Do you TweetDeck?

TweetDeck has been around for a while but it still does not seem to be getting recognition. But what exactly is it? And why do we need it? I have done a little research and found out why Twitter feel the need to branch out, what this means for them... and what is means for us.

Image: http://kaskusinenglish.blogspot.co.uk

Twitter themselves claim the app helps give flexibility and insight to their already hugely popular social media site. The also say it is for their 'power users'; I am unsure if this is a great move. The whole concept, I feel, has been slightly alienating to people who use Twitter lightly.

We are all aware social media is growing, long gone are the days of it simply being about communication. It now focuses on business strategies, marketing, competition and in such a fast paced and open forum.

It is incredible how many people use Twitter now, and other sites, for free marketing or market research. In business, it has become a very powerful tool, and it must be remembered it is evolving all the time.

As much as business professionals can use social media to boost their business; social media can use them to boost theirs. And this is exactly what is happening with Tweetdeck.

Image: http://www.dutchcowboys.nl

So above, this is how it looks on an iPhone, as you can see there is the new idea of 'columns'. It is promoting our busy lifestyles and giving us a simpler way to balance life and work. Lots of customising can be done and as you can see it can be made to look very personal to you. It has the ability of scheduling Tweets and you may have unlimited accounts.

This could possibly be a very good idea, if you need to use it. Again I am questioning their choices with how they marketed the new product. The change of colour for example, yellow and black, is a little alarming and not colours we usually associate with social media. As mentioned earlier as well, they are targeting their 'power-users' which seems a strange and exclusive way to describe what essentially is many of their clients.

TweetDeck may also run into problems with competitors. Already there are at least 5 alternatives; HootSuite, UberSocial, TweetCaster, MetroTweet and TweetBot. And as this is a relatively new idea I think people are going to shop around.

I am unsure if TweetDeck and similar apps are going to be as prominent as the companies are hoping but I can see why they are exploiting this area of the market. Everyone likes something new, especially if it is useful, and this is both.

My advice is not to be put off by the idea it is only for high flyers of the business world. If you use Twitter all day and have more than one account then try it out.