We quietly added a ‘Quick Signup’ option to our web site in a recent release, which enables you to register for a Swirl account with minimal fuss. I have mixed feelings on this quick signup option. I like simple and fast registrations. Sometimes I won’t even use a site if it asks for too much information. But in Swirl’s case, this information really is needed to personalize your experience. So now we’re giving you the choice, and the trade off is convenience vs. personalization.

We don’t ask for your address in Quick Signup, but instead try to geocode you based on your IP address. We have about a 70 percent success rate with this, but we can only narrow it down to a city. So three out of 10 of you we won’t be able to find, meaning we can’t show you what’s around you. The other seven will be shown things near your city or zip code center, rather than your actual coordinates. You can always geocode yourself, however, and I recommend that you do so before you login via your mobile device for the first time. Swirl is much more fun when we can determine where you are!

We don’t ask for your phone make and model during Quick Signup. This only means that you’ll have to browse our WAP site so that we can auto-detect your phone, rather than being able to choose from all of our other download options.

We don’t ask for your phone number during Quick Signup. This means that we can’t push real-time alerts to your mobile phone, we can’t push instant messages to you, and your friends can’t use Swirl’s Quick Talk feature to reach you. You can, however, send instant messages.

Those are the three biggest concessions you have to make when you choose Quick Signup. And now you see why I have mixed feelings on this. I want registration to be as simple as possible, but I also want you to get the most out of Swirl. And those two wants happen to be mutually exclusive.

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Latest Activity, Swirl Connect by Shaun