Playing with Twitter Gadgets, Services and Plugins
I've really been enjoying Twitter. Over the past few days, I've been playing with some of the various services, plugins and gadgets out there for Twitter and identifying some I really like. I've put together a list of my favorites and a summary of their features.
 |
TwadgetTwadget is a windows vista sidebar gadget. You put in your twitter account info in the properties and it updates at a set interval.I didn't care for it much myself, and it's since been uninstalled. It works fine, but it's very simplistic. I prefer the Twitbin plugin for Firefox (see below) Pros: displays tweets, chirps at you when there are new tweets, easy to use Cons: no images, no built in links for names or options - simple UI, cannot configure colors |
|
|
TwitPicTwitPic allows you to share photos on twitter. My favorite thing about this service is it allows me to post pictures taken with my Blackberry's camera and then upload them while updating twitter at the same time with a message and a link. Additionally, it works with the Twhirl client (see below) for posting pictures from my computer. I really like this service!Pros: it's quite handy, works via my Blackberry and via Twhirl Cons: none yet |
 |
TwitterberryTwitterberry is a client for the Blackberry. I really dig this app for several reasons. I can view my timeline, my friends' timeline or the public timeline in addition to making updates. I also like that I have to command it to get the latest tweets. I've experienced many Blackberry apps that keep sending out requests automatically and it really killed my battery life.Pros: better visual gui on the Blackberry vs. just sms interaction, pretty darn cool Cons: would be better with menu options to direct message a friend or other options such as those found in Twhirl |
 |
TwhirlI'm in love with the Twhirl desktop client. It's very user friendly client built on the Adobe AIR platform and Flex. It has a rich gui with many functions and as mentioned above, it's integrated with TwitPic for posting photos in your tweets. It runs on both Windows and Macs. Pros: can use multiple twitter accounts, can post photo tweets, customizable UI colors, search tweets functions, built-in url shortener Cons: it would be even cooler with some sort of stay-on-top functionality |
 |
TwibbleTwibble is another AIR and Flex app that's pretty cool, but I wish it acted more like Twhirl. It does incorporate GPS - you can see tweeters locations via google maps. It also has a pretty neat coverflow feature in the UI similar to the coverflow function in the Ipod. pros: GPS, coverflow, a couple more gui buttons for functions than in Twhirl cons: background is black and non-customizable- i hate black backgrounds, allows max 70 requests per hour per user (not per client) - might have problems running several clients in parallel (even on different devices)
|
 |
TwitiggTwitigg is a website. It houses a collection of urls submitted on twitter.com in a Digg style format. It is sorted by number of submitters. It's a pretty interesting first glance at stories or sites that may be viral in nature. I may just be weird, but this is fascinating to me
|
 |
Remember the Milk for TwitterRemember the Milk is a great task management system for David Allen's GTD system. The Twitter functionality is pretty neat. You basically add the service as somebody you want to follow. Then, using direct messages, you can post items to your lists, remove items, organize items and update them via Twitter (or any Twitter client). I especially like that I can also sms (or use Twitterberry) to update these lists via my Blackberry! Pros: Very handy little GTD tool Cons: you have to memorize some of the little command shortcuts |
|
|
TwitbinI love Firefox Plug-Ins and Add-Ons. Twitbin is no exception. I really like having my current tweet timeline right there open while I'm browsing. This is especially true because most of my friends are twittering some really cool links throughout the day and it's helpful to have the tweets list and browser tabs viewable at once. Pros: I can always see my friends' tweets when browsing, links are active, pretty good functionality for a browser plug-in Cons: I still miss all the UI features found in Twhirl when using Twitbin |
 |
Twitter App for FacebookI really like the Twitter application for Facebook. It updates my Facebook status with whatever my current Twitter Status is. It adds an interface to my Facebook profile where I can update quickly, although the updates come through no matter which interface or client I'm using to update my status. Pros: I like not having to worry about changing my Facebook status Cons: adds a "is twittering.." preface to my status box. I've read that using the Twitsync app is better if you don't like this feature. |
There are also javascript and flash apps out there to create badges for your blog or website, but none of those really do it for me. There is a public API however, which I intend to use to make a badge for MySpace that actually has clickable links and no munged up ASCII characters. Wish me luck.
All in all, my favorite Twitter tool is Twhirl and Twitterberry (combined with Twitpic of course). I can't wait to see what new offerings the community comes up with as time goes on!
Happy Tweeting!
Update: 5/1/2008
Have a look at 50 + tools and links for twitter here:
