diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e9bdb45..eda5486 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ raw_tweets
 logs
 insert_queue
 env
-platform.ini
 *.pyc
 
 error_inserted_tweet.txt
diff --git a/platform.ini b/platform.ini
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b531bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platform.ini
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+;
+; SoMe Tools platform ini/config file
+;
+; Step 1: In the same directory as "tweet_collector.py", create a plain text file named
+; "collection.terms" and put one keyterm per line.
+;
+; Step 2: File >> Save as >> save this file as "platform.ini" - KEEP THE ORIGINAL AS BACKUP
+;
+; Step 3: Confirm "platform.ini" is in the same directory as "tweet_collector.py"
+;
+; Step 4: Visit: https://dev.twitter.com/apps/new
+;
+; Step 5: Login with your Twitter account
+;
+; Step 6: You'll be queries to "create an application" - you need to do this to obtain
+; "oauth" credentials.  The name, description, and website are filler - feel free to use
+; whatever you like.  Leave "callback URL" blank.  Submit.
+;
+; Step 7: Change the values below: [collection] needs a name value, [files] require directory
+; path values and file names (change these!), and [oauth] requires the values you obtained
+; from the Twitter dev site
+
+[collection]
+; name is a human readable word(s) for logging and reporting about the data being collected
+name:billy
+; this is the mongo database name
+db_name:govdata
+; this is the mongo collection name
+collection_name:tweets
+
+; note: is there a way to take the file name from the collection name?  so
+; %(name)s_tweets_out.txt
+
+[files]
+; this is where the raw tweets get stored from the collector
+raw_tweets_file_path:./raw_tweets/
+
+; this where the raw tweets and the processed tweets get sotred
+tweet_archive_dir:./tweet_archive/
+
+; this is where the processed tweets go while they wait to be inserted in mongo
+tweet_insert_queue:./insert_queue/
+
+; the date format is used to build the tweets out file name as well as indicate
+; when the file should rool over. The fastest possible roll over (not reccomended)
+; is seconds and is specified with %Y%m%d-%H%M%S. For testing use minutes (%Y%m%d-%H%M)
+; or hours (%Y%m%d-%H), but for collection use hours or days (%Y%m%d)
+tweets_file_date_frmt:%Y%m%d-%H
+tweets_file:tweets_out.json
+; the final constructed file name will be something like: ./tweets/20130822-1030-track-tweets_out.json
+
+terms_file:./collection.terms
+
+log_file:./tweet_collection.log
+log_dir:./logs/
+log_config_file:./logging.conf
+
+[oauth-track]
+consumer_key: lrZoHMNXE35WypwQbuccG6Ca5
+consumer_secret: weoM7VN7lx7IvkC8zx3hNbnc7itHpVMBuJvLccyqyJzyyAvTUM
+access_token: 260546258-VJid9oU3QvxQ2UzfuGybtLELI45Pcb1D299wAooa
+access_token_secret: KFKWONgBKUPBedtEnHDwd7xGQhR8zF5Y1ScZadW55tqoy
+
+[oauth-follow]
+consumer_key: SqUhmu9GAEGrR9DGwOPL9nDjt
+consumer_secret: xp2ezq2zE3djgcUbeCeipTfBcIRvQPryBLdSEig8hinOBY2cHF
+access_token: 260546258-BWW0cVtX00CvYHulnM2F9peOn7HdUhsFHzUf1Rp9
+access_token_secret: UIQ9YTAxjnqoxSU5A6kjpMHbD5NZoqfuAaBGu71AQxkwj
+