How to search your Twitter DMs with Google Reader

CC Chapman on Twitter said:

The problem with more and more conversations happening over DM is there is no easy way to search them

Which is more or less true in the native interface. Luckily, RSS comes to the rescue.

From the Twitter API:

direct_messages

Returns a list of the 20 most recent direct messages sent to the authenticating user. The XML and JSON versions include detailed information about the sending and recipient users.

URL:

http://twitter.com/direct_messages.format (requires authentication)

So here’s how you do it. Craft a URL like this:

http://username:[email protected]/direct_messages.rss

Copy this.

Updated: For DMs you have SENT: http://username:[email protected]/direct_messages_sent.rss

There’s a bug in the way either Twitter renders RSS or Google Reader interprets it. Not sure which, but you need to set up Yahoo Pipes as an intermediary to make everything and everyone happy.

Go to Yahoo Pipes and drag a Fetch Feed onto the worksheet. Paste the Twitter RSS URL there. If you’re doing DMs sent, add a second box under the first one and paste the second URL there.

Next, name it, save it, and run the pipe. Do not publish it or the pipe will be publicly viewable! Copy the Get as RSS URL.

Now go to Google Reader. Paste in the Pipe RSS URL.

Congratulations. Now all new DMs will be recorded by Reader and will be fully searchable from the search box.

You’re done!

If you’d prefer all in one using GMail, you can also take the Pipes RSS feed and use any RSS to Email service (feedburner, feedblitz, etc.) and have your DMs emailed to you.

Update: If anyone knows how to implement this feature using OAuth rather than plaintext, please comment!

Get this and other great articles from the source at www.ChristopherSPenn.com

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