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  • Tempting Twitter Apps
Technology Articles > Software > Communications > Tempting Twitter Apps

Twitter is everywhere. Of that, there is no doubt. However, it can often be inconvenient to tweet from the web interface alone. Who wants to sign into a web browser application just to make a tweet?

Fortunately, many third party applications have been developed to ameliorate this inconvenience. Now, there are many different applications for every need and every purpose. Do you need to tweet for business? There's an application that can help with that. Do you need to tweet with a minimalist applications? Awesome. There's an application for that, too.

It's impossible to narrow it down to just one application that is the de facto standard. However, there are a few very popular Twitter applications that are worth exploring. Maybe you'll find the right one for you.

Twitter for Mac

Twitter for Mac is the only official desktop application produced by Twitter -- they do not have a PC application yet. Twitter for Mac is based on the codebase for Tweetie for Mac, which Twitter bought in 2009. TTherefore, the Twitter for Mac design, designed by the master designer Loren Brichter, is an incredibly thoughtful, easy-to-use design that utilizes keyboard shortcuts, aesthetically pleasing layouts, and other masterful design elements.

Twitter for Mac does not sync with the iPhone and iPad versions, unfortunately. Therefore, if you read tweets on your iPad, they will not be marked as read, as with e-mails. This may not be much of a problem, but it can be an inconvenience to receive the same tweets as new throughout the day, especially if you use three or more devices.

Twitter for Mac's design is intended to reflect the iPhone and iPad designs, and they are compatible applications in that sense. If you learn how to use one, you will know how to use the others.

TweetDeck

TweetDeck is the most popular third party application for Twitter. TweetDeck is an Adobe Air application, which means that the same application will work on multiple computers. However, since it is an Adobe Air application, it cannot be compiled *directly* on the CPU. This can lead to more inefficient compiling, decreased battery life, and laggy performance on older machines.

However, TweetDeck offers a number of benefits to Twitter "power users", including separated timelines, multiple Twitter accounts, and automatic posting to both Facebook and Twitter. Many businesses exclusively use TweetDeck for their tweeting, and it's obvious why.

Twitterrific

Twitterrific is based on the popular iPhone and iPad apps by the same name, and it is developed by Iconfactory. The primary benefit of Twitterific is exactly the opposite as the benefit of Tweetdeck -- with Twitterrific, you can have a *combined* timeline. That way, you can focus on your @ replies, main timeline, and direct messages without switching between tabs. It's a minimalistic Twitter experience that is as beautiful as it is powerful.

Whichever Twitter application you choose, know that it's a fairly ephemeral, fleeting choice -- you can always choose another application without any friction in your Twitter workflow (if Twitter can be said to have a workflow), and what is an amazing application today could be overshadowed by an even more amazing application tomorrow. The market is rapidly evolving.