TechPluto » Twitter apps

Broadcast Your Event Happenings On With TwitFunr

Prashant Sharma — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:08:36 +0000

It might be a case that you’re planning out an event and trying to engage the invited guests and keep them notified about any update related to the event. If that’s the case with you then you can try out an easy way out, TwitFunr.

TwitFunr, a twitter based app is basically meant to help you twittercast (broadcast on Twitter) your minute details related to the event you may be planning and live tweet about the event you’re involved in.

It’s an app from Funpiper, a web based event planning service that helps you send the event invites and keep them notified about the event under planning. Now, TwitFunr basically starts notifying your Twitter followers with all the event notifications.

As Twitter self-defines itself as a place to express “What are you doing ?” and ‘Organizing an event’(especially when its a public event) often takes a lot of time and efforts & keeps the organiser busy hence the ‘mastermind’ is bound to have quite frequent updates to the question “What are you doing ?” and worth sharing to the TwitterWorld.

This is how Funpiper describes the benefits of using Twitfunr…

Inform twitter community: Inform your twitter community (following & followers) about all the fun your are having in all your events & parties right from the stage of planning to having fun on the day of event.
Promote events: Twitter is used actively from users all over the globe. Thus, event managers, corporates, colleges & schools soc-cult groups could use twitfunr to promote their event while making best use of event planning tool aided with mobile-messaging platform.

It’s a smart and strategic step from Funpiper to allure more folks from the Twitter community to start using TwitFunr(actually Funpiper).

Update(June 14, 2009): We’ve just been updated about the latest feature addition to TwitFunr(Just released). Now, the distributable event widgets can be created from event page within minutes of posting your event on Funpiper.com . It seems to be a smarter and easier way of broadcasting the event details. Go check out some widget samples.

TwitGuru: A Cool Twitter App That Keeping you Guessing !

Vishal Shetty — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:31:35 +0000

By now, if you’re still not on Twitter then you’re certainly missing out some of the coolest apps to play with, especially when these apps fetch you some cool rewards. TwitGuru is just one of them.

TwitGuru is a newly launched Twitter application that urges Twitter users to guess(by tweeting) the closest or exact price to the highlighted product. The competition remains open for guesses for roughly 72 hours from the instant the competition opens up and at the end of 72 hours, the closest(or exact) guesses are rewarded with the highlighted product.

That’s a sheer co-incidence that i tried out this new service with some guesses on the very first item(xloop sunglasses) they had put up. I eventually turned out to be one of the xloop winners. The guess i made was the exact price of the highlighted xloop sunglasses(the guess was obviously a result of gut feeling+smart searches here and there). Reminding that i guessed and therefore won xloop (and it’s not that the folks offered me ‘xloop’ in lieu of review or something).

I must admit that the standard tweet that ‘Twitguru’ uses (@twit_guru I guess $40.95 for #TimexWatch I like its 10 preset timers.Click http://twitguru.com to play) is definitely a well thought tweet. The key here is the ‘#” tag being used. The aim of Twitguru is certainly to engage more and more folks at Twitter into the ‘Guessing mania’ but becoming a ‘Hot Twitter app’ will take a lot of time for TwitGuru. ‘#’ tag might work as a shortcut to their success.

‘#’ tags are used within tweets to get instantly & effectively indexed in the search results on Twitter. For instance, #moon will basically optimize my 140 character tweet including ‘#moon’ for the searches conducted on Twitter Search with the keyword moon.

I reckon TwitGuru will work out well as the influence grows bigger because

The moment anybody guesses the price for a reward , the tweet goes into that person’s twitter stream, causing more awareness about Twitguru.
‘#’ tag will bring more twitter users, land on Twitguru(and its offers) via Twitter search
‘#’ tag may bring TwitGuru’s tweets to ‘Trending topics’. Although, this can simply hit the Bull’s eye for TwitGuru but it won’t be so easy, especially when the total timespan allowed for guessing is around 72 hours.(quite long i reckon)
It’s fun to ‘Guess & Win’ and who hates free stuff by the way. All it takes is just a tweet.

