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Ultimate guide to Twitter tools and resources for journalists

Finally thinking of testing out Twitter? Please grab your Twitter posse and start checking out these Twitter tools and resources:

What is Twitter!?!?!

Twitter is a micro-blogging service for messages of up to 140 characters that can be updated via SMS, Email, Web, Browsers, Desktop clients and whatever else. It can be used for telling the world what you’re doing, sharing insight, communicating with friends and associates and getting answers to your questions.

To truly understand Twitter, you have to use it.

Get an Account

• Twitter Home : It’s easy to set up an account and customize your page. Make sure you link back to your blog in your "about me" options.

Twitter Clients

• Twhirl : By far the best Twitter client I have ever used. Looks slick and can dual post to Pownce. SWEET!
• TwitBin : Put a Twitter client in your Firefox sidebar
• TwitBox : former favorite Twitter desktop client. It even has experimental hashtags tracking (free).
• Twitterlicious : First desktop client I used. Turned my Twitter universe upside down (also free).
• Twitterific : Mac client. Mac’s also have dashboard Twitter widgets.
• Twitter Flashlite : Mobile client
• Tweetr : Mac/PC Client allows users to upload and share files and photos

Find Twitterers!

• TwitDir : Find everything from most-followed users, to top posters to top 100 followers - I wonder who that is?
• Twubble : Find popular twitterers that your friends are following
• Twitterwhere? : Nice new app that let’s you find twitterers within 50 miles of you.
• Twitterlocal : Annother web app to find local twitterers.
• Twitslikeme : Find other Twitterers with your similar interests
• Twitterwho ?: Find Twitterers by email address
• TwitterAdder : Type in your account and randomly add 20 follows
• TwitterSearch : Type in the term your looking for and find out who is tweeting about it!
• TwitterMap : Find users in your area who are tweeting
• TwitterVision : Worldwide tracking of Tweets in real time. You can even make this your desktop wallpaper background !

Tracking Memes

• Summize : The most powerful twitter conversation tracker I’ve seen. Search for terms by user, language, attitude, tag, to and from user
• Twist : Compare terms and get graphs showing how much that term was tweeted
• Quotably : Type in any username and follow conversations in a threaded format
• Tweet Scan : Find out who’s saying what, search for replies, words, whatever by user
• Tweetmeme : Find out "what’s hot" on Twitter (Think Techmeme in Twitterland). Updates in real-time and looks spiffy!
• Twitter Troll : Find popular terms used on Twitter in real time
• #hashtags : Real-time tracking of tagged tweets organized though hashtags (example: #twittertools)
• Twitigg : Twitter, Digg style
• Politweets : Tracking tweets that reference presidential candidates (via OJB )

Twitter Metrics and tracking

• TweetStats : Track your tweets per hour and month and your Tweet timeline
• Twitter Quotient : Find out if you’re a Twitter hero or zero
• TweetVolume : Compare the popularity of terms used in Tweets.
• Tweetburner : URL shortener that tracks what happens with the links you post

Post Multimedia, Photos, Files

• TwitPic : Post photos to your tweets - also integrated in latest version of Twhirl
• Twiddeo : Post videos to your tweets
• Mobypicture : Post photos to your Twitter and Flickr account from your mobile phone
• SpRnch!: Post and respond to almost anything and SpRnch will update on your twitter feed.

Polling

• PollDaddy Twitter tool : Probably the best polling Twitter integration. Would love to see this become a part of Twhirl with Google Docs capabilities.
• Twittpoll : Opinion channel for Twitterers
• Twitter Census : Surveys for Twitterers -1) Post a question 2) Get replies 3) See results

Join a Community

• ReporTwitters : Twitter network for reporters to connect, share ideas and research stories.
• Twittown : Unofficial Twitter community - get news and more
• Michigan Twitter Network : All the Tweeters in Michigan :)

RSS and Tweet syndication

• TwitterFeed : I’ve used this one several times and works like a charm. Must have an OpenID . Check out my screencast on how to set up your own auto-update twitter using twitterfeed .
• LoudTwitter : Ship your tweets to your blog

