Original photo by: brycej
Twitter has already become an integral part of many of our online experiences. It’s used throughout the week on CNN by anchors such as Don Lemon () and Rick Sanchez () to communicate and interact with viewers. If that’s not a stamp of approval, I don’t know what is. And, as the volume of users rise, so does the number of third party sites, tools, and services that all serve to make Twitter more dynamic, meaningful, and useful.
A lot of them, such as Ping.fm and , are probably familiar to most of us. Others, like TwitHire and Twubble, not so much. Sifting through it all can be a challenge. So, to help make things easier, I’ve searched the Web, combed through the blogosphere, and rummaged through my del.icio.us bookmarks to sort and list some of the best Twitter sites and services the Net has to offer. This is by no means a definitive list, but I think it’ll serve us bloggers, Internet marketers, entrepreneurs, and social media junkies well.
I’m sure there are some good, and probably a few essential, services that I forgot to mention. If you know of one I missed, perhaps one you’re using, please let us know in the comments section. Domo arigato.
Oh, and follow me here:
Contact Management
- TweetBeep - Google Alerts meets Twitter. Great service that notifies you whenever your name (or any other word you specify) is mentioned. Use it to catch that might have been missed, for reputation management, or customer support (you’d be surprised how many people vent their frustrations on Twitter).
- GroupTweet - Great tool to use if you want to send public tweets simultaneously but only to a select group of people. For instance: sending notifications to your web development team or special updates to members of your family.
- DoesFollow? - Find out if who if the person you’re following is following you back.
- FriendOrFollow - Gives you breakdown of a) those you follow who do the same, and b) a list of those you don’t follow but follow you.
- Twubble - Want to find more Twitter peeps to follow? Twubble is a sweet site that searches through your “friend graph” to get an idea of your current social network. It then returns a visual list of those who you might consider following based on that information.
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Tweet2Tweet - Allows you to view a conversation in a much easier fashion.
Twitter for Bloggers
- Twitter Tools - This plugin allows you to “pull in” your tweets to your blog. It can also updates Twitter whenever you make a new blog post. (note: you might have to scroll below the fold to find the plugin on the site)
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Twitter for Wordpress - Simple plugin that also “pulls in” your tweets using a sidebar widget. Very easy to use; in fact, this is what I’m currently using on deontee.com.
Search and Directories
- (formerly Summize) - Hands down, one of the best tool for finding Twitter conversations and conducting niche/keyword research.
- Twitscoop - Real-time current events for Twitter. Use it to research the latest trends and to find out what’s the hottest buzz… Also has a nifty tag cloud feature that’s quite useful.
- Twellow - A great Twitter directory… Fantastic way to connect with others in you niche and industry. Also links to other social networking profiles such as Facebook and LinkedIn. P.S. Don’t forget to add your profile as well.
- Just Tweet It - Another cool directory. This one allows you to be notified of new additions to your particular niche/industry category. Great for connecting with like-minded individuals.
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Twitterholic - Showcases the top 100 Twitter users. Test out your reverse engineering skills by following with these Twitter rockstars and find out what they’re doing to gain followers and increase their visibility.
Time Savers, To-Do’s, and Productivity
- Tweet Later - An essential service for many Twitter users. This site is all about automation. With Tweet Later, you can automatically 1) send ‘thank you’ and welcome messages to new followers, 2) “return-follow” your new followers and 3) schedule tweets to be delivered at a specified time in the future.
- Remember the Milk - The popular task management service now has Twitter integration to let you manage and create tasks right from Twitter. Notification and task reminders can also be setup to be delivered.
- TwitterCal - If Google is your calendar of choice, take a look at this site which lets you add entries just by sending tweets.
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iTwitter - An application that integrates with your iGoogle homepage.
Desktop Software/Clients
- - An absolutely fantastic Twitter client. This Adobe Air application integrates with your desktop and gives you a enormously wide range of features and controls to extend and enhance your Twitter experience. You can sort your tweets into replies, groups, keywords, topic, etc. Other features include multiple columns, overnight updates while you sleep (or bar hop), and tweet filters.
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Twhirl - Another great Twitter client. Features include the ability to cross post (to sites like Jaiku and Pownce), a built-in URL shortener, and the ability to connect to other services such as Seesmic and Friend Feed.
Status Updaters
- Ping.fm - Update Twitter and a plethora of social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Pownce at the same time… Wonderful time saver!
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Hellotxt - Another good status updater for your social networking.
Creative Uses, Interactivity
- - Easily post your photos and share them on Twitter.
- TwitSay - Record a 10 second voice message and share it with your Twitter peeps. Use it as a quick and creative way to engage your followers, especially when you can’t text or don’t have access to a computer.