From a business perspective, TwitGuru will take some more time( may be 6 months to an year) to start ‘raking in the Moolah’ for the owners. But that’s perfectly fine, provided they keep offering the ‘Free stuff’ for an year or so and also shorten the guessing period(24 hours will be fine, i guess).

I also appreciate the ‘Idea guy’ behind TwitGuru, to come up with such an innovative, fun and non-intrusive way to actually advertise/promote products on Twitter.

Go, play it out !!

11 Twitter Apps You Shouldn’t Dare Miss Out

Prashant Sharma — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:30:10 +0000

Twitter(or Twiter if you spell it that way) seems ubiquitous now. It appears that everybody is on Twitter(Twiter) and those who aren’t there already will soon be Twittering like all of us. For those who’re still unaware about Twitter(Twiter), it is a micro-blogging service that enables you to express yourself, generally your ‘status’ within 140 characters.

In the early days of Twitter(Twiter), it was considered too simplistic, restrictive and feature-less but gradually its simplicity became its biggest asset and today, it seems the web has customized itself for fitting into 140 characters. With plenty of URL shortening services(tinyurl,bit.ly…) and our ‘new age internet language’ (lol, b4 etc), there’s hardly any discomfort in expressing ourselves and communicating with others within 140 characters.

Another thing that has hugely contributed in making Twitter(Twiter) what it is today is ‘Twitter Apps’(or Twiter apps). With hundreds of twitter(twiter) apps(somewhat similar to Facebook apps) available to make our Twitter(Twiter) experience better than the best, the users had to get addicted to this Twitter(Twiter) thing.

After going through a plenty of Twitter(Twiter) applications, we have selected 11 twitter(twiter) applications that are irresistable and efficient in doing what they’re meant for. These twitter(twiter) apps will surely enhance your experience on Twitter(twiter), if you’re not using them already. Take a look at these 11 Twitter(Twiter) apps :

1. Tweetdeck : A Desktop based Application for Twitter(Twiter)

This is possibly the best application for doing everything relating to Twitter(Twiter). You can tweet, reply, retweet, send direct message, create groups and lots more stuff.

2. TwitPic - For sharing pictures on Twitter(Twiter)

It’s one of the most popular and easiest tools to share pics on Twitter(Twiter).

3. TwitterFox - Light FF Add-on for Twittering

A light firefox add-on for Twitter(Twiter), if you hate using a bulky desktop based app for twittering.

4. TwitIn - A Faster Way To Grow your Followers on Twitter(Twiter)

TwitIn is an application that lets you grow, flush and reciprocate your twitter(twiter) followers. It’s a tried and tested rule that reciprocation is the only way to grow your Followership on Twitter(twiter) (unless you’re a celebrity or a weblebrity). So, this app will help you grow your followership faster. We also interviewed CEO of InRev sometime back. InRev is the company behind TwitIn.

5. Twellow : Twitter(Twiter) ‘Yellow Pages’

Twitter(Twiter) is an amazing place for finding and communicating with people that you’re interested in. With Twellow, a ‘Yellow pages’ sort of directory of over 3.6 Mn twitter(twiter) users, you’re sure to find the right folks without wasting time in browsing profiles on Twitter(twiter) abruptly.

6. Twitter Grader - See where you stand in TwitterWorld

Your follower count and many ‘activeness’ factors determine your grade at TwitterGrader. If you want to see who’s leading the Twitter(twiter) Race in your city or country, this is the place to look out for. It also gives you an easy way to befriend the most active(and followed) folks on twitter(twiter).

7. Tweetmeme : Digg for Twitter(Twiter)

Twitter is possibly the most talked about buzzword on the web these days. Every now and then, folks are talking about Twitter(twiter), either positive(ex. ‘Twitter effect’) or negative(ex. Twitterfail) so the easiest way to track down the stories floating in blogosphere, which are revolving around Twitter(Twiter) can be caught right here.

8. TwittEarth : A Pure Visual Treat for Twitter(Twiter) lovers

It shows you twittering happening all over the world in ‘Google Earth’ style. It is less of a utility but gives you an amazing visual treat for sure.

9. Twitercounter – Flaunt your Follower count on your Blog/Site

Now, if your efforts and presence is substantial on Twitter(Twiter), its a good idea to flaunt it to your site visitors. Twitercounter lets you do that.

10. TwitSpam - Report Twitter(Twiter) spammers

We all hate spam on Twitter(Twiter). So why not report crappy spammers to twitspam for some cleanup on Twitter(Twiter). Although Anti-spam team at Twitter(Twiter) is always on its job but a small effort of ours will make Twitter(Twiter) even better for all of us.

11. TwitterforiPhone - Twittering through iPhone

Twittering through iPhone is super cool. This application lets you do that.

Imp : You might have observed that this article includes ‘Twiter’ with ‘Twitter’. If you think, we have commited a ‘Typo Blunder’ then you need a disprin. Hope, you would get it. Similar treatment done in this write-up as well.

An Interview with InRev CEO, ‘TwitIn’ and Possibilities with Twitter

Prashant Sharma — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:09:16 +0000

Even if you’re a ‘mild web freak’,you’re most likely to be on Twitter as well, tweeting about anything you find interesting or just answering “What are you doing ?”.

And Twitter Apps have been the most significant building blocks of the ‘Twitter Ecosystem’.So,we caught up with Bhupendra Khanal, CEO of InRev, who along with his team, has been making waves in Twitter World with a Twitter Application called ‘TwitIn‘.

We queried him about TwitIn,Twitter and a mishap that happened to his Twitter Account recently (account suspension).Here is the Full Interview…Take a look !

Q. Describe you product ‘Twitin’ & its prime utilities

A. People waste a lot of time finding and following other people, which they can invest in reading good materials and posting quality Tweets. InRev TwitIn helps there. TwitIn is about Twitter Account Management. You can basically perform three actions there. You can reciprocate your followers, clean your Twitter cache by removing people who are not following you and grow your network following new people ramdomly.
We have also started giving ‘InRev TwitIn Score’ based on User Performance with respect to other users. It is based on three basic parameters: ‘Tweet Efficiency’ (efficiency of each tweet to bring in followers), ‘Influence’ (follower to following ratio) and ‘ReTweet Ratio’(ReTweet to Tweet Ratio).More things are in the pipeline. Will keep on adding more features as we move on.

Q. How is the user response to Twitin so far….

A. User response has been very exciting. We started this project for fun; but soon realized that it has potential to be more than that. Daily traffic in the site is increasing every week, and has crossed 500+ unique visits per day. We are excited about it.

Q. Being a heavy-duty twitter user, what’s your take on Twitter as the ‘Next Big Marketing Media’.

A. There is no doubt about it. I think, Twitter has already been the new big marketing media. I have been marketing InRev Services and my blog through Twitter, and the performance has exceeded search (Google and others combined). This again has come at no monetary expense.
I am bullish about the use of Twitter Search API; its really killing. I use Twitter and Google to search for reading materials; and most of the time I like Twitter results. Nothing surprising. It has human effect.

Q. To what extent is it justified for people(specially internet marketers,bloggers…) to invest plenty of time on a free web service.In other words,Will Time investment on Twitter really pay off ?

A. Now the traditional Marketing Media does not work. People do not want to consume news or views from one way channels such as News Channels and News Papers. They want to interact, and want to know people behind any product or service.
Blogging started this revolution, Friend connecting sites (like orkut, Facebook) took it little further and Twitter is sure to take it to a newer height. All this because of real time interaction; no one wants to wait a days or weeks for a response. They want it NOW. Twitter is the future, and someone who doesn’t Tweet is sure to lose the benefit of this new revolution.

Q. You got your account banned recently(which got re-instated later).Why it all happened.What was your immediate action after the suspension that happened with you.How fast,sensible and efficient was the response from the ‘Twitter Support’ ?