Twitterers to Follow

• Shawn Smith on Twitter : That’s me! What’s wrong with a little self promotion?
• Mich Sineath : Blogger and think tanker at AEJMC and his blog . I really like the way he uses Twitter to ask questions and interact with people.
• Ryan Sholin : Innovative thinker and web worker for GateHouse Media. Also the co-creator of Wired Journalists .
• Jack Lail : Smart guy doing some really cool things for Knox News.
• Steve Buttry : Score some thoughts on training journalists for the new media revolution from Steve
• Digi Dave : If you don’t know Dave, you better ask somebody. He’s got the moves for your social media habits
• Popurls : Always something interesting, often cool items before they go bigg on Digg
• Ann Marie Cox : Washington Bureau editor of Time online. Formerly of Wonkette. Has funny insights. (via BuzzMachine )
• Breaking News On : Great Twitter feed of latest top news items.

Embedding Twitter Feeds - Twitter Badges

• Editing Flash Badges
• Twitter’s Official Badges
• More Editable Flash Badges
• Korelab badge : Customizable image badge
• Twitter Status badge

Fun Stuff

• Twitsig : Make your Tweets into an image that can be embedded in forums or wherever HTML is allowed
• TwittyTunes : Browser Add On that allows you to easily share what you’re listening to - integrates with Foxytunes Firefox add on

More Resources!!!

• Twitter Fan Wiki : Get the lowdown on everything Twitter, including clients, mobile apps, email apps, Greasemonkey scripts and other web services! Many resources there found here
• Franticindustries : More Twitter mashup listings than you can Tweet at. Many resources here found there
• ReTweetMe : Get reminder messages via Twitter
• Twitterholic : Top 100 users and their friends!
• Twitter Etiquette guide and explainer : Just what it says - More in-depth explanation
• Twitter News Radar : Aggregation of everything Twitter in the world!
• TwitZap is a new web-based Twitter client that focuses on 3 major features, all very neat.

  First, it lets you tweet (very fast, under 800ms, they claim) even when Twitter is slow or down. Your messages will get through on TwitZap, and they will be relayed to Twitter as soon as possible.

  Another important feature is search channels. On Twittery ou can click on your username in the menu on the right side to see all mentions of it; this practice is usually called a “vanity search.” TwitZap lets you do that for any term you want. If you want to always be able to quickly search for terms “social media”, “job”, and “Trent Reznor”, you can easily add them to the menu.

  Finally, unlike Twitter, TwitZap’s site is updated automatically and in real time, at the speed you choose with the little bar in the upper left corner. Turn the knob all the way left, and the updates will be paused. This is a nice improvement from Twitter’s standard page which has to be updated manually.

  Although still in beta (what isn’t these days), TwitZap offers a nice blend of features which just might make it worth your while. On the other hand, advanced clients like Tweetdeck offer a lot more functionality, so users who are already used to them might prefer to wait till their favorite client adds these features. But, if you’re using the standard Twitter interface and want some improvements without switching to a desktop client, TwitZap is a solid choice.

  

Twitter commands - via Koka Sexton (see great Twitter comics here too)

@username + message - A message directed at a specific user - be careful, everyone can see this!
D username + message - A direct message to a specific user that no one else can see!
WHOIS username - get profile info from any public Twitter user
GET username - see latest tweet of the specified user
NUDGE username - remind a twitter user to update their tweets!
FAV username - "marks a person’s last twitter as a favorite. (hint: reply to any update with FAV to mark it as a favorite if you’re receiving it in real time)"
STATS - returns your number of followers, how many people you’re following, and which words you’re tracking

Did I leave anything out that you really like? Let me know and I’ll add it to the list!

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking mediums, and their membership numbers are increasing quickly. It is a great tool for networking; but like many tools available for networking on the web, promotional or marketing activities are frowned upon.

So be careful when using Facebook and do your online marketing activities under the radar, or you might miss out on a powerful tool to boost your business.

In this article, I’ll give you some vital pointers to maximize the power of Facebook.

1) Just like any other social site, be careful what you put in your profile.

