In the ever expanding World Wide Web, buzz words like social networking and micro blogging put a strain on our ability to keep up with the lingo. The real world is definitely noticing the expansion of interactive sites in the Internet environment.
Twitter, a relatively new networking site is aggressively charting a course to become a player in this field. One of the strengths helping Twitter establish its presence is its focus on uniqueness. An example is the company's Application called Tweets , a type of messaging that apparently can take several forms.
These messages, up to 140 characters long, are attracting a loyal user group for this up and coming social networking newbie. Much like old-school AOLs' IMs , Tweets, because they are text based, allow for ease of use. Tweets also have an instant messaging Application that makes Twitter even stickier.
Industry stats indicate Twitter grew at warp-speed during early 2007. Department of Commerce figures have not yet listed Twitter's numbers. However, an insider who requested anonymity, sets Twitter's population at more than 1/2 million users at the end of 2007. The indication is the company is moving toward doubling that number by the end of 2009.
Humble Origins
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Twitter was an outgrowth of a company called Obvious LLC. Jack Dorsey was listed as CEO at that time. Building slowly and watching their balances, Twitter has established an impressive presence and made some very savvy decisions in regard to alliances.
Friends In High Places
Recently such luminaries as presidential hopefuls Ron Paul, John Edwards and Internet savvy Barack Obama, have been observed using Twitter to assist in communicating with campaign workers. Another insider reveals there are several foreign heads of state who are also Twitter friendly .
News reports during a series of fires in California indicated fire fighters were using Twitter to communicate during the extreme conditions they experienced. Several municipalities are reportedly using Twitter for a variety of applications in their offices.
Is Twitter Technologically Stable?
Another Wall Street Journal report evaluated Twitter's technology and implied there were some weak spots in the early stages. Industry insiders discount this report and point out most companies go through a growth stage as part of their Development. Their take on Twitter is that it is "rock solid," technologically speaking.
The insider's statement seems to be on track in regard to the latest available statistics. According to a report issued by the University of Maryland, Twitter is handling more than 300,000 posts a day. The company is also delivering an astounding 16,500 Tweets an hour.
It is clear that the world is smitten with Twitter. Only time will tell if this will be another Apple in the making...or another Edsel.
What is Twitter?Have you ever thought that the Twitter user interface is just awful? Do you think that you cannot do enough quickly to make it worth your while to use Twitter as a marketing tool?
Well all that is about to change. There are over 70,000 registered Twitter Applications to choose from, all of which designed to enhance your Twitter experience.
I have trawled through forums and other sources and have found four to let you know about. I will introduce each of them, let you know where to get hold of them, and what features they have that will revolutionize your Twitter experience.
Application 1: TweetDeck.
You need to down load and install this Application from the link below.
It is available for Mac, PC, Linux, iPhone Application as delivered (desktop version) comes with four columns displaying.
From left to right these are All Friends, Mentions, Direct Messages & TweetDeck Reccomends.
Unsurprisingly the "All Friends" Displays Tweets from everyone you are following.
The "Mentions" column... In Twitter a mention is any Twitter update that contains @username in the body of the tweet. TweetDeck collects all of your mentions and displays them to you in this column.
The "Direct Messages" column displays all of your direct messages.
The "TweetDeck" recommends column - Twitter can seem like a lonely place when you're first starting out. Fear not, help is at hand in the new version of TweetDeck with the new 'TweetDeck Recommends' column.
TweetDeck Recommends makes it easier for Twitter newbies or veterans of the Twitterverse alike to find new and interesting people to follow. TweetDeck have hand picked people they find interesting, thought provoking, or even laugh out loud funny.
TweetDeck is highly configurable and features like new Tweet notifaction sound, display etc can be adjusted or turned off. While working I found that have the 'bell' and notification pop up appearing every few seconds was irritating, so I just turned them off.
One of the configurable aspects of TweetDeck is the ability to add another column. My personal favourite is the TwitScoop column - this pulls information directly from the TwitScoop website. This allows you to get an over view on what's currently being Tweeted right now, divided into two sections what's Buzzing and what's trending. This is a very useful tool for keeping your finger on the pulse of the TwitterVerse.
This application is free and can be down loaded from http://www.tweetdeck.com.
Application 2: Twhirl.
This application is free - just use a search engine to search for Twhirl and down load it from their home page.
It is another popular desktop client for Twitter.
Twhirl is much smaller than TweetDeck and doesn't have as many features, but it does give you a small compact application to tweet and follow your tweet stream.
Twhirl will also let you know when you have new messages. It also has a search feature. It also allows you to keep track of some other social networking sites such as Friendfeed, laconi, ca and Seemic. Twhirl will cross post to Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn as well.
Both TweetDeck and Twhirl have built in link-shorteners, which shrink a link to help accommodate your 140-character limit on Twitter. These are only two of the various desktop clients you can use for Twitter.
Application 3: Formerly TweetLater now SocialOmph.
There are both free and paid versions available from http://www.socialoomph.com
This is a popular service for scheduling tweets.
SocialOmph lets you set up a tweet or a series of tweets and schedule them for broadcast later.
SocialOmph will also let you automatically follow anyone who follows you and you can even automatically send a welcome message to your new followers.
Application 4: SocialToo
SocialToo is a web based service - just use a search engine to search for SocialToo and sign up!
SocialToo is your companion to the Social web! SocialToo helps you manage Twitter and Facebook and unclutters your stream and Social Graph so you can focus on what's most important - relationships!
* Auto Follow - SocialToo can help you to automatically follow those Twitter accounts that follow you, within 24 hours.
* Follower Synchronization - If you have been using Twitter for a while and just joined SocialToo, you can catch up your followers for a one-time fee of only , and your list will be in sync.
* Block Automatic Direct Messages (DMs) From Other Services - Getting annoyed by all the automatic DMs generated by other services? Block them by just the check of a box.
* Social Surveys - SocialToo offers a robust set of online survey tools, where you can create and send polls to Twitter and other social networks, customizing the message.
SocialToo also offers a Facebook Service.
So sign up or download any one of these applications now and revolutionize your Twitter experience.
4 Killer Apps to Save Time and Effort - Making Twitter User Friendly