Twitter Bots

1
Twitter Bots

• what they are and how to make them

Neil Crosby - twitbot.com
2
Whats Twitter?

• You all know already.
• But if you dont
• SMS length mini updates of your life.

3
Whats a Bot?

• Automated process that responds to user input.

4
Twitter API

• Ive created an encapsulation
  in PHP.
• This makes things easy.
• api new Twitter(uname, pword)
• messages api-directMessages-direct_messages(
  )
• api-status-update( tweet tweet" )
• followers api-user-followers()

5
Examples of Twitter Bots
RSS Channel Werewolf Web
Service Friendly
6
RSS Bot

• Tell it to watch an RSS feed.
• Whenever the feed is updated, it tweets.
• E.g. TenWordReview, ttwr

7
Channel Bot

• Bot echos any direct messages out to the public
  timeline.
• Only people following the bot see these messages.
• Thus, we achieve channels in Twitter.
• E.g. yahoofood

8
Werewolf Bot

• Written for yesterday
• d werebot wwwhs cbetta fatbusinessman
  mseckington cazm cubicgarden ginader niqui phae
  aral SteveMarshall cackhanded
• werewolf, healer, seer
• Direct messages each player to tell them what
  they are. No cards required.
• E.g. werebot

9
Web Service Bot

• More complicated (but still not very).
• Takes input from user.
• Passes input to web service.
• Direct messages user with result of web service
  call.
• No working example yet (ttwr soon).

10
Friendly Bot

• Keeps track of whos following him and then
  friends them.
• Vital for easy management of channel, werewolf
  and web service bots.
• Currently unimplemented (oh noes).

11
Wheres the Automated?

• Cron job!

12
Heres the Code!

• http//twitbot.com/download

13
Rettribution

• http//www.flickr.com/photos/dcharti/2233111820/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/ferricide/1789375804/
  
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/ezu/277341190/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/19516393_at_N00/30820073
  4/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/davidex/2091970568/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/1276092/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/stinkypeter/157437582
  /
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/kamil/711847556/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/moonpiesformisfits/26
  3550936/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/scazzophoto/40552349/
  
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/nez/378349478/