After learning about what Twitter is and how it works, and practicing proper Twitter etiquette with a few tweets, it's important to try a few useful Twitter tools and apps to explore the potential of a seemingly simple microblogging service.
Regardless of whether Twitter is used for connecting with friends or business contacts, there are plenty of powerful third-party applications that can facilitate communication with other tweeps. Here are some essential free Twitter services.
Finding A Desktop/Laptop/Mobile Twitter Client
Tweeting via SMS text message is a good way to communicate on the go, but it's helpful to have a dedicated program to manage tweets. These Twitter clients or browsers are available for desktop, laptops, smart phones, and regular mobile phones.
A good Twitter client should organize friends' tweets, @replies, mentions, and direct messages in an easily readable (and ideally, customizable) interface. The Twitter website is a good basic client, but there are many other external applications that are far more convenient.
Other features of a great Twitter client are:
- a Twitter search engine
- a list of current trends or popular topics on Twitter
- archiving of tweets and offline capability
- automatic URL shortening (via bit.ly, tinyurl.com, is.gd or other services)
- real-time notifications or activity alerts
- the ability to group Twitter friends into custom lists
- the ability to manage multiple Twitter accounts
- optional cross-posting to other social media (e.g. Facebook, IM, MySpace, etc.)
- customizable Twitter API settings
For example, TweetDeck is one of the most popular and flexible Twitter clients that is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems. There's also a mobile iPhone/iPod Touch version. Both are free, although a paid edition is also available. Content is organized by panes: one for all tweets, one for all @ messages and one for direct messages; TweetDeck also allows the addition of new panes for groups or custom searches.
Some other popular Twitter clients are Twitterfon (iPhone/iPod Touch), Twhirl (Windows/Mac), Twitterrific (Mac & iPhone) and Tweetie (Mac & iPhone/iPod Touch). Of course, each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so try more than one.
Sharing Images, Videos, and URLs on Twitter
A 140-character message can convey a lot of information, especially if it includes images, videos, or links to relevant websites. Luckily there are plenty of tools that facilitate this process.
Images: There are several websites that upload and host images specifically for use on Twitter. When the file has been successfully uploaded, the website will provide a link to the image, or it can post a tweet containing with the image link. TwitPic, Twitxr and yfrog are some popular services (Note: yfrog is also a video uploader).
Videos: Most video uploaders work in much the same way as an image uploader. Many even allow for the recording and immediate uploading of a video as captured from a webcam. Some commonly used video uploaders are TwitVid, Eyejot, and yfrog.
URLs: It's best to shorten URL links before they're tweeted. Full URLs can clutter a Twitter feed and waste valuable character space. Try a website like bit.ly or su.pr, which minimize URL length and offer valuable real-time analytics on retweet and click-through rates.
Getting Things Done on Twitter: Productivity Tools
In addition to being a micro-blogging service, Twitter can also be used to increase productivity, especially when combined with tools like the Twitter Timer to send reminders or to set an alarm for a given amount of time, or Twittercal to add events to Google Calendar.
There are also many tweet schedulers which delay the posting of a tweet until a specified time; these can also serve as alarm/reminder services: TweetLater, FutureTweets and TweetAhead are three popular sites.
Finally, the previously mentioned grouping capabilities of a desktop/mobile Twitter client is an easy way to separate contacts into lists based on interest or area of expertise. Have one list for colleagues or professional contacts, one for industry-related tweeps, one for friends only, etc. Set aside times to read tweets from each group instead of scanning all of your tweets to pick out related information.
Summary: Finding the Best Twitter Tools
These are only a few of the best basic third-party Twitter applications; the list of available services is constantly growing. However, using a good desktop/mobile client, linking to other media, and connecting Twitter to other productivity tools are essential steps towards taking full advantage of Twitter's capabilities.
The only way to find the perfect set of Twitter services is to try them out. Keep tabs of which tools Twitter friends are using in their tweets and given them a shot. Most are third-party applications that don't require registering for an account, so it's fairly simple to test their services. Bookmark or download the best, and tweet away!
Liane Tsui - Liane Tsui is a publishing professional in Toronto, Ontario. As a graduate of the publishing program at Centennial College, people often ...