- Twitter Keys - Have you ever seen icons and shapes in someone’s tweets? You might’ve even sent some yourself. Well, this cool site provides you with a bookmarklet that you can drag to your bookmarks toolbar. Click it to reveal a nifty, little popup with plenty of characters and icons you can use to spice up your tweets and make them stand out.
- TwittyTunes - If you’re using the FoxyTunes plugin for Firefox, you can use TwittyTunes to easily tweet about the song you’re jamming to online. You can also share the sites you’re viewing, and videos you’re watching.
- TwitHire - A free job listing board. Employers can promote their employment opportunities to social savvy job seekers… One of the most unique uses of Twitter I’ve seen.
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Straw Poll - Need to get feedback? Create a poll and solicit responses just by tweeting… Cool interface, too!
URL Shorteners
- Snip URL - As I’m sure you know, Twitter doesn’t lend itself well to the long-winded. With only 140 characters at your disposal, shortening long website addresses is a must. Snip URL is one of the best in the game, in my opinion. You can create an account, easily share your links, and even view unique clicks (something many similar sites don’t offer).
- TinyURL - One of the most popular URL shorteners around. Also has a bookmarklet you can drag to your bookmarks toolbar… Allows you to create shortened URLs with a single click.
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is.gd - With only four letters (and a dot), is.gd is great for URL shortening.
Account Management and Notifiers
- TweetTake - Backup your followers, favorites, or just your entire Twitter account. Why? Remember the Twitter crash of Black Thursday (back in July 2008 when scores of users lost followers overnight)? I rest my case.
- Twitterless - Service that sends you a DM (direct message) when you lose a follower.
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Qwitter - Another services that sends you a notification when someone stops following you. This one sends you an email instead of a DM. Caveat: I think the jury is still out on these services. There might be legitimate reasons someone stops following you (e.g. they’re “following” you more on Pownce or Facebook). Or, there might not be a reason at all. However, this service might be good to use if you’ve been losing followers and want to find out why. Perhaps, you’re adding more noise than value. Maybe you tweet entirely too much. Regardless, use at your own discretion. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend confronting the person who un-followed you. Use this tool for research, not battle. (Make love, not war.)
Stats, Metrics, and Tracking
- TweetBurner - Another essential service to add to your Twitter toolbox. This service lets you track the links that you share on Twitter… Also acts as a URL shortener.
- Grader for Twitter - A tool that grades your relative reach and influence on Twitter. It also suggests a few people you should follow based on your profile.
- Twitter Counter - Simple to use site (just plug in your Twitter name) and get stats that span a week. Use it to chart your progress in acquiring followers. Also offer a chicklet counter that can be added to your website or blog.
- TweetStats - Add this stats tool to the essentials pile. This site offers detailed stats of your tweets, who you sent them to the most and when you usually sent them… Very nice breakdown of data.
- twInfluence - Great tool for measuring the reach of your account and your entire network… Measures metrics like your “velocity” and “social capital.”
- Hashtags - A service that lets you tag your posts as a way to group and organize them with others.
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TwitterTise - Brand advertising meets Twitter… Track your links and measure their effectiveness.
Mobile
- Twittelator - Twitter for your iPhone… Comes with a massive and very impressive feature list.
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TwitterBerry - Crackberry users rejoice! The latest version boasts new features and a larger cache.
Honorable Mentions
- Twitter Digest - A site that helps you read your Twitter updates in a more manageable fashion. You can view the tweets in a “digest” format in either a Web page or RSS feed.
- Twittad - Monetize your Twitter account by selling your background space. The idea is interesting, but I’m not sure how much it’ll catch on (or even if it should). Regardless, it’s definitely something worth checking out.
- TwitterIM - IM junkies can send tweets using their Windows Live chat client.
- CurseBird - A hilarious site that culls the profanity laced tweets together and displays them in a real-time feed. Great for a quick laugh — especially when a sports team is playing. Ah, the things that piss people off.
- Twitturly - Think Digg meets Twitter. Twitturly is a site that acts as a real-time link tracker. A great way to find out what’s the latest buzz on Twitter. As of now, a lot of the entries appear to be links pointing to the same few topics, but as Twitter grows, I believe the usefulness of Twitturly will too. Regardless, there are still some gems to be found. A site worth checking out, in my opinion.
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106 comments ↓
Awesome! I love Twitter but, its getting out of control! I need ALL of these tools. Thank you.
Especially for the contact management part - TweetBeeps is awesome!
