Seesmic Desktop Combines It All
One of the newest clients to jump into the Twitter arena is Seesmic Desktop, an expansion on the existing line of clients from Seesmic. This could easily be the most robust Twitter client available to date, because it capitalizes on nearly all of the strengths of every other client.
For starters, it supports color-coding and multiple simultaneous user logins (like Twhirl). This is not surprising seeing as both Seesmic and Twhirl are in cahoots with one another. If you have more than one Twitter account, you can tweet from it and access its feed from within a single application. Second, it comes with the same kind of grouping function as TweetDeck, so you can easily organize those thousands of interesting tweeps.
With TweetDeck, you arrange things using the right and left arrows at the bottom of each column. With Seesmic, you drag and drop. This is a lot more convenient. If you don’t like multiple columns, Seesmic Desktop also comes in a single-column configuration. Naturally, URL shortening and TwitPic integration are here too.
Pros: Combines the best features of Twhirl and TweetDeck
Cons: A very beefy application that may intimidate some
Verdict: The most complete and powerful client available today
Get it at Seesmic
Twitterific for the Mac
While Twitterific is also available for the iPhone and iPod touch, I’ll be focusing on the desktop/laptop version today. Unlike some of the other clients that are a little more cross platform-friendly, Twitterific has been designed specifically to work with a Mac and comes in a paid version for $14.95 and an ad supported version that is free. Another new Mac specific client that was just released is Nambu, but we’ll give it a bit more time to mature.
The single column design is clean, simple, and user-friendly. To differentiate between the different types of tweets, the text boxes are color-coded. Regular tweets are a light grey, replies are in brown, and direct messages (DMs) are in blue. Tweets that have been read are dimmed.
If you hover over a tweet, you can see little icons for accessing user tools, replying to the tweet, or jumping to the person’s website. For your convenience, Twitterific is also equipped with a number of keyboard shortcuts like replying with command-2 to reply. Unfortunately, many important features are missing, like URL shortening or grouping.
Pros: Color-coded tweets, user tools, keyboard shortcuts
Cons: Free version is ad-supported, no URL shortening or TwitPic support
Verdict: The most popular Mac-based Twitter client
Get it at The Icon Factory.
You Need a Client, Not a Fail Whale Homer
If you’re already a part of the Twitter phenomenon, you may be all too familiar with the fail whale. If you haven’t encountered the sad aquatic mammal yet, consider yourself very lucky. Either way, seeing Homer held up by a bunch of little birds is awfully funny.
The great thing about nearly all Twitter clients is that they are completely free (with the exception of Twitterrific which has two versions: paid and ad supported). So, if you find that you’re not a fan of DestroyTwitter, it doesn’t cost you anything to jump to Twhirl or Seesmic Desktop. Try them out for yourself and see which best suits your needs. No matter which you choose, I highly recommend that you use a client of some kind. The Twitter Site itself just doesn’t cut the mustard.
Looking for where to get started? How about you start by following us and the Futurelooks Team on Twitter:
- Futurelooks – @futurelooks
- Michael Kwan – @michaelkwan
- Stephen Fung – @stephenfung
- Jason Landals – @jasonlandals
- Eric Garay – @ericgaray
Look for a roundup of mobile Twitter clients for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and other cell phones coming up soon. Please let us know your Twitter thoughts at the link below or just “send us a tweet” when you have a moment and we’ll follow you back.
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