My list is Hellotxt (web-based), Netvibes (web-based), Yoono(web-based or add-in), Brizzly (web-based), RockMelt(webbrowser), 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 my final article on this subject, I will cover Seesmic(web-based, PC-based) & TweetDeck (web-based, 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.
Seesmic (seesmic.com)
Seesmic has a few options, you can go web-based or install it to your PC. I have already tried the web-based version (not reviewed in my blog) and found it to be too limited. For example, you cannot connect your LI profile in the web version.
So, on with the PC install version.
It's not bad. I have Google Reader, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Buzz. I could add Facebook, Foursquare, Ping or a second of the accounts I already have. For example, I could have two different Twitter accounts and monitor both through Seesmic.
The interface is fairly simple. I can keep it minimized and it will popup new messages coming in which is a nice feature, this lets me go on about my day without having to worry about checking my sites for updates. Everything is in it's own column along with an "all" column at the far left. There is a quick switch button that allows toggling between looking at all columns and just the "all" column. Tweets show a Klout score, when you click on the Klout icon you see quite a bot of information about the person sending the tweet. This is a nice feature if your interested in Klout (my score is currently 28, I'm working on it). The Google reader column allows for adding a star to an item, you can also "Like", "Share" or add tags. Impressive integration with other services. LinkedIn appears to only allow Status updates but you can also add columns for for Applications (I. E. John Smith voted on a poll...), connections (see who is connecting with who) and Jobs. I would say that Jobs is a very nice feature if you are On The Hunt. I tried using this but didn't see any jobs, odd. I know I have at least one search saved in LinkedIn, I know the search has results (I checked). you can send status updates from any connected service, you could also choose an individual service or any combination. I could send an update through Twitter, LinkedIn & Buzz all at the same time, or I could just update my Buzz status. I update Buzz on different criteria so this is a really nice feature.
All in all, if I were serious about using one of these services, I would put Seesmic in a 'Second Wave' list. It's long list of features would easily survive the first cut. Would it survive the second? Maybe, maybe not.
Tweetdeck (tweetdeck.com)
OK, so maybe I found one I will keep. This is really nice and appeals to my geek nature. Lots of buttons and stuff to play with. Tweetdeck works in column format, so your information displays in columns, just like the others.
I have Twitter, LinkedIn & Google Buzz running through TweetDeck. I could also add Facebook, Foursquare, Myspace or additional Twitter accounts. I miss having Google Reader but it's not a "Gotta Have". Nice feature if you are a Chrome user, you can add TweetDeck as an add-in for your browser. If your browser is 'synced', which mine is, then any chrome browser gives you quick access to your TweetDeck account when you are away from your home PC. It has a nice little pop-up that alerts me to new information, again I can go on with work and not worry about staying up to date on things. You can customize where the pop-up happens, any of the four major corners of your screen, I like top-left, it gets my attention. Status updates can be sent from any combination of accounts you have controlled by TweetDeck. Love this because I can update LI & Twitter but not Buzz. Quick buttons at the top left for "Compose an update", "Add a new column", or "Quick Profile". I tried Quick Profile; its a search feature for Twitter. "Eric Schmidt" = nothing. "Bill Gates" = nothing. "@Bill Gates" = opened a new column with Bill Gates' profile information, profile header, picture, number of followers, etc. Button at the bottom to follow/unfollow. Really nice when you need instant profile information for someone.
Top right buttons are "Refresh" (refreshes all columns), "Single Column View" (Quick switch to only one column, minimizes the window to the size of just one column, NICE!), "Settings" (easy access to Settings panel), "?" (quick access to TweetDeck help), "Log Out" (nice for security conscious people).
Standard columns are Twitter 'All Friends' (all activity), Twitter 'mentions', Twitter 'Direct Messages', LinkedIn 'Network Updates' (Home page on your LinkedIn) but this is just for me. I'm sure it opened a Buzz column but right now I'm not interested in that. Bottom of each column also has buttons (I LOVE BUTTONS) 'Move Left', 'Move Right', 'Cloud' (icon, whats popular in this column), 'Filter', 'Mark all as read', 'Clear read updates', & 'Clear All'. Click on a profile name in a Tweet or LinkedInLinkedIn offers 'Comment' or 'Direct LinkedIn Message'.
I hope my reviews have been helpful. Social media is a crazy, crazy world. Things happen in seconds and it's really easy to get lost, get behind or just get overwhelmed. My wife doesn't understand why I'm always checking Twitter, it's because if I turn my back on that monster I end up with 100+ missed Tweets! I'm only following 103 Tweeps! What are all these people saying???? (See what I mean? lost, behind & overwhelmed). Many of these services archive the status messages for later retrieval. You can miss a day or so and come back, scan through the archive to catch the important stuff.
Please share your experience with any of these services, or others in the comments. The best review comes from someone who has used a product.
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