Power tools to manage multiple Twitter accounts

For the past 18 months, I managed a dozen different Twitter accounts. From each, I tweet simple text phrases, links, and pictures. I follow my social crowd closely, checking the replies and direct message I get. I also retweet and engage into conversations, as a good social media user should do. In short, I am a Twitter addict, demanding more from my Twitter tools than an average “Tweep”.
I experimented with many desktop, browser, iPhone and iPad tools which could make my life easier in manage these multiple Twitter accounts. While there are loads of tools available for single Twitter account, decent applications to manage a string of Twitter accounts simultaneously, are found far and between.
Here are the tools I have been using:

Managing multiple Twitter accounts from my desktop:
Seesmic Air

Seesmic Air, my favourite Twitter desktop tool

Most of my Twitter-action, I do from my desktop, for which Seesmic Air has been an indispensable tool. This free application runs atop Adobe Air, but the new beta version, runs on Microsoft Silverlight.
The main feature I chose this tool for, is its ability to combine the main Twitter stream for all my Twitter accounts into one single stream. Likewise, all replies and all direct messages for my accounts, are all viewed at once: Even if I have 15 Twitter accounts, I get an immediate overview of all the incoming tweets, as well as all replies and direct messages sent to me on all of my accounts, all in just three columns. No need to switch from account to account. This single feature, I found in no other tool.
I can easily open a separate view to check out the tweets I sent and received from one single account, as well as the replies and direct messages for each them.
Tweeting is a breeze, with the built-in URL shorteners and Twitter picture tools, pretty much a standard feature for all tools on the market these days. When I hover over a tweet, I can easily retweet (either with the new Twitter retweet function or with the conventional “RT” feature), adding my own comments to the retweet.
When I send a tweet, I can choose which of my accounts I tweet it from, and I can tweet from several of my accounts at the same time.

Managing multiple Twitter accounts within a browser: Hootsuite

Managing Twitter accounts with Hootsuite

I have to admit: I don’t use browser applications a lot to manage my Twitter accounts. I work a lot on websites, and my browser is my main workspace. All tabs I open in my browser are mostly related to the posts I am working on, and I avoid cluttering them with generic tools.
But if there was one web-based application I’d use to manage my multiple Twitter accounts, it would be Hootsuite.
Hootsuite is easy to configure, and lets you monitor your different streams, in separate tabs. Checking the streams, replies and direct messages for each Twitter account requires you to switch to that account by clicking its tabs. Even if that is within the same browser window, Hootsuite does not allow you to combine all streams into one single overview, as Seesmic Air does.
There are several features I like in Hootsuite, which I did not find in other tools: You can schedule a tweet, to be broadcasted at a later time, and it allows you tweet the content of an RSS feed. Each time a new item appears in the RSS feed, a new tweet will be broadcasted. A feature which is similar to what Twitterfeed or dlvr.it offer, but nicely integrated into the one single Twitter tool.

Managing multiple Twitter accounts from my iPhone: Twitterrific and Seesmic

Twitterrific for iPhone

As anyone with a sane mind, I only use Twitter on my iPhone when I am on the move. While waiting at the check-in counter, I love to browse through my different Twitter accounts to see what’s up. Twitterrific is my preferred tool then.
The free version for the iPhone lets you manage multiple accounts, but if you want to do away with the single ad atop of your Twitterstream, you’ll have to pay US$14.95.. The ad does not bother me, so I use the free version.
Twitterrific is a powerbundle with different functions, but its user interface takes some time to get used to. I like its the ability to check the profiles of my incoming tweets with a single tap, and it lets me retweet incoming tweets from one Twitter stream, from any of my other accounts. Indispensable when cross-posting tweets.
Weblinks in tweets open up in within the application, with an easy switch back to the main app.
I should confess, lately, I have been playing with Seesmic for iPhone too:

Seesmic for iPhone

While I lack Seesmic’s desktop feature to view all of my incoming streams for all accounts at once, I love the simple user interface. Seesmic for iPhone also allows me to tweet from different accounts simultaneously. They made it easy to retweet a post received on one account, from the other account. Love it!

Managing multiple Twitter accounts from my iPad: Twitterrific

Twitterrific for iPad

The iPad is pretty new on the market, so only a limited number of tools are available to manage multiple Twitter accounts. Luckily, there is Twitterrific to save my day.
The user interface is pretty much the same as for its iPhone application: you can switch from Twitter account to account, browsing each timeline, replies and direct messages. Viewing links, retweeting, checking profiles, all goes in a breeze.
The free version of Twitterrific for iPad only supports one single account, but you can upgrade to the full version for a mere $4. It was the first iPad application I ever bought.
I did play around with TweetDeck for iPad too, but once you configure more than three Twitter account, it becomes very slow and unstable. The latest software release is so buggy, I can’t use it at all. A pity, as I like some of its features.
As the iPad becomes an alternative to a desktop or laptop computer, more applications will be ported to this new platform. I can’t wait until Seesmic gets its iPad version out.
Twitter birds picture courtesy Urban Speaker

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