AIRing out Twitter with TweetDeck

As a by-product of my curiosity and blogging, I get to sample a myriad of tools in the cloud. I must admit to this bit of heresy: I don't really "get" Twitter.

There. I said it. And I know I'm not alone, even among some very avid users.

Microblogging (a.k.a. "Twittering") is a niche that seems to be in a state of definement.

It is more than instant messaging, and not exactly email (although I've seen people use it for both). If you want a real-time presence without the potential security issues that a Facebook account may encompass, (more on that in a later blog), Twitter might not be a bad idea. But there is a real concern with the overload of information - much of it trivial - that comes from Twitter crowd. Sensory overload and terminal annoyance are likely outcomes.

Recently, Twitter CEO Evan Williams tellingly stated, "We put too little time into the user experience (UX)...[efficiently using Twitter] is way too hard...sometimes, I'm amazed that anyone uses it." Granted, this was said half-jokingly, yet clearly more than a grain of truth there. Facebook's recent modifications seem to be targeted at Twitter's flaws.

In William's comments, he pointed to these major issues with Twitter:

Managing the flood of data that users can send your way. Williams said he had over 900 users.
Finding people to follow your Tweets. Friends are one thing, but good luck in finding strangers who could have common interests. Not a good sign out of an application that many feel could be a leader in real-time search.
The lack of multiple "personalities" that can be assigned to groups or "silos". An account could have a personality for work, one for personal use, etc.

No wonder I didn't get it. However, when certain cloud tools are fused to Twitter, life gets a tad easier. One of the most popular apps - and my personal favorite - is TweetDeck.

According to Compete, TweetDeck is the 2nd most popular Twitter application (and number one according to TwitStat). It runs on the Adobe AIR platform, which means you aren't required to head to the Twitter site to answer Tweets and form groups. A slick UI allows me to follow users at a glance.

Alas, selective twits (which Williams wants for Twitter) is still a ways off, and while you can search on TweetDeck, there is nothing analogous to Facebook's Friend Finder yet.

Twitter does seem to be carving out a niche on the social media front as the tool of choice among some. I asked a colleague, Kara Smith of Karasma Media, her favored tools that supplement Twitter. She specializes in social media public relations for the legal marketing industry. She uses TweetDeck, to monitor conversations on Twitter pertaining to both legal marketers in general, and specific to her clients. Kara also touts TweetLater Professional (http://www.tweetlater.com/) for scheduling tweets out as far as a year in advance, and managing multiple Twitter accounts. In addition, she utilizes SocialToo to track people whom she follows, but are not following her, and easily un-follow them if she chooses. SocialToo also provides her with a daily analysis of which tweet was posted when an individual follows or un-follows her, so she can monitor the most popular posts and subjects.

In addition to TweetDeck, which she uses to manage nearly 2500 contacts, she touts TweetLater for scheduling tweets out as far as a week later. SocialToo serves a twofold purpose: one, it allows Kara to send surveys to her Twitter friends, and two, she can track people whom she follows, but is not following here.

Another polling tool that Ms. Smith uses to maximize Twitter usage and generate buzz is Polldaddy.com, which Karasma uses to send out surveys to her Twitter followers. "Compete.com also shows about 2.5 million people visiting Twitter each month, with a growth rate of 250-500K users each month. I find Twitter with the add-ons to be an invaluable tool for reaching and interacting with target audiences when used effectively."

I do believe I'm starting to get it. One wonders if cloud toolmakers will get it, and market it effectively as well.