Replacing an old Flame
Earlier this week (this morning) I had a sorted break up with long-time-used FireFox add-on TwitterFox. Admittedly, I didn’t really plan for it – it just happened one day. Then there I was using the Web interface to update my Tweets. Which is fine, I actually prefer the Web interface over all the desktop apps that have been built.
Breaking up is like knocking over a coke machine. You can’t do it in one push, you’ve got to rock it back and forth a few times, and then it goes over. - Jerry Seinfeld
I had been unhappy with TwitterFox for a while (almost since the beginning), I was just using it because I needed something, it was the best I found, and I didn’t feel like doing more research on it.
Overall, it was an OK experience because I feel like I know exactly what I want in a Twitter updater. I know what I liked about TwitterFox, and, most importantly, what I hated about it.
TwitterFox Pros and Cons
Pros
- Presence – I have a browser open all day, and it’s right there, very fast to update, not a separate app eating up all my RAM
- @replies – It usually caught my @replies even when I wasn’t the 1st @ listed in a tweet
Cons
- Pop ups – I hate the intermittent pop ups of tweet. I’m sure it can be turned off, but I hated it
- Pop up interval – on the off chance that I wanted to read a tweet as it popped up, if the text was long, it didn’t stay popped up long enough to read. Then I’d have to stop and go read the tweet
- Lazy – it stopped catching all my @replies (the last month or so).
- Replying – the way replies functioned bothered the crap out of me
- I just didn’t like it.
Researching replacements
Just by looking at some people I follow on Twitter, I came up with a pretty good list of TwitterFox alternatives to investigate.
Apps
I don’t like the external apps for Twitter updates, but I’m going to give them all a try and see if I can get into it:
In-browser options
That’s what I’m planning to look in to right now. Are there any I missed? I’m open to pretty much anything right now. I was with TwitterFox for a while (maybe a year?) and generally not pleased with it, so I want to make sure to find something that really fits.
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Twhirl is pretty cool so I've been sticking with it. I am too lazy to figure out what's better. I am anxious to see what your findings are.
I use twitterfox and none of the things you mention bother me. I just need a place to read tweets and to post them, and twitter fox does that rather unobtrusively. I've tried desktop ones and don't care for them. I only have one twitter account, and pretty much only follow friends, so maybe that's why I only need a simple twitter interface.
TweetDeck is the best if you are only managing a single account. The filtering and grouping features are super helpful. As pointed out in a recent video, try applying a "http://" or "RT @" filter to quickly check out all posts containing links or all retweets.. especialy considering retweets are generally considered high quality.
After TweetDeck comes destroyTwitter & Thwirl with destroyTwitter possibly a bit better. However, destroyTwitter is also very new and I have not had enough time to play around with it. And if I remember correctly, dT does not offer multiple accounts either… so basically, for multi-account Twitter users, you want Twhirl.
I still enjoy TwitterFox at times though… especially when I am working and/or am in more of a passive mood. You know you can adjust the pop-up intervals right?
BTW – since you are posting about Twitter, why not add a field to Post a new comment for people to leave their Twitter accounts? (@Cumberworth here)
You could also try Safari140 http://www.newsfirex.com/safari140/
I think tweetdeck is a little bit much, I'm giving Twhirl a try today. I still don't really like the separate app quite yet
I’ve been using twirl for about a week now, and I’m pretty pleased. But sometimes I forget to open it. I guess that’s the downside of using an external app
Twirl is nice, I used it for a while. I just switched over to TweetDeck, which is a bit better. Let’s you group your buddies, which for me is great because I have 3 or 4 very distinct groups of buddies, and when I get alerts it tells me from which group it came from before I go and look.
I think TweetDeck plans on adding Facebook integration too.. Anyway, it’s nice I guess. Someone, someday, will develop a MUCH better desktop app for Twitter.
ps. like what you’ve done with the comment form.
Good luck with trying the various Twitter apps!
I’m using Twhirl, lightweight and fun. Not too many hassles for me..
Have used Tweetdeck but it is not my favourite, simply because Twhirl is for the moment.
Digsby is more than just a Twitter app. It is a kind of All-in-One app. You can also use it to IM (msn, yahoo etc etc) and keep up to date with different social networks, check mail. It is kind of similar to Trillian. Only, Digsby is very friendly to use and free.
Please keep us up to date with you Twitter app experiences
Kana
Update: I’ve been using Tweetie for about a month now and I really like it.