Configuring the Twitter integration

For users to be able to receive notifications, as an administrator, you must create a functional account that receives notifications configured to be sent to Twitter and passes them to the external notification application. In the case of Twitter, BMC Helix ITSM receives the notifications and sends them to a Twitter account linked to the BMC Helix ITSM system. Users can follow the BMC Helix ITSM Twitter account by using their personal Twitter accounts to receive and view the BMC Helix ITSM notifications however, review the recommendations mentioned in this topic.

Before you begin

Ensure that internet connectivity is available on the computer where you are mapping the user to a Twitter account and also on the computer where the plug-in server is running. Additionally, ensure that access to the Twitter account from AR System is not blocked by any firewall.

To create and authenticate a functional Twitter account for BMC Helix ITSM

1. Select Application Administration Console > Custom Configuration > Foundation > Social Collaboration > External Notification Registration.
2. Click Open.
3. On the Configure External Notification Registration form, from the menu at the top of the page, select New Request.

4. Enter details in the following mandatory fields:

   Field name	Description
   Company	Select Global.
   Notification Content	Select the content for which you want to send notification. Currently, only BMC Helix ITSM Broadcast is supported.
   AR Functional User	Enter the user name of the AR System user to whose account you want to associate the Twitter account. The field lists valid suggestions as you enter the user name. Select the appropriate user name from the list.
   Notification Mechanism	Select Twitter.
   Associated Account Name	Enter the user name of the Twitter account that is used to communicate BMC Helix ITSM notifications. This account should be the Twitter account created specifically for communicating BMC Helix ITSM notifications and not a personal Twitter account. If you have already associated this Twitter account, the PIN field is disabled. Click Authorize Account to reauthorize the Twitter account.

5. Click Authorize Account.
   You are directed to the Twitter logon page.

6. Enter the associated account name and the account password to get your authorization PIN.
7. Click Authorize app.
8. In the PIN field, enter the PIN number displayed on the web page.
9. Log out of the Twitter logon page and close it.
10. In the Status field, select Enable.
11. Click Save.

The selected Twitter account is authenticated to receive notifications.

To troubleshoot errors when authorizing a Twitter account

If you see the following error, set the clock on the AR System server to synchronize with your time zone:
Error in plugin : 401:Authentication credentials (http://dev.twitter.com/pages/auth) were missing or incorrect. Ensure that you have set valid consumer key/secret, access token/secret, and the system clock in sync. Failed to validate oauth signature and token Relevant (ARERR 8753)

BMC cannot control errors caused by Twitter when you access it through BMC Helix ITSM. If an error is displayed on the Twitter logon page, close the browser window and click Authorize Account again.