DISQUS

Jeff Sass · 1 year ago

Interesting, but there are lots of variables at play here (as you indicated) and it's hard to say whether the lack of a hot Twitter app is a reflection on the popularity of Twitter or the quality of the apps. I have downloaded Twitterific, Twinkle and Twittelator for my iPod Touch, and I still prefer the web based HAHLO. Twitter is still great to use on the iPhone/Touch, but not necessarily with one of the above mentioned apps. They each have interesting merits, like Twinkle's use of location, but in the end, at least for me, Hahlo has the most comprehensive feature set that's important to me, and is the easiest for managing all aspects of Twitter, most importantly, @Replies and DM's. I use twitter regularly from my Treo phone where my primary methods are Slandr and SMS. I am still baffled that Twitter's own mobile site, m.twitter.com, still lacks access to Replies and DMs. Thanks for prompting the thoughts.

stratius internet marketing · 1 year ago

But why pay for the Twitter App when you can just SMS (which is very easy and nice on the iPhone) for free? It doesn't really show you true use.

stratius internet marketing · 1 year ago

strike "pay for" for "download" just realized the app could be free

Ernie Oporto · 1 year ago

I find I only want to use Twitter on my iPhone because I want the camera and GPS to be a part of the equation. And the twitterlocal capabilty of Twinkle mixed well with all that. But there is a lot of room for improvement as one app usually has a feature the others don't, meaning I have all three of the above apps to do one thing or the other. And this is because Twitted doesn't natively support those things.

I think your observations are an indictment of social networking in general.

Andy DeSoto · 1 year ago

Jeff! As I'm pretty unfamiliar with the Twitter landscape on other smartphones, it's good to hear about the preferences of other users. Do you know if the guy that's made Hahlo is planning an iPhone application? Sounds like he should be!

Stratius Marketing, you've got a good point (yeah, free, but it's still an investment of time and space)-- except some of us don't have an unlimited texting plan. I know if I hooked Twitter up with SMS, I'd be over my 200-text allotment in no time, and the value add of it all would be minimal. You're right, though-- being unable to consider SMS is a major flaw in this 'fuzzy math.'

Ernie, yikes! I can't imagine simultaneously using three different Twitter applications-- that's a sign that these folks need to sit down over a cup of coffee and integrate each other's features, or something like that. I'm excited to see these applications grow, assuming they will.

Bethyl · 1 year ago

Haha, I think this is my first comment! :P
I just thought I'd share my lame insight that the iPhone market may not be limited to the tech-savvy, as you're (reasonably) assuming... Obviously those who have iPhones probably don't have financial issues, but a LOT of the musicians here at Aspen, especially those who are professionals/young professionals (mid-20s and beyond) have them...
I can't necessarily correlate the population here that's tech-illiterate (a lot of people) with those who have iPhones, but I imagine it overlaps somewhat!

Ernie Oporto · 1 year ago

I'd have to guess that a few people that bought iPhones were those that were caught up on the hype in the days before the release and probably haven't a clue what to do with it as far as the app store. I'm looking at getting one for the wife to get a family plan and she hasn't expressed much interest beyond AIM or Palringo and maybe some games. Social networking has no pull in that space. How does it grab hold of that market?

Andy DeSoto · 1 year ago

Beth! Glad you finally broke the ice! I think you're encountering another subsection of iPhone users: the urban hipster artist types who like the chic sleek stylings of Apple (to be honest, I don't bump into that type often). Thank you for reminding me that not everyone is as tech-forward as I seem to expect.

(You're telling them all about how cool I am, right?)

Ernie: Good question. My father recently acquired a Touch. I asked him, "So, what applications have you downloaded for the new toy?" Zero. For folks that are more familiar with standard phones rather than smartphone/gadget items, I think the secret lies in instant value and clear purpose.

Ernie Oporto · 1 year ago

For many this will mean only what the iphone came with and that means old school web apps. So this means introducing those few to Twitter's web interface. What will you do to spread social networking to the blissfully unknowing?

Andy DeSoto · 1 year ago

Ernie, that's part of the reason I blog, but you're right-- it's up to us to spread the joys of social networking like cream cheese on a bagel.

I think folks naturally ask themselves, "What can this social networking service offer me?" The more answers we can provide to this question, the easier of a time we'll have ensuring their conversion.

Rab · 1 year ago

Twitter works b/c it's simple, and the simple interface of SMS has yet to be improved on sufficiently by any of the Twitter mobile apps.

Corvida · 1 year ago

Great post Andy! Just linked to it in my latest post.

I'm currently using Hahlo on my iPhone. I have Twittelator on it also. However, Hahlo is what I mainly use. I only use Twittelator for posting images to Twitter since Hahlo can't do that. Otherwise, like you stated, the Twitter apps suck and I really have no clue on how they could make them better.