You don’t want to be seen as a link spammer. And you don’t want to give away too much personal information either (unless you don't care that thousands of people may see your profile).

Just be careful with any personal details you put out there for others to see, such as where you live and pictures of your children. You do not want to pick up a stalker, especially when you are networking with strangers.

2) Don’t make the mistake of using your business name as your profile name, as this is against Facebook’s terms of service.

You are allowed to create other Facebook pages to brand your company, products or websites.

3) Respond to any friend requests and carefully send your own invitations. Make them personal and interesting.

Developing a great network is your long-term goal to generate a slow, but steady traffic stream to your websites. Use this tool to your advantage without being pushy or overbearing. Facebooks members hate spamming (who doesn’t?) and will carefully watch out for anything that violates their Terms of Service (TOS).

If you want to see profiles of those from another network, add them as your friends using the "Add to Friends" button. Follow the steps in the Edit tool to fill out any information you want others in your network, or others you accept as friends, to view.

4) Use various applications of Facebook.

Facebook has many applications which would make your networking experience easier or more enjoyable. Examples are applications for adding footage or photograph albums to your profile for others to see.

I’ll discuss two other powerful Facebook applications in a moment.

5) Use Facebook’s “My Questions” application to find out what people are exactly looking for concerning your niche.

This is where posters answer certain questions about themselves and what they are looking for on Facebook. They will also list their interests. Use this in your networking activities.

Unless they have expressed an interest in your field, do not invite them to join your friends list. Of course, you can still ask them if you genuinely want to be their friend.

But if you are there to network for your website business, then choose your friends wisely. This is how you are building your list and getting traffic to your website. So you have to manage your time well and eliminate non-productive activities.

Again, be very careful about Facebook’s TOS. Do not go against it because breaking the rules will get you banned.

6) Use “Facebook Discuss.”

It is Facebook's answer to instant messaging. Chatting, or IM'ing, on Facebook is truly quite easy when you use Facebook Discuss .

Just go to your Facebook page and you can start using Facebook Discuss immediately. At the base of each Facebook page, you may see your Facebook Discuss tools.

The first of the 3 Facebook Discuss tools is the online friends tool. This simply tells you which of your Facebook buddies is online at this time. The next Facebook Discuss tool is notifications that may let you know if you have any new Facebook notifications right from the tool. The 3rd tool in Facebook Discuss is the real discuss tool.

7) Create and join Facebook groups.

Just as they have subscribed to your blog, they're going to join your Facebook group. So people looking on Facebook for related groups would feel welcome to join.

Facebook groups are viral selling mechanisms. Search Facebook for groups on your topic and related ones. In each of these groups, you can post a message on the group Wall or debate board, or you may use the Post a Link feature to inform the group's members of your group and your blog.

By promoting your Facebook group at first, rather than promoting your blog, you decrease the chance the group director will remove your message. Any Facebook member can make a group and invite users on their pals list to join.

A form prompts you to give the group a name, passing outline and class. At the following stage, you can customize your group's available applications, upload a profile photograph and set privacy levels.

A secret group is fascinating for work-related activity, but it will not show up in search results. Choosing a closed group might be the best idea for you to protect your privacy. You will be inspired to choose members from your friends list to join the group.

When you start a group on Facebook, you can invite members to join the group and share their thoughts, viewpoints and consultations about your product, idea or start-up. Invitations to join a Facebook group can be through your Facebook buddies, your Yahoo contacts, etc.

8) Integrate your application into specific areas of the Facebook profile.

A Facebook application can take on a lot of forms; but in order to entirely implement the selection of integration points and deliver a full user experience, it is advised that you integrate your application into specific areas of the Facebook profile.

This permits millions of viewers to see your business everywhere on Facebook and attract potential patrons, who would naturally visit your start-up Internet site.

Remember to follow all Facebooks rules; otherwise, you’ll risk getting banned and your account deleted. This is not what you are looking for. Instead you want to use the group feature to promote your website within Facebooks rules. Do not overstep by thinking you can get around the rules. Use Facebook features to your advantage and you will see an increase in your website traffic.