Last blog post from Craig Klein: Number 1 Mistake Online Advertisers Make
Klein
Yes, indeed! Twitter can get out of control. Those tools have been phenomenal for me. Glad you’re enjoying the list. Thanks for the comment, bro.
Awesome List of tools
thanks for putting this together
Jack
Last blog post from Jack Bastide: Why you Must be On Twitter
[...] Addicted to Twitter? Take a look at this collection of Twitter tools available for you. Read more about it. [...]
Very nice list. I’ve blogged about a few of these Twitter tools on my blog as well.
Last blog post from Anuj Seth - lab209:
You seem to have forgot a very cool tool.
The free app from fring.com allows you to use twitter easily from a mobile handset without having to refresh a web browser every time. You receive tweets in the same way your receive IM’s. Its fast, easy and FREE.
Last blog post from simonB: Vodacom buggers up big time!
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using (tags: twitter tools) [...]
Thanks for the breakdown bro!
Last blog post from Political Pete: Michael Moore and Plumbers - Larry King “Plumbers for Obama”
[...] already talked about how Twitter is something you should be checking out. Here’s a list of 47 Twitter Tools you can play [...]
Bastide
Thanks Jack. You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to compile this list. Thanks for comment.
Seth
You’re right. Some of those apps and tools are worthy of a blog post of their own. And many thanks for stopping by to comment.
Hey Simon, thanks for pointing out that app for us.
Pete
No problem, bro. It’s what I do
Nice list, I picked a couple new ones up. We have a categorized listing you should peek at with over 160 right now..
Last blog post from Chris Miller: Cruzapp (formerly Mecca Browser) screencast
Have added this to #twitterhks a tag for educators use of twitter
Last blog post from Leon Cych:
[...] Deontee’s blog post: 47 top Twitter services [...]
Miller
Thanks for posting that link. Very useful stuff. Massive props to you for that.
Cych
Hey bro. Thanks for adding this post… adding also for stopping by to comment. Much love!
[...] 47 top twitter sites and services [...]
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using - [...]
make that 48 with crowdstatus :p
good list.
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [...]
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using | deontée.com (tags: web2.0 twitter tools twitter-tools) [...]
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using | deontée.com (tags: twitter) [...]
Deontée,
Thanks for including DoesFollow in the list. I’m glad you find it useful. I notice you mention TwitPic, so I’d like to just let you know about SnapTweet, which makes it simple to share your Flickr photos on Twitter in a variety of ways.
Best
Last blog post from Damon Clinkscales:
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using | deontée.com some of the best Twitter sites and services the Net has to offer (tags: Products) [...]
Even better than your list (many new to me), was your swell commentary and cautions. You’ve got a level head here, nice to find you. I’ll look around a little more — thanks.
[...] 47 ferramentas para o Twitter que deveria estar a [...]
Great Twitter Resource List ‘D’
I’ll Be Using It!
Wow, this is a great list! I use a lot of these (I love SnapTweet!) but have never heard of others. Thanks for putting this together.
Another interesting tool is CheapTweet, which aggregates and allows users to find and rate deals, discounts, and sales.
Make sure you’re using Twitter first!
[...] n 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using | deontée.com [...]
Hi,
I have recently developed / which is an application that helps twitteres never miss out on a conversation. Twitterers tell us what they are interested in and we find users who are talking about your interests and auto subscribe a user
I am activly seeking comments, criticsims and suggestions about twollo so that I can improve the service.
My personal twitter account is and twollo’s is . One user has written an overview of the service off his own bat (http://www.twitter-howto.com/twitter-how-to/twitter-how-to-find-interesting-people-to-follow-and-get-more-followers-automatically) so you can get a feel for what it does without having to subscribe to the service.
Kind Regards,
Paul Kinlan
This is awesome! Thanks for the info. Folks should benefit greatly from this.
Mick
Last blog post from Mick Hunt: Stand Out…Show People The Unique Person You Truly Are
[...] From deontee.com: 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [...]
Terrific set of applications. Talk about being like a kid in a sweet shop.
Thanks for your efforts.
Happy Xmas
Jeff
Last blog post from Jeff: Happy Xmas to all
Just wanted to say thanks for putting the list together. I’m new to Twitter and found this list really useful.
I’m sure it took you a long time to compile so thanks heaps.
Flynny
Last blog post from Flynny: I’m such a dill..
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should Be Using [...]
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [...]
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [deontée.com - Oct 20, 2008] - [...]
Deontee,
Just when I thought I had heard it all, you go on an offer up more Twitter tools to the table. {big sigh & wink}
Like I didn’t have anything better to do…
Seriously though, I appreciate you taking time to compile this list for your readers. Very generous of you!