A. I saw Tweeters like Guykawasaki and Unmarketing follow all who follow them, and they are pretty much successful. They are real Twitter Stars, and are different from people like Britney Spears and Barack Obama who are real world stars using Twitter. This user behavior showed the reciprocative attitude of most Tweeters, and I started following as many people as possible touching Twitter upper limit. Twitter got a feeling that I was a bot and suspended me for aggressive following.
I then wrote to Twitter on why they should not suspend me. I gave them reasons such as high Twitterholic Ranking and Grader Ranking; apart from running a company with interest in Twitter Applications. They found it genuine and took the suspension back.
I was not worried about the suspension; I knew I will get it back. When you become too aggressive you tend to be acting like a Fraud; and being an Analyst I understand that. I wrote to Twitter immediately and started exploring other options for Micro-blogging. Twitter support was fantastic, they acted on my request within 24 hours; and I stopped exploring Twitter’s competitors.

Q. Do you have the same level of trust on Twitter after this ‘Account Suspension Mishap’.

A. Yes, I do. I have the same level of trust on Twitter. I have even more trust now. I am bullish on the use of Twitter and will be going ahead with TwitIn as well.
My advice for other Tweeters is, never worry about anything. Do what you feel like doing. Keep your mind open and follow your heart. Dont worry about losing your account or losing your followers. Honesty is the greatest strength one can have. If you can perform well once, you can do it again. Loss teaches people; doesn’t weaken people.
By this suspension, I knew that people care me. After suspension I went to search.twitter.com and searched for @leplan; @NischalShetty had written good words about me and why I should not have been suspended. More people supported him, and few started new discussions.
There were people who felt suspension was justified too. This made me rethink my Twitter strategy; after all I am not in Social Media to bore or harass people. I am there to make good and progressive relation.
This incident gave me good friends, and some ways to improve myself. I think, I am in a better position now.

Q. As you company ‘In-rev’ has built a Twitter Application,any ‘Twitter business model’ that comes up later might target Twitin (just like any other active Twitter app) as the money source.Are you comfortable paying Twitter for your company’s efforts in building the ‘Twitin’ application ?

A. We do have Twitter Business Model. It includes design and sale of Social Media Marketing Package (training and maintenance); premium account for TwitIn with lot more facilities; and using frame based ads for the link Tweets.
We are open to paying Twitter (and also other API providing Social Media services) for services we use, and have approached Twitter for partnership. Haven’t got any response from them so far, but hoping to get it soon. I am looking for revenue share model.

Q. Lastly,how does it feel being the ‘Most Followed Indian’ on Twitter ?

A. I am a Nepali, so better word would be ‘Most Followed From India”! Top is just a position, and count a number. I don’t think about it much; but yes I feel good when friends points it. It shows their care for me.
South Asia is about Love and Relations; there is less professionalism but more of emotions. I get many follow referrals from friends in India.
I am very thankful to them; we have more love than competition and refer each other for follow. I don’t see people worried about numbers and this is helping all of us. Hoping things remain same always.

140it : For all those Twitterers who often hit “140 Char” limit

Prashant Sharma — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:43:26 +0000

There’s a newly launched service called 140it(for a change,this time the twitter app isn’t “tw………”),that lets you shorten your tweets if they are exceeding the 140 character limit in twitter.They use the usual style of shortening the text,which is commonly used by us while sending an SMS or even a tweet.

For instance,we shorten ‘are’ with ‘r’ or ‘management’ with ‘mgmnt’ and now the same task can be done with this twitter based app.You just need to “drag ‘n’ drop” it in your browser toolbar and you’re done.If your tweet contains a web link then it will automatically convert it using bit.ly.It also replaces company names for their StockTwits symbols.

TweetShrink and Twonvert are the two apps that have been providing this very same service for a while now but they force you to go to their homepage.140it,on the contrary never lets you come back again to their site by tending you to add it your toolbar and get the things done there itself.

But,you have to access your twitter account for tweeting through 140it.So,for now,you can’t enjoy the comfort of using an app such as TwitterFox and simultaneously use 140it to shrink your tweet.Seeing the growing population of colliding twitter apps,it’s pretty easy to predict that we will soon have such text shortening service,right there in TwitterFox or similar app as well.