Twisney

[Kick Save]

I did a quick search on here for posts regarding Twisney, and didn't see much. As a software developer, and admitted Twitter nut, this site just seemed like the perfect marriage of geeky-techno things and my love for Disney.

If you have the chance, look the site over: http://www.twisney.com/

It's a link up of live maps, twitter, and some other web-ish things. Recently they added live wait times. If you're in the parks and have a smart phone type device (probably regular cell phone will get it done via text message), you can upload wait times for attractions as you walk past them or ride them. And, if others in the park are doing the same, you can check their mobile site for recent times that have been sent in.

To be clear, I'm NOT associated with this site in any way. Not that it matters, there is no registration fee, you don't even register, and there's no ad revenue from the site. So, bringing it up here is just an attempt to drive more traffic to it. It's one of those sites that will benefit from more traffic, especially for the wait times feature.

WARNING: It can be a time sink, especially if you haven't been to WDW in a few months and are dying to go back. People posting updates all day long can keep you tuned in to see where they'll go next.

Personally, I'm looking forward to my trip in Oct so I can give the mobile site a try, and see if that wait time thing works out.

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Wow! How cool is this? I just started looking at it but I love how it is reloading constantly!

[Grog]

Very interesting!

[cinderella73]

Thats awesome ! Thanks for the link.:goodvibes

[4everluvDisney]

Almost as if we were there! Well, maybe not quite, but love seeing the "World"

[little1kry]

Thanks for the info. We leave tomorrow (:cool1: ), so I'll definitely try it out. If nothing else, it'll give me something to do while waiting in line. :rotfl:

[KimWDW]

awesome!

[dishm12/08]

Just bookmarked it on my phone. This is going to help us newbies out. Thanks for sharing.

[AmberLuvsWDW]

Very cool! Thanks!:goodvibes

[wildeoscar]

I am not involved with twisney... but i am in contact with the guy doing it... expect more features in the future. In fact I'll ask a question this way...

What features in an interactive application for the phone would you like to see in something like twisney? and by formatted for twisney I mean quick and easy formatted for the phone, with easy menus.

Maps like robo does from satellite images?

Attraction, parade, spectaculars, fireworks times guides? that would basically be that days master times guide and include like the times characters come out, when acts in world showcase come out, things like that?

A mobile wiki... which would be a concise directory of shops, attractions, restaurants, and food carts?

Quick and easy menus for the restaurants?

a social network sharing app, that allows you to see where other twisney users are in semi real time?

a way to use GPS and/or location information provided from the phone to show your location when you post to twisney.

a way to post video in addition to pictures.

a way to do live streaming and live chat with video, kinda like video conferencing but anyone on the net at home can watch?

or any other cool technology ideas?

[Buzz Litebeer]

From the Twisney website:

I always wondered why no one offered this up until now. When I saw Disney's Magic Connection for the first time, I was disappointed in the cost, the bulky hardware, and the filtered (a.k.a. controlled) data.
This is, simply, wrong on all counts:

1. There have been similar offerings in the past (like TipWit).

2. The DMC was never offered for sale. It was tested for a few weeks and that was it. There was no cost to the families that were invited to test it.

3. The DMC used the Nintendo DS architecture-- hardly what I would call "bulky hardware".

4. The "filtered (a.k.a. controlled) data" was the exact same data that Disney uses internally for their electronic wait time signs, updated in real time.

I got to play with the DMC at great length during the test phase.

Also:

We're the first and only social network of Disney fans to be sharing free wait-time information with anyone that can access a web browser.

Well.... except for TipWit.

[Kick Save]

3. The DMC used the Nintendo DS architecture-- hardly what I would call "bulky hardware".DS isn't all that big, true. But what's more prevalent on the average traveler a Nintendo DS or a cell phone? Every cellphone released over the last 6 or 8 years has the ability to send a text message. Over the last 3 or 4 years, you've most likely got a web browser of some kind, even without a Blackberry, Windows mobile device, or an iPhone.

4. The "filtered (a.k.a. controlled) data" was the exact same data that Disney uses internally for their electronic wait time signs, updated in real time.No wait time info is going to be perfect. I've seen 40 minute waits posted and been in line for 15 or less. Disney does a good job with the "red card" system, and they would have the most up to date and greatest amount of info. But, it's not out there beyond the rides themselves and the big boards in the parks. They could do a lot with it on existing technology without requiring a Nintendo DS.

Enter Twisney. It's an interesting concept, and totally run by the community that wants to use it. Well, the programming isn't, but the data that drives it is community driven. Perfect? No, but pretty nice.