Ciao!
Adonya Wong
Author | Autism Blogger
Last blog post from Adonya Wong: Let’s Make A Vlog! Episode 2
[...] vuelve a estar activo… Para terminar aquí tienen dos enlaces la mar de interesantes. Uno es una recopilación de 47 utilidades y tips de Twitter hecha por Deontee y la otra es Twitdom, un directorio muy completo de utilidades de [...]
Wow, I am WAY behind the curve, and for a techie like me, that’s terrible news!
I will be checking most of these out tonight!
Thanks for sharing.
Last blog post from Cenay Nailor: 5 Tips to Make the Most of Your SEO Investment
[...] continuing on the twitter theme, so you get it, how to use it and whatelse can I do. A great blog entry on https://deontee.com pull’s this all together and offer links to some interesting tools to [...]
thanks for the list! Had a good time browsing around checking out the sites.
Last blog post from Josh Lloyd: http://justtweetit.com
[...] his post, “47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should Be Using“, social media guru Deontee Gordon () outlines the many Twitter applications [...]
Nice list! Would add . . . tr.im for URL shortening - keeps track of stats in terms of visitors and location. Helps you gauge what your audience is interested in.
on twitter.com
Last blog post from Barbara Rozgonyi:
Twitterholic isn’t a reliable list.. Why? Ask yourself.
Last blog post from CPB: Break - Humurous. Funny. Comedy. Videos.
Thank you for all of the wonderful information
Last blog post from Susan/Together We Flourish:
how about mrtweet.net?
Hey I found a great website that I don’t see listed here its called TweetTree.com. Great website that does a lot in one website!
Last blog post from Paul: http://tinyurl.com/yo7q8m/c/a/2009/02/26/MN2016651R.DTL - Go, go green machine! - nice find.
It seems you have left out MicroPlaza.com – the latest tribal news service which provides “Digg over Twitter”. Only fully accessible with private invites currently.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/microplaza_a_personalized_twitter_memetracker.php#more
Hi,
I’d like to recommend http://www.tweetconvo.com - it’s basically helping twitter users to thread their conversations to catch up what’s been missing
Last blog post from Ivan:
Great list!
Here’s another great free site (still in beta -with a few bugs now and again). This page and video outlines it’s abilities …
http://tweetmanager.com/login.php
I’ve been using it for a week, gaining 19 new targeted followers a day and developing some great relationships.
Grrrrrreat list, esp. for us twitter newbies (twewbies? LOL). Thanks! I’m gonna go retweet right now!
Nice breakdown bro!
Last blog post from Bobby Fogg: Gratitude
I can’t believe you left out FollowCost! followcost.com
Last blog post from Jon Zuck: Row-based designs
Great list! Thank you so much for including Just Tweet It!
Last blog post from Dani McDaniel:
[...] Vorsite Corp. Update to Twitter Tools March 7, 2009, 12:04 am Filed under: 1 | Tags: Social Media, Twitter, Twitter Tools Ok, deontee.com has the list so I am not going to waste time re-writing it. Wow, this is awesome https://deontee.com/47-top-twitter-sites-services-software-and-tips/ [...]
Good Grief, just looked the list over and I use most of these! How geeky is that?
Thanks for sharing this info Deontée!
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using via [deontee.com] [...]
[...] “47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using“ [...]
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [...]
You missed my favourite: http://www.twitterfall.com shows trends which you can select or deselect individually plus you can put in your own keywords to see live tweets falling down the screen. Really C00L
Last blog post from C00L:
We’ve recently released http://www.tweepz.com which helps you discover interesting people on twitter. Maybe it’s worth mentioning?
Any feedback is welcome of course!
Last blog post from Jochem Prins: Introducing Tweepz
thanks for posting this great list of Twitter resources.
I know several of these but there are a few new, useful additions that I was unaware of and need to go check out.
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using (tags: twitter list) [...]
Great list - we only had about 20 or so …
Last blog post from 24Seven: Need to Host a Site and Build a Site … FREE? Yola!
[...] 47 Outils pour twitter à utiliser (tags: twitter tools resources outils) [...]
Another great URL shortening site is Http://url-tiny.com. You create your own account and create custom links! Just a thought.
You might want to check out Twitdom as well. We have over 650 Twitter Applications listed in our database currently!
Last blog post from Twitdom - The Twitter Applications Database: TwittaScope
Thanks so much for providing this information. This page will be a valuable resource for me!
