Twitter Connector
Digest
The Cascade Server Twitter Connector is a Connector that ties your Cascade instance to a single Twitter account. The content of Pages having specific Content Types (for example, "announcement") will be automatically tweeted to the Twitter account configured. Tweets posted by this Connector will contain a link to the published version of a Page and will include a Connector-specific prefix and hashtags.
Concept
Generating Tweets
Twitter Connectors automatically send a tweet of a page at the time of publish. The tweet includes a configurable tweet prefix, the system name or title of the Page, a link to the newly published content, and configurable hash tags.
The link to the asset is created using the Web URL of the Destination associated with the Connector, if set or the Site's URL property otherwise. The included link will be shortened using popular URL shortening services (such as TinyURL) if the tweet length exceeds 140 characters. After shortening, tweets over 140 characters will be rejected by Twitter.
Here is an example tweet generated by Cascade Server:
Hannon Hill news: Cascade 6.4 Released http://tinyurl.com/n2gduv #hannonhill
Publish a Tweet with a Page
When publishing a Page or Folder, all verified Connectors appear in a table labeled Connector. If a verified Twitter Connector is deemed relevant for the asset(s) being published, then a tweet will be generated for the asset(s).Things to Keep in Mind
- Cascade Server will only publish a tweet for a Page asset if that asset was created after the creation date of the Twitter Connector.
- Assets existing in the system before the 6.4 upgrade will not be eligible to be tweeted. These assets would need to be copied over to new assets in order to satisfy the creation date constraint mentioned in the note above.
Technical
Creating a Twitter Connector
- While in a Site, go to Administration -> Connectors -> New Connector
- On the Connector Type screen, select Twitter and click Submit
- Fill out the form. The fields are:
- General Pane
- System Name - The name of your Twitter Connector
- Parent Container - The Connector Container where the Connector is saved
- Destination - The Destination to which a Page must be published in order for a tweet to be generated
- Content Types
- Select one or more Content Types. Pages having one of these Content Types will be considered for tweeting.
- For each Content Type, select a Page Configuration from the drop-down, which will be used when generating the link to the Page being published.
- Parameters
- Hashtags - Hashtags that are appended to tweets automatically. Multiple hashtags can be specified. (e.g. #cascadeserver)
- Prefix - Text that is prepended to all tweets (e.g. Cascade News)
- General Pane
- Submit the Twitter Connector to save.
Linking the Connector to a Twitter account
When a Twitter Connector is created, it still needs to be linked to a Twitter account as Cascade Server does not store any Twitter login credentials. To link a Twitter Connector to a Twitter account:
- On the View tab for the Twitter Connector, click the "Verify" link in the Verification section.
- A link to a special Twitter page will appear below saying, Click here to allow and Verify again.
- Click the link to popup a new window to a Twitter login page asking you to Allow Cascade Server access to your Twitter account.
- Type your Username/Password and click "Allow." This will redirect you to a "thank you" page on hannonhill.com. You can close this window and return to Cascade Server.
- Click "Verify" again. You should get the following message: "Successfully verified with Twitter!"
- If there is a problem, you will get an error message. Click "Verify" again to repeat the process and attempt verification again.
Unverifying the Twitter Connector
To unverify the Twitter Connector, simply click "Unverify" on the View tab. This will remove all authentication information.
*Note - Twitter Connectors never become automatically unverified; the only way to unverfiy a Connector is to do so manually as stated above.