My list is Hellotxt (web-based), Netvibes (web-based), Yoono(web-based or add-in), Brizzly (web-based), RockMelt(web-browser), Seesmic(web-based, PC-based), Digsby(PC-based), TweetDeck (web-based, PC-based) & HootSuite (web-based).
There are also phone tools for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm and in some cases, others. I will not be reviewing the phone tools.
In this article I will cover HootSuite (web-based) & Digsby(PC-based). Please remember this is a general overview plus my opinions. Don't consider this a "full review". I just don't have the time to go into that much detail. I will give you a general idea how the dashboard functions and highlight points I find important.
HootSuite (hootsuite.com)
This is the last of the web-based services I am looking at. If you Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ping, WordPress, MySpace (does anyone MySpace anymore?), Foursquare or mixi then Hootsuite is the service for you. If you blog and like to publish your blog, Hootsuite is also an excellent service. Setup is dead simple, layout is clean and easy to read. You can run everything on one "tab" (it will scroll left/right if it gets too big) or you can run multiple "tabs" and keep everything really organized. Twitter, for example has columns for the home feed (timeline), mentions, direct messages & pending tweets (I'll talk about "pending" in a sec). LinkedIn lets you look at network updates and "pending" status updates. What is "pending" you ask? or perhaps you have a really good idea already? yep, it's stuff that hasn't happened yet. How does this work? You can schedule status updates. Set a date & time, type a message, pick the profile(s) to update to and BAM it happens exactly when you told it too. (For what its worth, did you know one of the best times to get re-tweeted is 4PM EST on a Friday? That's what I have heard. I haven't tested it yet but it's a logical theory.) This is where Hootsuite really stands out from other services I have reviewed so far. Hootsuite is about business, and they mean it. Hootsuite has a free service or more advance services that you can get for an extra fee. For free you get sight analytics, URL shortening, tracking of who is clicking those shorter links and a whole bunch of other stuff. For pay, you get longer duration data trending (free is 30 days, pay is forever). Either one will let you send status updates to one, a combination or all of your social profiles that Hootsuite is handling for you. I REALLY like the 'update-all-at-one-time' feature. Very handy. If you blog and feed that blog as RSS (easy to do) you can push your blog through Hootsuite to your social profiles almost automatically. Also, the pay service will let you add additional users. If you are running SEO/ORM for a business and there is more than one person in your group, Hootsuite really becomes powerful because multiple users can access the same social profile accounts. You can also access multiple 'same-type' accounts. Have more than one Twitter account? Hootsuite is just for you. the free version can access 5 and the pay can go unlimited.
To wrap up, you have to check out Hootsuite if you are investing serious time into your online presence. I follow (twitter) that uses is and it appears to be very popular for a good reason.
Additional note, I checked out the Scheduled Updates, it works like a charm.
Digsby (digsby.com)
If you are young and really into IM services, then Digsby is the one for you. If not, then forget it. It installed "Gamesbar 2.0.1.73", "Shop to Win 2", "Surf Canyon Search Engine Assistant", Yontoo layers Client" & "WeatherBug" onto my PC when in installed. it also closed my browser windows during install. Then it closed them AGAIN during un-install. Very annoying install/un-install process. (At this moment, I'm very glad to be running Win 7 and using System Restore.I then realize (perhaps I should have read the webpage more?) it's an IM client! O well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. As IM clients go, it is AWESOME. works very well with Twitter, GMail, & LinkedIn; imagine getting LI updates from an Im client? Kinda weird but unobtrusive. Lets you go about your work and notice the updates as they happen.
I wish it had an interface other than an IM bar. I really like its update system. It even installs icons to the taskbar. I can hover over my GMail icon and see my email in a flash. It's nice but doesn't fit my style. In my opinion you wouldn't like it unless you have fond memories of the IM days of old.
I REALLY like the notifications though. That email/LI popup is just incredible.
As always, I hope this article helped you in your search or in your daily "What I do", whatever that may be. You can help me by posting something in the comments. Requests for new subjects you want me to write about, additional information you want on something I have written about, your thoughts about my writing. If you like what you are reading and want there to me more to read in the future, put something in the comments.
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