Nice Article. For my german fellows: Die 12 besten Twittertools: http://www.kunstundso.com/2009/04/22/die-12-besten-twitter-tools/
If you dont want to hand over your twitter usernames and passwords to a third party website but want to implement a “keyword” autofollow
Or
if you are running multiple accounts and need more than 100 api hits an hour (if you get your ip address whitelisted you can get 20,000 api calls an hour).
Then check out http://www.MyTwitterButler.com for $10 it’s a windows .net application that run directly on your pc instead of in the cloud.
It does two things;
1/ Auto Follows Users with up to 4 search terms per twitter account (allows multiple accoutns - I run mine with 11 accounts simultaneously but it slows it down).
2/ Direct Message Broadcast - you can send a direct message to all you users with just one click.
Cheers,
Dean
http://textsnip.com is a good way to paste a large block of text into a tweet. no password, no sign up
Why not use a fully automated Twitter poster to enhance your position within the Twitter community, there are many automated applications and softwares around now including http://www.twitterxtreme.com
[...] out all the wonderful Twitter tools out [...]
Great list of Twitter tools… Bookmarked and gave a Stumble thumbs up! Was surprised not to see Twitter Karma by Dossy on the list.
Last blog post from Matt: Wagner Sprayer Power Products 0417005 HVLP Control Spray
searchon.me is a site I use every day to post hot news topics to Twitter - very easy and fast and helps me keep my twitter up with fresh content
Celebrifeed.com is my addiction at the moment. You can see all celebrity tweets and reply to them using your own Twitter login.
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [...]
[...] lista muy interesante de aplicaciones Twitter se puede encontrar en este post del blog de Deontée Gordon. Y también, con enfoque educativo, en el blog del Center for Learning [...]
Twitter is the best place to go. Young but stronger!
wow that’s is very good twitter tools…I will try this.. thankyou..
Twitter is becoming to grow as one of the biggest web marketing tools available in market. It is not an issue of single, tiny tools inside but the whole network of connections, twitting, following, blogging etc. Twitter is just like a huge machine to use for anyone for free. But there is also something wrong about it, because it supposed to be social networking system with few fresh options. But it isn’t.
Great list! Thanks. I’ve found a few new favorite twitter tools and developed a new obsession with cursebird.
Thanks for the comprehensive list. Man, this must have taken a while to put together!
[...] 47 Outils pour twitter à utiliser (tags: twitter tools resources outils) [...]
hey, thanks for the useful compilation
[...] you could ever want to know about Twitter. In other roundups, Tom Maduri pointed out 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using from [...]
Great list of Twitter tools, thankyou sir
[...] tools Top twitter tools for business My Top 10 Free Twitter Tools (and 3 Honorable Mentions) 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using Twittermania: 140+ More Twitter [...]
hi friend,
Thanks for your info on twitter. now only i know twits tool.
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [...]
Twitter tools OD. Well at least we have more rther than less. Using a few already.
This is good list of useful and great twitter tools. Good work.
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the above information is extremly essential……
[...] And dozens of more tools and toys. [...]
great list ,very useful,i have also made a small list at my blog
http://t4-trix.blogspot.com/2009/09/8-remarkable-twitter-tools.html
Thanks for the list, the stuff i need eright now
[...] Power Tools For Twitter Lovers To Make Lives Easier 99 Essential Twitter Tools And Applications 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using Top Twitter Tools Top 5 Best Twitter Tools for [...]
Which of these do you recommend for extracting data to create reports in word doc? I need to create a report for clients that shows tweets sent, tweets about my client (not generated by me) etc etc, that I can easily import into MS Word. Thanks!!
[...] 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using [...]
[...] This is one of my favorite Twitter tools. It is very easy to use and simple and clean and the best part about it is that it allows you to [...]
People are commenting with Twitter, but I never read the Tweets. Everyone I have asked does not read the tweets. I do read the comments though. Everyone knows that Twitter is a system for notifications, not much different than a RSS feed and reader. No one goes there to learn anything or to hang out. They go there to broadcast to their receivers.
How is Twitter going to maintain its value? Once they start monetizing it, people will migrate to a new service. They already have annoyed millions with the Verizon Tweet you cannot delete.
I just came across your blog and found myself reading along and I thought I would leave a quick comment. I don’t know what to say honestly except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will be visiting this blog again.
Anyone using TweetTwain(http://www.tweettwain.com)? They claim to be a Twitter desktop client with scheduled tweets and autofollowing option. Anyone?
[...] snel op) doe je met tinyurl. Snel foto’s toevoegen, gebruik Twitpic. En zo zijn er nog veel meer tools, maar die ontdek je snel [...]
Great list. There are a lot of ways to interact with twitter. It is amazing how many different services people offer to make things with twitter easier.
Thanks you for the collection, deontée
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