As stated in “Understanding Social Media Part I – Twitter, Tweeple, and the Twitterverse,” the world is aflutter over Twitter. One of the newest social media platforms, it has emerged as the darling of social media, and all of the Internet.
There are a myriad of Twitter tools and applications available for novice and expert, alike. We discussed the basic Twitter-based tools, being improved upon as we speak, and the power of various applications built in. In this article, we will discuss alternative Twitter usage applications, and three in particular. The three Twitter platforms to be discussed in this part of the ongoing series into social media are TweetDeck, PeopleBrowser, and twhirl.
TweetDeck
TweetDeck emerged early in the race and asserted itself as the premier alternative to the basic Twitter usage platform. TweetDeck offers the user a multi-column interface, a dashboard of sorts for friends, direct messages, @replies, groups, and even a Facebook column. TweetDeck also allows you to pull up anyone’s profile on the same dashboard, making it easier to decide whether to follow or unfollow while tracking other activities at the same time. TweetDeck is a desktop application that runs on Adobe Air and can be used by both Macs and PCs. TweetDeck also provides a vast array of URL shortening applications, thirteen in all, many more than most of the other Twitter usage applications available. While I primarily use bit.ly, I like its tracking capabilities all in one place, everyone has their own preference, so it is nice to see that sort of range in options. The biggest drawback to TweetDeck, at least from my perspective, is that blows through your API limits very quickly, much more rapidly than some of the other tools available. That’s why you get the message at the lower right corner stating “Rate Limit Exceeded.” Aside from this one, sometimes troubling, drawback TweetDeck remains one of the favorite usage platforms for Twitter users, with an 11.64% market share.
PeopleBrowsr
The next Twitter usage application, the one I especially like for its range and also the fact that it’s Web-based, is PeopleBrowsr. Unlike TweetDeck and twhirl, PeopleBrowsr does not require you to download it as a desktop based application, meaning you do not have to download it in order to use it. PeopleBrowsr does have an impressive number of advanced features, such as multi-stack views, 18 different kinds of reports, a powerful search feature, and a tweet later application that is especially nice. The multi-column presentation is very much like TweetDeck, but TweetDeck on steroids. The display allows for as many as 10 columns at once, along with a dashboard and other icons and drop down displays. The information provided by this particular Twitter application is nothing short of amazing; staggering, Andy Jenkins of StomperNet calls it. And that’s the web-based application, the “lite” version. There is also an Adobe Air based version, as well. There are so many features to PeopleBrowsr, it is really worth the time to explore them. One of the nicest things about this application is that you do not need to sign up for it or login in order to test it out. However, once you take this particular Twitter usage platform out for a test drive, you may not want to bring it home!
twhirl
Finally, the last Twitter usage application to be covered in this article is twhirl. As noted above, twhirl is another Adobe Air, desktop application. The nicest feature twhirl has to offer is the multiple window option, meaning you can monitor several twitter usernames, all in separate windows, all at once. While there are other applications that allow this, including PeopleBrowsr, the independent widows are a nice touch. Additionally, twhirl allows you to manage friendfeed, seismic, and iaconi.ca accounts all at the same time. Twhirl also offers several different URL shortening devices, although not as many as TweetDeck, but then who needs more than one? While nice, and certainly the multiple screen option is an advantage, overall twhirl comes in a distant third, in this author’s opinion anyway.
There are literally hundreds of Twitter usage platforms available and being created daily, single and multiple usage models. I haven’t touched on MATT (cool), seesmic, FriendFeed, bit.ly, Indenti.ca, Twitterfeed, HootSuite, TweetSpinner, Tweetlater or any of the other perhaps one hundred or so applications, many with less than 1% of all Tweeple using them, generating enough interest to be listed and/or tracked by Hubspot, Mashable or Flaptor, basically any of the Twitter tracking blogs or websites. However, when you consider the absolute number of people using Twitter worldwide, 1% isn’t all that bad!
Hubspot-Over 600!
I could create an entire ebook with a list of just the top 25 to 50 Twitter usage applications. Hubspot mentions over 600 Twitter usage platforms and their features. There have been a myriad of articles written about them, seemingly by everyone and for every purpose with more every day. If you are interested in such a list, at least a great place to start, I would suggest using Hubspot. Hubspot will provide you with a list of the various Twitter usage platforms and what percentage of all tweets, including an in depth “State of the Twitterverse” report, June 2009, that is quite instructive.
How Many?
With the plethora of tools and applications available, the only thing sustaining many of them is the incredible number of tweets per day and per day per person. As long as Twitter maintains its current level of popularity, and the debate rages about that, current rends seem to indicate a bit of a falling off, there seems no end in sight to the number of apps and tools at the average Twitterers disposal. Ultimately, the question remains, “How many can one Twitterer use?” The answer is pretty obvious, “One!” But it is fun to explore and try out some of the new Twitter toys emerging daily, toys that continue to provide amusing entertainment and perhaps for some, a marketing advantage. But that is another debate, for another day! Nest we will discuss Twitter tracking tools and applications, such as Flaptor, Twitter Grader, Twitter Counter, and others.
See you on Twitter!
Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com
http://twitter.com/JohnZajaros
Check out:
Smashing Magazine’s Twitter Articles
The State of the Twitterverse, June 2009
Hubspot’s Twitter Grader, Very Cool!
