Twitter Tools Twelve

Twelve Essential Twitter Tools

Twitter is truly an online phenomenon. The premise of this site is simple, it allows people to post messages about anything they want, and it allows them to in turn follow the updates of other Tweeters. Twitter is a not only a social networking tool, but it is also morphing into a real-time search and marketing tool. The popularity of this site has led to the development of many Twitter tools, products and services that enhance the Twitter experience and also make Twitter more fun and accessible. Here are twelve that you should check out:

Twhirl

If you are a Twitter user then you may want to download Twhirl. This tool is a desktop application that allows you to manage your Twitter activity, instead of using Twitter's relatively limited web interface. It includes a variety of tools like spell check, new post alerts, URL shortening and quick access buttons for social networking sites like Twitter, FriendFind and Seesmic. Twhirl works with both Windows and Mac OS X.

TweetDeck

Another great Twitter tool is TweetDeck. TweetDeck is a social networking site browser. It allows you to create a customized dashboard which allows you to post tweets and follow the activity of selected friends. TweetDeck adds a feature that Twitter lacks, which is the ability to create groups. This allows you follow just certain friends, colleagues or other groups of people -- very helpful when you follow a lot of people and want to focus on just a few at a time. TweetDeck allows lets you monitor topics in real-time with saved searches.

Tweetie

If you have an iPhone then you will want to use the Tweetie app. Most people seem to agree that Tweetie is by far the best Twitter app for the iPhone or iPod Touch. Tweetie allow users to manage multiple Twitter accounts, view search trends to see what's hot on Twitter, see an entire conversation history, or use the threaded DM (direct message) feature to have a private conversation similar to an IM chat session. The Mac OS X version of Tweetie has many of the same features as its portable sibling, and you can choose between the $19.95 paid version or a free ad-supported version.

Twitterfox

If you are a user of the Firefox browser, then you will want to take advantage of Twitterfox. Twitterfox is the Firefox extension of this social networking site. Twitterfox adds an icon to your status bar to alert you when friends tweet, and sports a little input box to post a tweet.

Twellow

To help you find people that are members of Twitter you can use Twellow. You can use Twellow to search for Tweeters based on their name, area of expertise, company name or other piece of information found in their Twitter personal profile.

Twitpic

Twitpic is a photo sharing application for Twitter. To use this application you can use your iPhone or access the Twitpic website to upload photos.

Friend or Follow

Some people get a little obsessive about who is following them, or not. Friend or Follow is an app that will tell you when you are following someone who is not following you, or who's following you that you're not following back. This tool can be used to help you identify people that you might want to follow or unfollow.

Qwitter

While there are many Twitter tools that will help you to track when someone follows you or posts a message, there is currently only one application that will tell you when someone stops following you. This app is called Qwitter. Qwitter notifies you when someone stops following your feed, by sending you a brief email. Qwitter tells you which tweet you posted just prior to the unfollow. I've seen some reports questioning the reliability of Qwitter, so don't base your self-esteem completely on the output of this tool.

TwitterVision

TwitterVision is a unique app that lets you see on a map of the world from where Tweets are being posted. You can examine the map in 2D or 3D. You can scroll up, down, and side to side using your mouse or touch pad. File this under "Cool Timewater, But Not Very Useful."

TweetLater

TweetLater is a productivity tool designed for Tweeters who use the site for marketing and market research. It allows users to schedule tweets and to bulk upload posts. It also automates many tasks like sending welcome messages to new followers, automatically following people who follow you. My favorite feature of TweetLater is the ability to get email alerts about tweets that match specific keywords I want to monitor.

TweetBeep

TweetBeep is another email alert program. This program sends you an email alert when you are Tweeted about. You can set up your TweetBeep to inform you when your name, company name or product is mentioned in a Tweet.

TwitterFeed

Finally, if you own a blog then TwitterFeed is the tool for you. It will post a notice of your last blog entry on your Twitter page. All you have to do to set this up is to enter your RSS feed information.

Do you have a favorite Twitter addon that's not mentioned here? Post a comment below...