see how you compare to others in your city in terms of number of followers, updates etc.

Grader also gives you “suggested” folks to follow and a quick one-step “are they following me” check box. (http://twitter.grader.com/)

Tweetstats
This graphing system visually displays your update frequency and volume, while also providing details like who you “@” the most, hourly and daily stats. (http://tweetstats.com/)

Friend or Follow
This website allows you to see who you are following, who is following you, and who you are following who isn’t reciprocating. (http://friendorfollow.com)

Trends

There are several ways to keep track of the top “trends” on Twitter.

Hashtags or Twemes follow topics when people title their conversations such as #Canucks or #WordCamp.

Tweetstats has a tag cloud and a few graphs that represent the most mentioned keywords over the last 10 hours.

Twist allows you to search for any specific word then see its trending popularity on the line graph while also showing what’s “hot now”. You can also click on the word you’re searching and eventually visit every tweet that mentioned it.

Summize or search.twitter.com searches Twitter for any word, keyword, topic or person and displays when they were mentioned. It allows you to follow conversations and also view top topics.

I’m also curious about many more applications, like Snitter or even Power Twitter – since dragging/embedding Flickr photos into tweets sounds pretty fun.

It seems like there’s a new tool every week so with gaining momentum and exposure I’m pretty interested in seeing how Twitter will grow and develop.

Related Posts About Twitter: A Vancouverite’s Guide to Twitter, TweetDeck is Your All-in-One Twitter Manager, The Power of Twitter: Tweet Apps and Clients, The Power of Twitter, Brightkit Twitter Account Manager.

There’s under a month to go until WordCamp Whistler! We’ve been busy updated the site, blog, getting a group rate for the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort, and also singing on some amazing speakers:

Keynote Lorrelle Van Fossen (aka Lorelle on WordPress), Dave Olson (Topic, Are you Worthy?), John Biehler (Topic, How To Sex Up Your Blog With Photos And Video), Dale Mugford (Topic, WordPress On The Go), Andy Peatling (Topic, BuddyPress), and possibly you! There are still a few days left to submit your ideas and topics.

Book your tickets today, we’d love to see you for this day of major WordPress networking, information, parties and hitting the slopes.

If you have already booked your ticket and will be joining us January 24th, or if you’d just like to help us promote the event, consider adding a badge to your site.

Over the years many have been saved due to the hard work and efforts of North Shore Search and Rescue volunteers but the association is now in need of your help.

North Shore Rescue (NSR) is a Mountain Search and Rescue Team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The team consists of approximately 40 volunteers skilled in search and rescue operations in mountain, canyon and urban settings.

Our lovely North Shore mountains are beautiful outdoors playgrounds for all, 12 months of the year. Hiking in the summer (or doing the Grind) to carving up the slopes in winter. However, due to frequent sudden changes in our weather systems and many heading out unprepared for the terrain, rescue missions are an unfortunate reality.

Over the years North Shore Rescue has helped 1000s of individuals and returned sons, daughters, fathers and mothers back to their families – and now North Shore Rescue is asking for your help. NSR is having a severe shortage of donations and we are in dire need of assistance. Any donations you can provide will help NSR continue to provide rescue services to the Vancouver area. NSR is 100% volunteer run and depends on public donations to operate.

If you would like to learn more or donate online, you can visit the North Shore Rescue Blog or main website.

Grab the family and head down to the West End Community Centre rink (870 Denman Street) January 3rd from 11:00am until 1:00pm for a free skating event with Canada Ice Dance Theatre.

“Canada Ice Dance Theatre (CIDT) is a non-profit organization that teaches children and adults to skate.”

Rentals will be available as well as free instructions and refreshments (there’s a even a rumour about hot cocoa making an appearance). You can find a full list of Vancouver ice rinks on this post.