My little world in Twitterverse - TweetDeck
Many if not most of my friends know of my love for Twitter. Some like that I am willing to share bits from my life and stuff that I find online, some who are already on Twitter are glad to have me make their online experience more wholesome, while some have complained that I am the cause of their information overload and have told me to get a life.
But for me, Twitter has changed the way I surf the web and from where I get my information. It has helped me connect with other bloggers on a personal level and helped build stronger friendships. You can find and follow me on Twitter @maniar.
I’d like to start a series of posts about my activities on Twitter and the tools and services I use. This is not going to be a continuous series - so my next post dealing with Twitter may appear in the next 3 to 5 weeks.
Today, I’d like to talk about Twittering from a desktop application and in particular my favourite application - TweetDeck.
Applications
Let’s face it, using the Twitter home-page is not an efficient way to keep track of tweets and replies. The only way to see new messages is to reload the page. And if more than 20 messages were posted between the two page-reloads there is a good chance you’ve missed seeing a few tweets.
Replies from people that you do not follow will only show in the the Replies tab - if you notice it that is. Also there does not seem to be a way to find if you are being talked about by those not on your follow list !
This is where we need third-party applications.
Now I know some of you are thinking why would you need to install yet another bloatware that too for a service that exists online ! It’s alright, I too had the same thought. But you see, if you find yourself frustrated looking for something and you know darn well there is a solution for it and yet are not willing to try, I wouldn’t even know what to call you !
As of this writing there are hundreds of applications out there just to update your Twitter. There are popular applications that you can install on your computer such as Twhirl, Twitterrific and Spaz. You’ll also find Twitter applications in the form of Firefox extensions like TwitKit and TwitterFox. Actually, let me point you to a list of all kinds of Twitter applications and utilities.
First off let me tell you that most of these applications take very less system resources. The heaviest application would probably need around 60000K which is still less than Firefox’s 80000K.
Most Twitter applications out there are modeled after Instant Messengers. There’s a chat-box on the bottom (or the top depending) and there’s the time line. For example, below is a screenshot of Twhirl:
You will find many features common across all applications such as - URL shortening, retweeting, posting a picture to Twitpic and auto-updating the timeline. But if you are following too many people who are constantly updating, a single column of tweets, replies, and direct messages could instead become noise.
But TweetDeck is one application that aims to separate itself from the IM model. At first glance, it looks like a bunch of columns taking up a lot of screen real-estate. These columns enable separating the signal from the noise. For example you can divide people into groups - which is I believe Twitter’s most wanted feature and show them in one column. Or you can search for tweets containing a particular term and have the results update in another column.
In the screenshot above, you can see the left most column shows tweets from all the users I follow. This is also where I’d leave those real chatty types.
The second column contains all replies to me. Actually, this column will display any tweet containing @maniar from anybody - whether I follow or not. This is how I know I am being tweeted about ! 
In the third column, I’ve created a group called ‘Friends’. It contains tweets from people that I do not want to miss - because they could get lost in the noise in the leftmost column. Below, in the picture on the left, I am editing the ‘Friends’ group.
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Also, all the people in my ‘Friends’ group know one another or are friends-of-friends. So, if there is a chat-room situation (notoriously on Sunday afternoons), It would be wise to have all related conversation in one dedicated column.
There is also a fourth column for direct messages and the narcissist in me made a fifth column showing only my tweets ! You can have up-to 10 columns of any type of related content you want on TweetDeck.
If you wish to save screen real estate, the interface can be shrunk to a single column, showing all tweets. TweetDeck has all common features mentioned earlier. In addition, it also fetches updates from last 48 hours - which proves very useful for fetching overnight tweets.
Desktop applications for Twitter have one major drawback i.e. API limit. This limit is the amount of requests an application can make in a specified time frame. In case of Twitter this limit is set to fetching 70 tweets an hour. Sending tweets and receiving direct messages do not count. But, if you’ve got chatty friends in your timeline and you exceed the API limit, you will need to visit the Twitter homepage instead to see new messages for the rest of the hour.
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Do I need a Blokester invitation??? 
There are 25 comments
TWEEEET! I’m not a huge Twitter user yet, but if I do start to follow more people, I can see how TwitterDeck would be very useful. I like the “Friends” column feature. Even with a handful of followers, it’s easy to lose the “important” ones. I use Twhirl right now, and quite like it. I can’t imagine relying only on Twitter’s home page.
JD at I Do Thingss last blog post..I Get Free Stuff so you don’t have to
Oh I just love trying out new software ;O) I will have to give it a try. It may make me twitter more - who knows?
Thanks for showing the advantages of Tweetdeck. I have just been using my Twitter homepage and it doesn’t work very well. I am going to try Tweetdeck soon. I am a little scairt of trying new things though.
Daisy the Curly Cats last blog post..Photo Hunters: View
I have used twirl and tweetdeck. I just can’t get over the small letters against a dark background. I’ll have to try it again.
Curtiss last blog post..Ads and Wordpress.com
@JD at I Do Things - I started with Twhirl myself in Febuary and I really liked it. It got me to update reguarly - and I am getting close to my 2000th tweet.
TweetDeck only came out in July so it is still very new ! I switched only because it allowed me organize so well.
@Babs - beetle - I’m glad I could be of some use ! LOL !
