Thanks very much for the response. It works! It works! 88 miles per hour!
The installation instruction are not really set out, so for anyone else who is frustrated with learning how to link your WP blog to Twitter now that linking your posts to Twitter automatically is almost as simple as creating a nuclear powered time machine using tweets, here’s the basic steps:
1. Install plugin “Simple Twitter Connect” (At Admin area > Plugins > Add New).
During the process, ignore all the other Twitter plugins, because they (probably) don’t work. Shed a tear for humanity while briefly contemplating the sorrow that is non-working-plugins-which-are-nonetheless-still-in-the-wordpress-plugin-directory.
2. Look at your Plugins page in the Admin area. Just look at it. Notice that you just auto-magically installed several mini plugins, along with the core function. All the mini plugins are gray (or “grey,” if you are in the U.K.) and are deactivated.
2. Go to the oh-so-easy-to-remember URI/URL/web address of: https://dev.twitter.com/apps/new
3. Enter something like the following, which is either really confusing in English, or perhaps some form of Elvish:
– Application Name: Your-domain.com
– Description: https://Your-domain.com
– Application Website: https://Your-domain.com
– Application Type: Browser [which is the default; woot.]
– Callback URL: https://Your-domain.com [you know, in case it gets lonely]
– Default Access type: Read & Write [which is NOT the default; you either have to change it to “Read & Write” yourself -OR- throw the guy at Twitter who came up with this great new system into the fires of Mount Doom, in hopes that this fun-filled process will be mystically “un-done.” Either way.]
Click to submit your info. A new page of gibberish/Elvish will appear.
3. Copy and paste the gibberish from the “Twitter Consumer Key” and
“Twitter Consumer Secret” entering them into the blanks under Admin > Settings > Simple Twitter Connect. Save settings.
While it does that, ask yourself why every plugin developer gets to choose which area to put their own setting thing in, and wonder why there isn’t just a “plugin” sub-menu they all have to use. Sigh heavily.
4. Go to Admin > Plugins and choose your mini plugins to activate. Mostly, you probably want to click the “Publish” one so new posts on your blog are automatically tweeted/twittered/posted to your Twitter account. Wonder Publish Powers: Activate!
While it processes your ACTIVATE command, briefly wonder if they could/should/were morally-obligated-to have just called “tweets” a “message.”
5. Go back to Admin > Settings > Simple Twitter Connect and notice that the page has changed.
6. To avoid problems, in another tab, make sure that you are logged in to the proper Twitter account.
Curse the other Twitter genius who came up with the one-email-address-per-one-Twitter-account, “and in the darkness bind them” rule.
6. Go back to the Admin > Settings > Simple Twitter Connect page and click “Automatically Tweet on Publish.”
7. Where it says “Authenticate for auto-tweeting:” click the “Sign in with Twitter” button. Another page will appear; click ALLOW.
8. Create a new post, something along the lines of: “Testing. 1. 2. 3. Sibilance. Mary had a little lamb. Is this thing on?” Click “Publish.”
9. Go to your Twitter account in another tab and look for the name of your test post and a link back to your site. Click the link.
10. If it works, jump up and down, yelling “It works! 88 miles per hour!” Then go here: https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/simple-twitter-connect/?topic_id=13083 and click the 5 star/it works voting thingies.
11. And if it doesn’t work, well… Um… Well… I suggest fervent prayer. And going here for more info: https://ottopress.com/wordpress-plugins/simple-twitter-connect/ And posting stuff in the wORDpRESS forums, cause Otto is wORDpRESS site developer now. Woot!
