Chris Brogan recently wrote a blog post called "How I manage Facebook" and it immediately gave me the idea to write the post that you're reading now but I admit I hesitated for a few weeks because I kinda see this as a "trade secret" as to how I am able to manage and react to conversations on twitter in an almost real time fashion even when I am away from a computer...but I noticed something interesting today while I was speaking at a conference for people reasonably new to twitter that changed my mind. You see as I was explaining how to use twitter I could see a few of the prettier females in the room were really impressed.
So in an effort to impress pretty people everywhere I now present you The DEFINITIVE "how to" guide to use Twitter on the iPhone.
*disclaimer* there are many ways to do what I am about to explain so in all honestly I am using the word "definitive" the same way coffee shops say "world's best coffee" but this is a great system and it works for me plenty well.
Next to this is a screen shot of my phone and you will notice that I have three separate iPhone Twitter Clients.
The the three are Summizer, Twitterific and Echofon (formerly Twitterfon). I use all three as they all offer me a quick way to accomplish different tasks quickly and easily.
My main twitter app is Echofon/Twitterfon.
This app pretty much works like they all do and the only reason I use it over others is because I find it easy to use. As you can see from the screen shot, it shows me 200 updates at a time from my friends list and also separates all my DM's and @replies (mentions) so I can find this stuff quickly and with a single touch. It also lets me add/remove and even block people with just a few clicks and this is the app I use when I am just reading twitter and seeing what is going on in my main stream.
The second App in my tool box is Summizer.
Summizer isn't a feed type app in the way Echofon is because Summizer is search tool with the ability to save searches. With Summizer I have set up close to 50 keywords and people I care most about and I use this as my catch up tool as well as my focused "quick glance" tool. Basically when I am on the subway or using one of those rooms with the stick figure gender character on the door I will fire up summizer and find out what is going on with my closest friends or see if people are talking about the company I work for or other companies I respect and monitor unofficially and without permission...and I also rely on it to keep me informed at a moments notice if I need to respond to anything falling in my set up searches.
Now it should be said that I could easily set up all sorts of searched in Echofon and basically accomplish the same results and purpose that I use Summizer for but I find it simpler to keep them separate so I can be more focused and responsive this way.
The last app I use to complete my DEFINITIVE (please see disclaimer above) how to is Twitterific. I used to use this app as my exclusive Twitter client and was happy with it but switched to Echofon one day because I just tried it and liked it (and I understand Tweetie is pretty amazing as well) but I still come back to Twitterific when I get an inspiration to tweet something quickly. You see as much as I love Echofon I find it can take half a minute to a minute to load up and Twitterific loads up crazy quick and lets me share with the world very fast the pearls of wisdom I share because I know people rely on me for my witty quips, observations and self promotion.
So just to review...this by no means replaces the ease and reliability of a desktop application like Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop but this does give you a head start in creating a mobile command center in the palm of your hand and while I claim this to be the best way to manage your twitter accounts on the go I will also say that this is just my opinion and I haven't gone looking for a more polished way because this one works crazy well for me but if you have a different opinion I would love to hear all about it in the comments section of the blog or just go talk about it on twitter, because chances are I will hear about it from one if not all of my installed apps!
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The definitive "How To" guide to use Twitter on the iPhone.
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5 comments:
My two are TwitBird Pro and Tweetdeck. TwitBird Pro (TBP) has a phenomenal list of features...from being able to see individual full profiles (including full pics) to your own profile and tweets (including pics uploaded which display right through TBP). You can also view nearby tweets, save links to read later, trends as well as the original tweet you or anyone else is responding to (coupled with the response).
For the fast and dirty way to get onto twitter via my iPhone, i use TweetDeck, which is pretty loaded as well.
Give them a try if you haven't. :)
Thanks for the info 'definitive' guide Saul.
How about managing people. You follow more than 2000 people and your twitter stream might get pretty over loaded. How do you go through tweets quickly and efficiently? Or do you only glance at what is happening right now?
Wow. That's pretty smart. But then again, I expect no less from you.
Thank you for sharing, Saul!
@alex
I can't follow every conversation from all the folks I follow so for the majority of them I pop in and out as I see fit and have time...that being said (or typed) I do count on the Summizer app to keep track of the most important people and conversations I want to stay in touch with and reply in as close to real time as I can.
-saul
I have Twittelator Pro, Twitterific, Echofon and NatsuLion. I use the first three to manage three separate accounts, and the latter as a back-up in the rare event anything goes wrong with Twittelator.
I honestly couldn't live without Twittelator - it is by far the best Twitter client I've used, and that includes desktop software. It's easy to use but has so many features that many months after first buying it, I'm still learning! Though it doesn't have to be complicated in the least, either, as one of its other great features is the ability to almost completely customise it.
TweetDeck for iPhone was a bit convoluted for my liking, and Tweetie was dull and uninspiring. Having said that, when Tweetie II is out I'll probably fork out the few quid for it and use it as another emergency back-up.
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