Using Desktop Clients To Enhance Productivity

Twitter can consume vast amounts of time if you let it. One way to enhance productivity is to gain control by using a desktop client, or dashboard. Dashboards pull all of your feeds into one place and let you send tweets without going to Twitter. Here are seven different clients, each of which will suit a different type of user.

Ada is a very simple dashboard that uses very little of your system resources. You can reduce the dashboard to merely an icon, but it is still substantial enough to reply to and retweet a post. This is a basic dashboard, designed for the minimalist.

Tway is an extremely low key application. Once installed, you will usually just see the icon in your system tray. This application has a very small footprint on your computer, yet is robust enough for automatic updates, easy replies, and it even caches your Twitterstream offline. Tway offers a global hotkey so you can update Twitter from anywhere on your desktop with just a few keystrokes. Tway leaves you in control of your desktop.

Blu has a clean, uncluttered interface that many prefer. Don’t let the simple appearance fool you, however. With Blu, you can scroll back through a limitless number of tweets. Replying is simple; just pop open a tab. If a reply pertains to a previous post, you can see that tweet with just a click. If you want to post a new tweet, you will see a countdown of how many characters you have left. Blu offers TinyURL support, so your links are automatically converted. Blu has plenty of features to satisfy many users.

Twhirl is based on the Adobe AIR platform. You can connect multiple social media accounts, enabling you to follow all of your feeds at once. Twhirl can link to Ping.fm, so you can update all your accounts simultaneously. It offers a search feature for finding specific posts, and can automatically find tweets that mention your user name. Images are posted through yFrog, and videos are posted through Seesmic Video. Throw in a spell checker (English only, at this time) and you’ve got an effective desktop client.

Digsby offers the full package. You can not only track your Twitter and other social media accounts, you can also use it for email and instant messaging. Replying is as easy as hovering over a post and choosing the option you want. You get a consolidated list of your email contacts, and if a friend has multiple accounts, you can combine them into one buddy. You can customize your layout to suit your preferences, including what skin you want and what types of notification you want for different types of messages. This convenient application is a great tool for consolidating all of your services.

Yoono is a dynamic and highly customizable social media dashboard. You control the feeds and the display. Set up multiple media feeds and choose how many streams you want visible at once. Yoono will automatically update all of your accounts concurrently. Adding links, photos and video is easy with this effortless app. Yoono is available as a desktop client, a browser add-on, or a mobile application. This practical tool is a must have for users who want everything at their fingertips.

HootSuite is one of the most popular and powerful social media dashboards available. Multiple accounts can be added and the interface is highly customizable. Schedule tweets, integrate with WordPress and Ping.fm, and collaborate with other contributors from your team. HootSuite also offers real-time statistics and result tracking. The free, entry-level version works effectively and the premium version offers many valuable tools. This is a great place for someone just learning about statistics and analysis.

There are a wide range of desktop clients available. Some users will prefer a simple tool with a small footprint; others will want a more robust application capable of doing some number crunching. There is something for everyone. Choose the tool that suits you and enhance your productivity.