One of the difficult, yet most important, aspects of running a fledgling business is the necessity of maintaining a detached sense of reality. Or, to put another way, "Don't get emotional" and it's a mantra that I've tried very hard to live by my entire career.

I want to make a twitter client for WPF. There are so many things that I want out of a twitter client that are not being provided anywhere and that I know I can make them. But here's where reality conflicts with what I actually want. The reality as much as I would like to build the premiere twitter client, there's no possible way I could ever feed my family on it. There are simply too many twitter clients already. While I think my client would be better than anything else, I think the market is too glutted to break into.

So what about new directions?

Over the last six months I've been diving head-first into Windows Phone 7. Microsoft's new phone operating system is the first real paradigm shift in mobile computing since the iPhone. It's not revolutionary, per se, but it's different.

Microsoft is putting a lot of resources into the Phone and I've decided I will as well. I like the programming platforms (Silverlight and XNA) and the notion that there is a basic minimum hardware standard (unlike the Android).

There are some things I don't like (no side loading, tombstoning, etc.) but I'm willing to overlook those for the time being.

The bottom line is that Doin Software is going into the mobile software business.

I've made prototypes, done research and talked with people I trust and I've actually come up with 5 applications that I will be writing, yes 5.

One is a game, 2 are utilities, and 2 specialized applications for 2 specific (and separate) markets. I'm not going to announce what they are or anything until I release them, but that's where we are.

So, let the fun begin!

At 5:50pm local time, I sent the first tweet from doin? my upcoming twitter (et.al.) client application.

I realize to most people and teams it wouldn’t seem like much of a milestone, but it is for me.  I could have slapped something together and sent a tweet in a day using the API, but that’s not what I wanted to do.  I wanted the first tweet to come from my own client using OAuth authentication and after I’d built most of the infrastructure in the application.

The target date is to have a beta release before the end of the year, if at all possible.

I’m now part of the Microsoft Bizspark program.  Already, it has enabled me to do some testing and development that would have otherwise taken me even more time because of the tools it allows me to use.

Why WPF?

Because WPF rocks!  Need I say more? 

Well, yeah...

Ok, fine.  WPF is an amazing desktop framework that allows me to utilize any capability that the Windows environment offers, without having to have the limitations imposed by a "sandbox" such as what exists in Silverlight.  Don't get me wrong, SL is great technology, but I have other things planned (which I can't really get into) that require more functionality than Silverlight can ever offer.

Aren't you afraid of limiting the potential userbase to just one platform?

I don't call over 90% of web users to be a limit.  Cross-platform is all good, but I'm perfectly happy with only 90% potential share.  Now, if I were writing this for OS X, you might have a point.  But to ask if I'm unduly restricted by limiting myself to Windows is like asking a car manufacturer if they feel restricted by not making each model run on diesel too, or flex-fuel.  These other platforms have their place, but I'd rather produce on really great Twitter client that works on one really great platform than a mediocre one that works on everything.  In my opinion, that's what you get with just about everything else out there.

But another Twitter client? Why?  Aren't there enough already?

If you want just quantity, sure.  Twitter clients are everywhere.  My problem is that there aren't any great ones, in my opinion.  I didn't start this venture with the idea of "what software can I write?" but rather "I wish this client did a, b, and c" and that's how great ideas are born.  Some products are simply "the answer to the question that nobody asked".  doin? is the answer to my own frustrations with not being able to do some very necessary things on social networks and not having any software that will.

Ok, I get that.  But you called it a venture.  Even twitter itself doesn't know how to pay for itself.  Are you actually going to be able to monetize it on the client without annoying the user?

Oh, absolutely.

How?

Honestly, I can't say at this point for strategic reasons.  Rest assured, I do have a plan for doin? to make money that won't deluge the user with ads, fees, or phony "upgrade" schemes.

When will I be able to try doin?

When it's ready for beta.  All alpha testing will be internal, i.e. myself and a few select people.  I'm not going to allow a shoddy product to be given to the world, even if I do call it beta.  I'm not Google so I don't plan on having a crappy product sit out there being called "beta" so there's no accountability.  That said, I'd like to say it'll be available at some level in November, but no promises.

So it's already being written?

Absolutely!  I have a good amount of code written, but obviously I have more to do.

Are you going to try to get financing?

I'm not even going to think about such things at this point.  That's not my motivation.  My drive is to make the best twitter client out there and force everyone else to catch up after they have a "V8" slap-their-forehead moment.

Will it be open source?

I'm afraid not.  I love open source, but at this point I need to keep things a little close to the vest.  I'm already making notes for version 2 and the way I'm writing the initial release will give too many hints for what else I have planned.

Is it going to be twitter-only or other social networks?

Initially it will be twitter-only, but I'll add Facebook soon after and some others as well.

doin? is the name I've chosen for my now in-development Twitter client.  A few little facts about it:

• Written in WPF 4.0, Microsoft's latest version of Windows Presentation Framework. With beta Visual Studio / .Net 4.0 beta 2 having been released, the beta for doin? will use its GoLive! license.
• Secure sign-in for Twitter using OAuth.  What this means to you is that you won't be sending ME your Twitter password.  You'll just authorize doin? to access your account, which you can revoke at any time (that would make the program stop working though).  Most desktop clients require you to give them your password which they will not only store, but will send in clear text over the Internet.  This means depending on your home internet access, you could broadcasting your password to anyone with the right tools and enough ambition.
• Configuration info will be stored in "the cloud" (via Microsoft Azure) which means that you won't lose your setup just because you're on another computer.  It will also allow me to build a web-based client at some point.

Abbreviated feature list

• Organize tweets in columns and/or groups
• Filter on a variety of criteria, not just the person or search terms.
• For the first time, filter out messages based on a variety of criteria, not just put them in columns.
• Full tagging of keywords and individuals
• Customizable color coding based on tagging and other criteria
• Share tags with other users of doin?
• Full support for Twitter lists, spam reporting and all other Twitter API functionality.
• Threading of replies when possible, also suggestions if the reply command wasn't used.
• Viewing of all tweets and profiles from within doin?
• Mapping of Geocoded data using Microsoft technologies, again from within the doin? client.
• Personal favorites with notes.  Keep track of interesting tweets while adding a short note why you did.  Will be stored in the cloud, but private.
• Integration with APIs such as bit.ly, twitpic, etc. to allow as much functionality within the client as possible.