@Daisy the Curly Cat - Sorry about the unexpected bugs. TweetDeck is still only 3 months old. But so far I have not experienced anything drastic !
The good news is I just found out why some of your friends are not showing up. Your new installation is still not aware of who your friends are. You missing friends will show up as TweetDeck detects their activity - so get your friends to miau now !
@Curtis - You can now change the colours of the interface as well - unfortunately it’s all manual and there are no preset-themes. You’ll need some creativity in choosing the right colours.
And I’d like to see a screen-shot of what you come up with
Twitterverse! LOL Love it.
Okay … gotta go re-read cause there’s lots of good stuff in this post. Thanks
DrowseyMonkeys last blog post..The Canadianization of Olga
So far, I’ve resisted Twitter. I have enough trouble keeping up with my blog on a regular basis. I haven’t hit a good enough reason to start using it…other than seeing what you’re up to. :0)
Lees last blog post..Sunday Scenery
Hey Jaffer, thanks for the 411. I haven’t been using Twitter much for all the reasons you’ve described (too cluttered/busy etc). I had no idea there were so many apps available. I’m definitely going to install TweetDeck and try it again. Thanks!
Jeffs last blog post..Studio 101
I *heart* twitter. So.Very.Much.
meleah rebeccahs last blog post..Difficult Times Call For Drastic Measures
@DrowseyMonkey - Thank you for the plug on Twitter ! You and Meleah keep me entertained when you talk about what’s on Cable. I’m still stuck in [TVO]
@Lee - I agree that Twitter is not for everyone and not everybody understands the concept of microblogging. I’ve come to know my favourite bloggers a lot better via Twitter. Besides, you need just sign up and watch the rest of us - there’s no obigation to update frequently.
@Jeff - Twitter’s popularity has resulted in hundreds of dedicated applications, websites, and spin-offs. It would be nice to see you come back again !
@meleah rebeccah - I ♥ Twitter very much too !
EID MUBARAK!
Lorenas last blog post..EID MUBARAK…Happy Holidays!!
Twitter is a great way to get to know people and see what topics are most popular currently. I’ll have to check out the tools. Great review.
Kristis last blog post..Our New Miniature Schnauzer Puppy’s First Day Home
@Lorena - Eid Mubarak !
I’m celebrating tomorrow !
@Kristi - Hi Kristi ! Welcome to ManiaRavings and thank you for dropping a line ! I am going to write more in a few weeks about who I follow and what I share on Twitter.
I didn’t realize people you don’t follow, but who reply to your post, could be seen in Replies. I never really look there, and when I have, it’s always been people I’m following myself. Interesting!
Jenns last blog post..Nightmare on Sesame Street: Part Two
@Jenn - I sometimes think Twitter ought to change that and bring all the replies to the main page. But at the sametime, I think that would also open doors to spammy tweets.
I get a reply or two from someone I don’t follow only once in a month or less !
how come my twitter doesn’t look anything like that?:P Am I using twitter very differently lol. I don’t twit much anyway hahahaha! I’ll try this out some day when I fixed my pc. It’s a mess.
earthlingorgeouss last blog post..Lot’s To Tackle In Less Than 24 Hours
Wow, Jaffer, thank you! This is so helpful to me as I just started “Tweeting” a few days ago… I too had no idea these things existed and was wondering why your posts were coming “via Tweetdeck”.
I shall need to install this! Thanks for helping out a newbie!
Maureens last blog post..Cat Scan
I really like Twitter a lot–but am not using it all that much. Often, I feel a little overwhelmed trying to juggle everything and remembering to update twitter (and facebook). I just downloaded the application “Twitteriffic” for my iPhone and thought that might be a better way for me to stay in touch with people via Twitter. We’ll see!
Great article, Jaffer–
Melinda
Melindas last blog post..Just Say "No" to Stupid Assumptions
@earthlingorgeous - You are one of the masses. Come join us in the darkness and see the light !
@Maureen - I came to know about TweetDeck through @problogger ! He was raving about it and all that. It pays when you are following the right tweeple. I’ll cover more on that in the future.
@Melinda - Twitteriffic is a great app for Mac users. If you are looking to update your status across multiple networks with one click - may I suggest you Ping.fm ? I use it myself to announce events & my birthday.
Never really figured much abt twitter…
Noors last blog post..Online Living
Wow! Thanks for the thorough post on Twitter applications. I am ashamed to say that I don’t even have a Twitter account yet, but it is next on my list of social media phenoms to investigate.
Melanie´s last blog post..Mary Did You Know? by Jd Webb
I’m sort of using the new facebook to accomplish the same thing. I wonder if twitter would be more effective. I guess I really don’t have all that many friends that want to play along so I’ll probably just develop my facebook network.
Paunchiness´s last blog post..Visage A Trois
@Noor - You’re doing fine !
@Melanie - Welcome to ManiaRavings. Twitter is a lot of fun and besides I have got to know many of my favourite bloggers a lot better through it !
@Paunchiness - I think FaceBook is more or less dying. Most of my blogger buddies don’t care about Facebook anymore !
You are also right about the fact that you need friends to make Twitter more fun ! Good Luck !
“Chatty friends?” Like, to WHOM might you be referring?!?
Thanks for the great advice…I think I will try it! (I hope I don’t break it!)
@Olga, the Traveling Bra - Believe me, you are not very chatty compared to some that I follow out there !