[Buzz Litebeer]

DS isn't all that big, true. But what's more prevalent on the average traveler a Nintendo DS or a cell phone? Every cellphone released over the last 6 or 8 years has the ability to send a text message. Over the last 3 or 4 years, you've most likely got a web browser of some kind, even without a Blackberry, Windows mobile device, or an iPhone.
Granted. Of course, like TipWit, the functionality of the service depends entirely on in-park users constantly voluntarily updating the information on the site (I checked Twisney and the last update for BTMR [for example] was around 12:03 this afternoon). The DMC had no such limitation; information was updated in realtime straight from the FLIK card system (which, as you mentioned, is itself far from a perfect system).

[mrFDNY]

Very cool!

[scrappinmom]

Well, I was looking at a new cell phone....didn't think I needed web browsing & all that other stuff......now i think I do! This is pretty cool....

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

This is, simply, wrong on all counts:

1. There have been similar offerings in the past (like TipWit).

I had not heard about TipWit until you just mentioned it. I went to their website and could quickly tell that it is not the same thing as Twisney. First of all, you have to have an account to use it and it's not exclusively Disney. No doubt they have similarities but each site is indeed different.

2. The DMC was never offered for sale. It was tested for a few weeks and that was it. There was no cost to the families that were invited to test it.

When they were talking about cost, I don't think they were saying that the trial cost people money but that if it were to be instituted it would cost money.

3. The DMC used the Nintendo DS architecture-- hardly what I would call "bulky hardware".

I consider carrying a piece of electronic equipment that I don't currently own and wouldn't typically carry around in the parks to be bulky.

4. The "filtered (a.k.a. controlled) data" was the exact same data that Disney uses internally for their electronic wait time signs, updated in real time.

But the appeal of Twisney, at least for me, is that it is user driven, like any social network. That's what's fun about! It's about so much more than wait times.

[Buzz Litebeer]

I had not heard about TipWit until you just mentioned it. I went to their website and could quickly tell that it is not the same thing as Twisney. First of all, you have to have an account to use it and it's not exclusively Disney. No doubt they have similarities but each site is indeed different.
As I said in my original post, "there have been similar offerings in the past (like TipWit)." I didn't say (or even imply) that the services were identical.

What I took issue with was Twisney's claim that they're the first -- and only! -- free service to offer wait-time information and they clearly aren't. That goes to TipWit (and also to Universal Studios, which offers free real-time wait times that can be read by anyone with a web browser in their phones).
When they were talking about cost, I don't think they were saying that the trial cost people money but that if it were to be instituted it would cost money.
The Twisney website implies that the cost of the DMC was prohibitively high. And like I said, price was never ever mentioned -- anywhere. In fact, one of the questions guests who participated were asked was "what do you think this should cost?"
I consider carrying a piece of electronic equipment that I don't currently own and wouldn't typically carry around in the parks to be bulky.
And that's the rub. MANY families already own an NDS and take them into the parks. For those families, it's not something extra. Conversely, using your reasoning, if someone doesn't already own a cell phone, taking one into the parks makes it an added bulky item. Now, I'll happily admit that far more people own a cellphone (of any manufacture) than an NDS. But not all cellphones can access the web.
But the appeal of Twisney, at least for me, is that it is user driven, like any social network. That's what's fun about! It's about so much more than wait times.
That also intrigues me.

Now, I'm not trying to slam Twisney before it has a chance to fully develop. Rather, I'm just saying that I had some issues with what I felt to be wildly inaccurate remarks made on the Twisney website.

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Now, I'm not trying to slam Twisney before it has a chance to fully develop. Rather, I'm just saying that I had some issues with what I felt to be wildly inaccurate remarks made on the Twisney website.

I think you are completely exaggerating when you accuse this site of making "wildly inaccurate remarks."

[Buzz Litebeer]

I think you are completely exaggerating when you accuse this site of making "wildly inaccurate remarks."
Clearly, I don't.

But it's possible we're both wrong.

[wildeoscar]

wasn't there an unusually large deposit you had to put down in order to trail the nintendo gizmo? While it was "free", I remember like a $300 deposit to a credit card. I also recall many of the reviews and reviewers talking about that being a steep deposit... and the app while really cool was missing several of the simple concepts of social networking. It will take a build of people using it to be more effective, but once you have critical mass.. this is a scary cool app with lots of potential for pics, video, wait times, maps, times guide, etc. Change your metaphor from a vertical app to a platform. Much like the iPhone is changing the smart phone industry... twisney has the potential to tilt fan sites and info sites... it is revolutionary not evolutionary... significant in the difference there.

And the point of this app really is that you don;t have to sign up, you don;t have to pay, and works on any device that has web. This is significantly different than any app that precedes it.

