TwitZip: Twitter’s Unofficial Hyperlocal News Network

by Matt on Aug 17, 2010 in Content, Industry, Promotion

twitzipThis is brilliant. Ever heard of TwitZip? It’s a network of hyperlocal Twitter accounts, each one based on local ZIP codes, that sends out tweets around the clock with the latest news from that zip code. But it doesn’t just send out automated tweets, it also lets Twitter users report news to Twitzip for retweeting.

It’s the brainchild of a couple guys named Nathan Heinrich and Aaron Donsbach, who grabbed all the ZIP code-based Twitter accounts they could get their hands on a couple years ago. (Guys: You missed 99302 for Pasco, Washington.) Here’s a look at one my local ZIP codes, twitter.com/99352:

twitzip99352

(click for larger version)

TwitZip has partnered with Outside.in to get its hyperlocal news feeds running through each Twitter account. TwitZip’s home page says it has a partnership with Groupon to post local deals, and that local weather and government alerts are coming next.

TwitZip & Hyperlocal Blogging

On one hand, TwitZip competes with hyperlocal bloggers as a source of local news. But local news isn’t a zero-sum game, so I think it’s shortsighted to focus on that aspect of what TwitZip is doing. Instead, think of how TwitZip can help your hyperlocal blog. Here are four ways I can think of off the top of my head:

  1. As a news source. The first thing I did was add all of the local TwitZip accounts to my Tri-Cities Twitter list. This is the list I monitor to keep track of what’s happening around town — it’s my Twitter news feed, and TwitZip will make it better.
  2. As a distribution channel. (part 1) If TwitZip is getting content from Outside.in, here’s my millionth recommendation that you add your local blog to Outside.in’s system. That should get your blog content into TwitZip and could increase your Twitter exposure.
  3. As a distribution channel. (part 2) TwitZip is setup to automatically retweet messages that are sent as @ replies to it from Twitter followers. In other words, follow your local ZIP code and then include an @ message to it and it’ll retweet your message. (Wonder how TwitZip will handle spam/junk that comes through via this method….)
  4. As content for your blog. Beyond getting news tips (#1 above), you can take the RSS feed(s) from your local TwitZip accounts and add them to your hyperlocal newswire if you added one to your blog.

You can learn more about TwitZip via their web site, and also via this article last week on Silicon Prairie News.

Your turn: Is TwitZip something you’d use in conjunction with your local blog? What are your thoughts on it? Comments are open.

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August 17, 2010 | Filed Under Content, Industry, Promotion 

Comments

3 Responses to “TwitZip: Twitter’s Unofficial Hyperlocal News Network”

  1. David Mihm on August 17th, 2010 3:27 pm

    That. is. awesome. What a great idea. I wonder how they’ll be able to curate it once more people start to hear about it?

  2. Ned Berke on August 18th, 2010 3:29 am

    They appear to be missing a lot of zip codes. I live in Brooklyn and looked for the two zip codes I cover (11235 and 11229) and they appear to have been snatched up by useless nobodies before TwitZip was a concept. I would’ve used their service, so it’ll be interesting to see how they get their hands on these densely populated zip codes they don’t own. If they can’t manage that, it’s hard to believe they’ll get anywhere. Also, I hope they make use of geotagged RSS. I’ve been geotagging my posts for over a year now, and other than a news map I no longer use, it seems to be an effort with no payoff.

  3. Jim Rudnick on August 18th, 2010 5:24 am

    agreed, Matt…nice one! will watch closely and monitor as “close” to canuckland as I can too…

    :)

    Jim

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