Review of Twitter: Social Networking and Blogging Applications
Twitter (https://www.twitter.com) is a simplistic web service that allows you to communicate with friends in a micro-blog format. Each message or “tweet” can be a maximum of 140 characters long and can contain links to pictures and websites. Now while I’m not very big on posting my daily activities or what I’m having for breakfast, I find Twitter an invaluable source for breaking news and interesting niche information.
Using Twitter you can “follow” not only your friends and family, but a wide variety of popular internet websites, podcasts, celebrities, and even political candidates. One of the most beneficial aspects of Twitter is their open API that allows developers to create custom applications that allow you to use the Twitter service on a number of different devices.
Windows Applications
Twitteroo: Twitteroo is a Windows application that allows you to post and receive messages directly from Twitter without the need of a web browser. When minimized Twitteroo will reside in your Start Bar and notify you of any new tweets.
Twitbin: For the Firefox enthusiasts, Twitbin offers an excellent alternative to the desktop application. Twitbin lives within Firefox and allows you to send and see tweets at the touch of a button.
Twitter Gadget: For Google Gadget users, Twitter Gadget allows you to use Twitter directly from your Google Gadget bar on your desktop.
Spaz: This application is based on Adobe’s new AIR standard, that allows you to run web-based services as applications right on your desktop.
Cell Phones
Mobio: Mobio Twitter allows mobile phone users to get in on the fun, with a simple cell phone application. Mobio supports a large number of cell phones (complete list) and will help keep your tweets separate from your normal SMS in and out boxes.
PocketTweets: This handy web-based application provides a clean Twitter interface for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Not only does it allow you to access Twitter from your phone, but bypasses the need for using SMS messages by communicating directly with the Twitter website over the AT&T EDGE network or WiFi.
MobileTwitter: For those of you brave enough to jailbreak your iPhones or iPod Touches, MobileTwitter offers a native application that will run right alongside your normal programs. MobileTwitter is available directly from the Installer.app program.
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