[Buzz Litebeer]

wasn't there an unusually large deposit you had to put down in order to trail the nintendo gizmo? While it was "free", I remember like a $300 deposit to a credit card. I also recall many of the reviews and reviewers talking about that being a steep deposit... and the app while really cool was missing several of the simple concepts of social networking. It will take a build of people using it to be more effective, but once you have critical mass.. this is a scary cool app with lots of potential for pics, video, wait times, maps, times guide, etc. Change your metaphor from a vertical app to a platform. Much like the iPhone is changing the smart phone industry... twisney has the potential to tilt fan sites and info sites... it is revolutionary not evolutionary... significant in the difference there.

And the point of this app really is that you don;t have to sign up, you don;t have to pay, and works on any device that has web. This is significantly different than any app that precedes it.
A CC# was collected for the DMC, and guests were warned that if the unit wasn't returned then -- and only then -- would they be charged -- but there was no charge actually placed on the card. It was only taken to ensure that the unit was returned (and remember: the software used for the DMC was a prototype worth far more to Disney than $300). AFAIK all the DMC units were returned, no nobody was actually charged anything. One manager who was assigned to the DMC told me that the test wasn't about making money -- it was about collecting data and field-testing both the software and the hardware (i.e. battery-life). But I'm getting OT.

I agree that there was no social networking side to the DMC which is why -- as I've said -- Twisney intrigues me. I believe that the service will only work if it builds up enough users who would be in the parks at all times and willing to update the Twisney site constantly -- and that's going to be the hard part for Twisney.

BTW, WildeOscar: I have a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell. Explore the space.

[wildeoscar]

I more than agree it is an up hill climb to get critical mass. And my comment on the deposit was only to imply, it was steep, not that anyone made money. Actually at this point Disney lost money on the project, and has a huge investment in the wireless infrastructure that is just being used for photopass at the moment.

I suspect that Disney learned a lesson that others have on custom apps on specialized devices... that monetizing for cost recovery is never going work as the start up cost is way higher than what people are willing to pay (wanna buy a satellite network? anyone remember iridium?) ... unless the app is so important as to justify a large cost and this app is not critical to a park visit, it is just nice to have. I think once enough people find out about it though, enough people carry a blackberry that it can work. Let's keep in mind that blackberry sells millions of devices a month, compared to iPhone's million in a year. so that is the platform that the device really need to be geared too, though the iPhone people make a lot more noise and iPhone apps are in vogue.

a couple more features on twisney, and I won't need to access any other site while in the park for all the info I like to have at my fingertips while in the park.

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I agree that there was no social networking side to the DMC which is why -- as I've said -- Twisney intrigues me. I believe that the service will only work if it builds up enough users who would be in the parks at all times and willing to update the Twisney site constantly -- and that's going to be the hard part for Twisney.

But look at how many people are using it already? I assume it's a fairly new site and it's already catching on. I really do think it has the potential to take off.

[CanadianGuy]

I actually see both sides of this discussion quiet clearly.

As an early visitor to twisney.com, I immediately saw the potential waiting to be made a reality. But at the same time, there some very troubling signs in those early days. I won't go into gross detail, but it only takes one 'mal-intentioned' poster intentionally submitting erroneous information all day to really fudge up the works.

I still see more 'fun and interesting ideas' than I do roadblocks and concerns.. but I do have some of each as I consider what role it might play in my Disney internet time.

This thread is probably a better fit on our ThemeParks Community Board. I'll be moving it over there. Thanks

Knox

[GoofyJeff]

Let's keep in mind that blackberry sells millions of devices a month, compared to iPhone's million in a year. so that is the platform that the device really need to be geared too, though the iPhone people make a lot more noise and iPhone apps are in vogue.

While still not in the Blackberry neighborhood, iPhone sales for the first year were 6 million. iPhone 3G sold 1 million in it's first weekend (Fri/Sat/Sun). The projected total through 2008 is 10 million.

But who's counting. :goodvibes

[wildeoscar]

true... but blackberry sells like 20 million in a month.

[twisney]

This is great feedback, thanks everyone! It was neat to stumble upon this thread last night and see what everyone had to say about Twisney.com.

There are some comments, good and bad, that I felt should receive my feedback. Instead of clogging up this thread with my personal thoughts (I prefer to keep it your thoughts about Twisney), here's a link to the blog entry that discusses the topic:
http://www.twisney.com/home/Blog

Thanks again everyone! Keep on spreading the word.

- Scott, Twisney.com

[kurtisnelson]

Hello all,
Little late responding, but I am the creator of TipWit. (I picked the name tipwit to start with because it had 0 results in google, thats how I found this thread)

I was first to make this type of product, but have never had any actual users which are slightly important when they are providing the data. I have been emailing with Twisney and am considering merging most of my service into theirs (All but my theme park hours and parade times API)

Anyways... Anything I could do to get people to use TipWit over Twisney, or should I just give up?