Time-saving tools and technologies
Tricks for Tweeting
It’s time to Twitter! Yes, it’s
another social networking application. No, it’s not as complicated as Facebook, MySpace or
LinkedIn. In fact, Twitter’s simplicity is the reason for its success
and recent popularity.
Twitter is a micro-blogging application that asks: “What are you doing?”
It allows users to post status updates,
or “tweets,” as frequently as they like
via mobile texts, instant messages or
the Web. Posts, however, must be under
140 characters. So, what’s the point?
Well, if the most interesting thing you
have to say is, “I’m eating a sandwich,”
then there probably isn’t one. But, when
used strategically, Twitter can be a great
marketing tool. People can use Twitter
to connect with one another, build their
brands and promote their products or
services.
After you have created an account at
www.twitter.com, try these applications
created just for Twitter.
For Your Desktop
Keep your tweeting together with an
application for organizing everything
Twitter.
>Twhirl ( www.twhirl.org) lets you
cross-post your updates to sites like
LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace.
>TweetDeck ( www.tweetdeck.com)
enables users to monitor information
and get a broader overview by splitting
tweets into columns.
>Twitterrific ( http://iconfactory.com/
software/twitterrific) is a Mac-friendly
application that supports multiple
Twitter accounts and auto refreshes at
user-defined intervals.
>Tweetr ( www.tweet-r.com) allows
you to send links quickly and easily
with a drag-and-drop feature and automatic URL shortening.
For Your Browser
Tweet your heart out by adding a Twitter
taskbar to your Internet browser.
>Twitbin ( www.twitbin.com) lets
you keep up with all your Twitter conversations right from your Firefox
browser sidebar.
>Twitterfox ( http://twitterfox.net)
adds a tiny icon to your Firefox status bar that notifies you when friends
update their tweets, and lets you post
and delete tweets.
>Snitter ( http://getsnitter.com) features auto-updates, customizable lists,
audible notifications, and is Mac and
PC compatible.
>Spaz ( http://funkatron.com/spaz) is
a cross-platform, ad-free Twitter client
with an attractive design and various
customizable features.
For Your Phone
If your phone is java-enabled, install
one of these add-ons:
>Tiny Twitter (www.tinytwitter.
com) allows you to send tweets via your
mobile phone without the annoyance of
being updated every time a friend posts
a new tweet.
>TwitterBerry (www.orangatame.
com/products/twitterberry) gets you even
more addicted to your Blackberry with
the capability to connect to Twitter 24/7.
>Pocket Tweets ( pockettweets.com)
is an iPhone-exclusive interface you can
use to update your status remotely and
view the public timeline to see what’s
happening around the world.
>Twinkle ( tapulous.com/twinkle)
features a landscape map feed, a built-in
mini-browser, blocking and more.
For Your Blog
Expand your network by linking
Twitter to your blog and feeding your
blog to Twitter.
>Loud Twitter ( www.loudtwitter.com)
delivers your tweets directly to your blog.
>TwitterFeed ( http://twitterfeed.com)
feeds your blog to your Twitter account.
For Fun
Find friends, share photos and more
with these tools:
>TwitPic ( www.twitpic.com) lets
you upload photos from your phone or
computer to share with your followers.
>Twellow ( www.twellow.com) is the
Yellow Pages directory of Twitter you
can use to search for people by name,
location or category.
>Twitterholic (http://twitterholic.
com) ranks users based on number of
followers and frequency of tweets.
>Tweet Later ( www.tweetlater.com)
maximizes productivity by letting you
draft and schedule tweets, track keywords and automatically follow those
who follow you.
These Twitter applications
were compiled by Laurie
Brown, owner of The
Difference, a customer service,
sales and presentation skills
training company. She is the author of The
Teleprompter Manual and the Greet Your
Customer Manual. For more information,
visit www.thedifference.net.
