Silverlight Pulse

Admittedly, Twitter-- or "Twittering" as it's come to be known -- seemed kind of ... well, weird to many of us at first. Those of us who bad mouthed or doubted the fact that this type of social networking would become popular are now hanging our heads in shame. It's no surprise that Twitter has taken the world by storm. Not only is it an excellent way to let your family know what and how you're doing, but it's also become very interesting to follow as famous folks as diverse asTony Hawk,Barack Obama, and of courseJoe Eitel(now there's a celebrity!) have begun using the site to update their fans and followers concerning their most random thoughts and mundane actions.

Just in case you're one of the very few people who have yet to discover Twitter, its background is pretty basic. It's a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates. These updates can be no more than 140 text-based characters, and they are commonly referred to as "tweets." Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them; senders can also restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends. Users can send and receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS, or through applications such as Tweetie, Twitterrific, Twitterfon, TweetDeck, and Feedalizr.

This interesting little service has been around since March of 2006 and it took about a year before it began to gain steam. No one -- certainly not its developers Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams -- could have foreseen the service being as wildly popular as it is today. Estimates of the number of daily users vary, as the company does not release the number of active accounts, but a recently released survey certainly puts the numbers into perspective. The survey has ranked Twitter as the third largest social network on the web, with the first being Facebook and the second, of course, being MySpace. It is estimated that the number of unique monthly visitors is roughly around 6 million, with the number of monthly visits hovering somewhere around 55 million.

A Twittery Pulse

So, what does any of this have to do with Microsoft'sSilverlight 3.0, which is still in its beta phase? It's definitely worth pointing out that Microsoft is obviously very good at spotting trends, seeing as how they're usually trendsetters when it comes to software, programs, and apps. If Twitter's the hot new thing, chances are Microsoft can't be far behind.

Enter:Silverlight Pulse, which is being called an "experimental" Twitter service byIan Blackburn, a UK-based IT consultant and self-proclaimed entrepreneur who runs a blog about utilizing Silverlight for business purposes. Blackburn is the founder and director of bbits, a .net consultancy in the UK that has been serving clients as diverse as McLaren Racing, Lewisham Council, and BT for the past ten years.

Essentially, Blackburn's Silverlight Pulse is intended to help anyone who's interested stay up-to-date on any Silverlight-related Tweets from Microsoft. Blackburn, who created the app himself, is constantly making improvements to the newly-developed app. Some of the IT consultant's most recent changes to it include better logic for summarizing the data in the chart featured on the site, animation, a manual refresh and countdown to the next auto-refresh, and the ability to get all the tweets from the last eight hours.

Microsoft's Silverlight is obviously an amazing program that enables its users to create animations and view online graphics like never before, but will the public care about the workings of the program and any new development being made? Everyone seems to be using Silverlight and enjoying all of the amazing features it offers, but aside from that, is there enough interest in Silverlight itself to garner Blackburn's app any attention?

Let's look at the specifics of his "micro app for micro blogging" and find out the answer to these questions and more.

Silverlight Pulse Background

According to Blackburn, his Silverlight Pulse site is intended to "show and aggregate live tweets about Silverlight." Originally, Blackburn wanted to have a forum to showcase all Silverlight-related tweets in one specific area, because Mix 09 was coming up and loads of new Silverlight updates were going to be discussed.

Mix 09 is a yearly web design and development conference hosted by Microsoft. The conference, now in its fourth year, brings together designers and developers who are building the world's most innovative web sites. Not only is it where new programs and software such as Silverlight 3.0 is revealed, but the gathering can also be quite educational and informative for anyone who creates online content, such as programs. Let's face it, web is the future of commerce, education, and communication, and Microsoft's MIX conference gives designers and developers the tools and knowledge to create the next generation of UI, applications, and web design. Surely there would be a lot of tweeting at the conference, and it was Blackburn's intention to follow it.

Blackburn details the making of the Silverlight Pulse app in aslideshowthat can be accessed online. Blackburn basically developed the outline of the app and began creating it in just one night, and of course, it was created using Silverlight. After looking over Silverlight's toolkit chart, he decided on a simple line chart format. Some of the original, quick architectural choices he made on that first night included no storage on the server or ISO, no login, a simple user interface with limited choices, and having it all be client-based with no server code.

The most impressive thing featured on Blackburn's Silverlight Pulse site is the chart, which, according to the IT consultant, took the most time to design. The chart is very prominently featured on the site, and it will definitely prove to be the first thing new visitor's notice. Basically, the chart measures the Silverlight-related tweet rate. Blackburn aggregated the tweets retrieved from his search so they could be displayed; he also used Link queries and decided to settle on hard-coded grouping.

The idea that users can visit Blackburn's Pulse site and instantly become updated on all Silverlight-related news will certainly prove to be a positive experience for Microsoft and Silverlight diehards -- which takes us back to our original question: are there any? According to Blackburn, they are out there, and there are many.

As a matter of fact, just hours after creating Silverlight Pulse, Blackburn received loads of positive feedback. Not only that, but there are Silverlight User Groups both in the United States and the UK that meet monthly to discuss new Silverlight developments and how to make the most of Microsoft's seemingly beloved program. Blackburn himself is part of the Silverlight UK User Group, which is where he originally intended to present his slideshow detailing the making of Pulse.

Who Should Use Silverlight Pulse

As stated previously, Blackburn's Pulse site will prove to be incredibly beneficial for those who use Microsoft Silverlight on a daily basis and who are looking for new ways to utilize the program. Where else on the web could you possibly find a site that groups every Silverlight-related tweet made by any number of Microsoft employees over the past eight hours? The answer is nowhere ... but on the Pulse site, of course.

For those of us who don't feel compelled to know every detail of new Silverlight developments or announcements, the Pulse site may seem a bit excessive. That being said, the most interesting aspect of Pulse to those of us who have yet to develop a deep and abiding love of all things Silverlight-related, is the fact that Pulse was designed and put online in one night through the sole use of Silverlight!

Blackburn himself is a Silverlight fanatic who is probably more apt than most to praise the program, but he's right when he says that quickly -- and easily -- creating micro apps with Silverlight is an extraordinary opportunity that Microsoft has given is users. Not only does it enable them to make a big impact literally overnight, but it also illustrates the fact that Silverlight is in the perfect position to take advantage of real-time web and business models.

Obviously, not all of us are IT consultants like Blackburn, but the idea alone that he could create something so quickly, put it up online and have it accessed immediately is pretty awe-inspiring for those of us who are still trying to learn Silverlight and programming basics. It definitely puts the program's potential into perspective; Silverlight really does seem to open up a world of possibilities, whether it be for a seasoned professional like Blackburn or for the average user hoping to learn how to put something online quickly and with little complication.

What's Next for Pulse?

Just like Silverlight 3.0, it could be said that Blackburn's Pulse site is in its beta phase. He'll be the first to admit it needs work, especially as it pertains to the aesthetic and layout of the site. Let's be honest, it's not the most show-stopping, glamorous of sites, but it could get there with the right designer. In the near future, Blackburn hopes to create an open source version on codeplex, update to the Silverlight 3.0 beta, and include some missing features he originally planned on including, such as maps (of course using Silverlight's new VE map feature), UX design, and a Word-like display. Microsoft fans rejoice; your one-stop shop for all things Silverlight-related is about to get better.