App: Twitter

Available for: iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad

Cost: Free

Rating: 5/5 Downloads

More than 1 billion tweets are sent every week, according to Twitter. More and more people are looking to message their latest thoughts from anywhere they are. As someone who has just gotten into the social media site myself, I have become addicted to telling all of my followers whatever I want at any time. That is where the official Twitter application comes in, which was updated a month ago. Though there are several Twitter apps on the market, this one was simply perfect. Available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, it allows you to do everything the Twitter website lets you do from wherever you are.

The app opens to the list of tweets to which you are subscribed. Also referred to as the timeline, the list contains all of the tweets you want to know. Every tweet is clearly marked with the person’s username, along with his or her tweet, making it very readable and easy to use. Any links within the tweet, such as photos and links to videos and sites, are also easily viewable. A tap on the link will send you to the page immediately.

Your personal Twitter profile can be seen, as well as edited. Twitter allows you to type out a personal biography; however, keeping with what Twitter is all about, you only have 140 characters. The biography is displayed on your profile page. Tapping it brings up the keyboard so you can edit it. You can also see the list of people you are following, as well as the people following you. The list of every tweet you have ever sent can also be viewed.

The best feature of the timeline page is the automatic update. Every time you navigate to a different page on the app, the timeline updates with the tweets you missed when you come back. It doesn’t matter if it was five seconds or five hours ago.

While it is a lot of fun to look at tweets from all over the world, you are going to want to send your own as well. There would not be a need for Twitter without your own two cents. The app does a great job of making it easy to put your thoughts out for all to see. Tap on the square on the top-right corner of the app, then type in 140 characters worth of thoughts. The keyboard has built-in buttons for you to easily enter a pound sign for a hashtag, your location, or another handle you wish to use to communicate.

Once the ‘@’ sign is entered, the list of people you are following automatically comes up. Starting to type in a handle will narrow the list down. Once you see a handle you would like to mention, tapping on the name will enter the Twitter username into your tweet, saving you time. This is easily one of the best features of the app. You will no longer have to guess the spelling or search for the spelling beforehand.

Direct messages received within Twitter can also be easily found. The messages are viewed as if it were a texting thread. You can clearly read who said what and when. You can respond on the very same page by tapping on the bottom of the screen, revealing the iPod keyboard. Dates and times of the message are also clearly marked to outline when the thread began and when messages were sent.

While there are several Twitter apps on the market, this is the one that was easiest to use and attractive to view. It will keep you connected with your favorite tweets and help others stay connected to you, even when you are not home. And it’s free! So download Twitter, and keep tweeting.

nerivera@syr.edu

Published on April 12, 2011 at 12:00 pm