Five Twitter-Like Apps
Twitter is influencing the way we communicate; here are 5 apps that use the Twitter-style of communication–with a twist.
Aliza Sherman
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Five Twitter-Like Apps
Twitter has had a tremendous influence on not only the way we communicate online, but also on the development of new applications.
Before I tell you about five applications that work like Twitter but with a twist, here’s a word from our sponsor.
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Back to Twitterlike applications.
What is Twitter Known For?
There are several things that make Twitter Twitter. Here are a few qualities that Twitter is known for.
Twitter is very concise. Twitter limits your messages to 140 characters, which ensures that the information you post to and you get from Twitter is delivered in bite-size pieces
Twitter encourages community conversation. Twitter not only allows you to post content, but it also allows you to have public conversations with anyone else on Twitter, not limited to your followers.
Twitter allows for following and having followers. Every social network has its own way of naming and defining the connections you make with others on the same network. Twitter lets others follow you without you having to follow them back. You can also create a more definitive connection with another person by following them back and then communicating with them through private direct messages.
5 Twitter-Like Apps
Now why would you want to use applications that function like Twitter? The first reason is that they are usually very easy to use. Another reason is that they give you faster ways of publishing content. Also, if you like Twitter, chances are you’ll like – and understand how to use – these types of sites and applications.
The next page has a few examples of Twitter-like apps:
Sprouter – What I like about Sprouter is that they have a narrow focus on entrepreneurs. In addition to brief messages you post a la Twitter, you can create topics or events. Replies to your posts are threaded underneath so you can follow the conversation. I recently learned that two of my favorite social media contacts were both looking to get on the boards of startup companies and maybe do a little investing. That is the kind of higher level business conversation that can happen on Sprouter versus Twitter. Sprouter is still a young site, so it has that “early adopter” feel to it with a lot more silence than noise.
DailyBooth – Instead of text posts, DailyBooth consists of photo posts with captions. The premise is to take a daily photo of yourself and let your followers know what you’re up to. Then others can comment on each photo post in a similar way to how they comment on blog posts.
DailyBooth is more of a social community than just a photo posting site. There are other Photo-a-Day sites in addition to Daily Booth, such as Daily MugShot and DailyPhoto.org, but DailyBooth is the site with a feature that’s most like Twitter messaging. DailyBooth and Daily MugShot are supposed to showcase self-portraits whereas DailyPhoto.org is a great place to showcase your photography.
12Seconds – If a picture is worth 1000 words, then a video is worth what? A lot, right? With 12Seconds.tv, you can take Twitter messaging up a notch. You literally get 12 seconds to record your video message that you then post to your message stream. The 12Seconds iPhone app then makes posting links to these video messages a cinch and you can easily send them to your Twitter account as well. It also posts links to your Facebook profile. Others using the same service can then post video comments or responses to your video.
Blippr – Do you love reviewing things but don’t have a lot of time? With Blippr, you can review movies, music, books, applications, games, you name it—all within a 160 character limit. If entertainment is your thing, then a profile on this site could be a great way to share your opinions in bite-sized pieces.
Most Twitter-like apps are totally free to use, so why not give a few a try and see what might work well for you?
Rememble – If you have all sorts of bits and pieces of content floating around the Internet, you can use Rememble to bring it all together into a cohesive page. Like Twitter, Rememble has its own terminology. On the site, a Memble is a note, text, email, photo, video or audio clip that you can upload to your account–like a multimedia tweet. A Membleline is a line of your membles threaded together over time like a Twitterstream. You can set up Group Memblelines together with your friends, which is similar to Twibes for Twitter. Twibes is a site that adds functionality to Twitter, letting you form interest groups to bring together friends and like-minded members.
There are so many sites popping up that have been inspired by Twitter. Some may be useful if you want to easily publish content in interesting ways to help you reach new audiences.
Bottom Line: Don’t bite off more than you can chew and expect to use every new site you discover. But since most are totally free to use, why not give a few a try and see what might work well for you.
Contact Me
That’s all we have time for today.
Visit the show’s website at digitalmarketer.quickanddirtytips.com for links to all of the sites mentioned in the show. If you’d like to ask a question or request a topic for The Digital Marketer, e-mail me at digitalmarketer@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email . You can also find me at Facebook.com/thedigitalmarketer and Twitter.com/alizasherman.
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Resources
Twitter – Twitter website
Hictu – Hictu website
Rememble – Rememble website
Blippr – Blippr website
Sprouter – Sprouter website
DailyBooth – DailyBooth website
Daily MugShot – Daily MugShot website
DailyPhoto.org – DailyPhoto.org website
12Seconds – 12Seconds website
Twitter Birds image courtesy of Shutterstock