The video below is courtesy of our friends at Google that discusses how to test Web sites using Google Web site Optimizer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Twitter is really hot right now, which means the number of third-party applications developed using the Twiter API is growing rapidly. One of the largest sectors for growth is the desktop Twitter application market. Most people that use Twitter do so through desktop applications instead of the Twitter web interface. Most Twitter desktop applications are built using Adobe’s AIR platform and use the twitter API to allow users to send and receive messages and use Twitter search.

With the announcement of the Seesmic desktop application the space is beginning to get crowded. So which one should you use? Which on is the best?

Those are two very different questions. All of the major Twitter applications need improvements and depending on the type of Twitter user you are will impact which application you like the best. I am going to go through and list the pros and cons as well as “who” should use the top 4 applications: Tweetdeck, Yahoo Sideline, Seesmic, and Nambu. Additionally, I have included a video walk through of all of the apps if you would like to get some additional feedback.

Note: All of these applications are currently free.

Tweetdeck

Pros: Tweetdeck in recent months has emerged as the gold standard for Twitter desktop applications because of its layout, twitter search features, 12seconds.tv integration and overall design and performance.  When compared to the four apps reviewed in this post Tweetdeck has been in development the longest and as you would suspect has a deep set of features and a refined design. Tweetdeck integrates most of the URL shortening services along with tweet shrink which helps shorten your message to fit the 140 character limit.

Cons/Suggested Improvements: For an app that feels polished and is out of beta, I have had a lot of problems with it crashing in OS X. Additionally Tweetdeck can be a big RAM hog and really slow down your computer. The black color scheme does not blend well with other applications windows and needs to be changed.

Who Should Use It: If you have a powerful laptop and desktop with plenty of RAM and want the feel of a polished app with all the bells and whistles then Tweetdeck is the desktop app for you.

Yahoo Sideline

Pros: Yahoo maybe in decline, but it still has people that build clean useful applications. Sideline which allows a user to track search terms and trending topics on Twitter search is fast and extremely stable for a new app. It is easy to use and the design aside from the color scheme is spot on. The tabs for saved searches work well and will make sense to most users because they are like the tabbed web browsing experience.  The ability to add multiple search terms under one tab is also a key feature.

Cons/Suggested Improvements: Sideline is a one-trick pony, despite the fact that it is a good trick, the lack of other features won’t work for some users. Sideline is strictly search, to reply to a tweet that you see in Sideline, you must click the reply button, but it will take you to your Twitter.com page to actually type and send your reply. Sideline also doesn’t have many other features that regular Twitter users have come to use heavily like direct messages and URL shortening.

Who Should Use It: Sideline really only serves a niche of the Twitter comunity. It is best for companies that want to monitor but not participate in Twitter and for Twitter “power” users that are following too many people and need a better way to filter tweets.

Seesmic

Pros: Seesmic desktop is clean, has the look of an OS X application and is very user friendly. Though just released and still in beta you can tell the app has been well conceived. Seesmic desktop supports multiple twitter accounts, provides single or multi column viewing options, and allows for new columns of saved search terms. Additionally it lets you group people for further filtering and supports many popular URL shortening services. The left hand navigation makes it easier to access columns and is faster than scrolling like Tweetdeck users have to do.  It also features a mute button for the sound effects, which is a nice touch.

Cons/Suggested Improvements: From the start you can tell the Seesmic’s new desktop client is still in beta. It is buggy and needs further tweaking. Having to click to add a link versus just having a blank below the message box will be a turn-off for many Tweetdeck users. For me and many others the inability to adjust column width and placement easily is the biggest usability hurdle the app faces. Columns are not wide enough, but at the same time individual tweets are taking up too much space.

Who Should Use It: People who do or did like using Twhirl will feel at home with this app, as will users who still haven’t fully embraced the design and UI of Tweetdeck. Seesmic though much like Tweetdeck seems friendlier to new users, but will likely not convert many loyal Tweetdeck users.

Nambu

Pros: For Mac users Nambu is a Twitter client that has burst onto the scene and gotten a lot of early adoption and positive feedback. Though Nambu uses columns like Tweetdeck and Seesimc the remainder of the user experience is different. The message composition box is on the bottom instead of the top. One of Nambu’s killer features is the ability to search and filter words within columns, meaning you could see all of your replies about a certain keyword instead of having to hunt and peck for them. Nambu also supports one or multiple column viewing as well as URL shortening. It uses growl to check for software updates. Instead of offering shortcuts such as replies over profile images it has an action icon on the far right of each tweet and action icons at the top of each column.  It is a clean refined app that doesn’t crash and runs really fast.  It also threads replies in the sent messages column which is really nice!

Cons/Suggested Improvements: Nambu is Mac only so it is going to leave a lot of folks out who use PCs. Additionally the compose box should be bigger and I am not a huge fan of having it on the bottom. The action icon with the drop options still seems a little out of place and needs to be refined.

Who Should Use It: Mac owners who want a native desktop app that is lightning fast and packed full of features will love Nambu. Long term users of Tweetdeck and Twhirl will be thrown off by the UI changes but if they can stick it out will be rewarded with a strong user experience, but few will probably have the patience to.

For an additional look at these four applications please take a few minutes to watch my video walk through:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Did this review help? Which app will you use?

Right now FriendFeed is currently a nerds only hang out. For FriendFeed to grow it needs to add mainstream users. The recent release of the new beta version is trying to accomplish that, but it is still missing a few things. I have 3 (really 4) suggestions to FriendFeed on how it should change its beta design and features.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you agree? What did I miss?

I spend a good bit of my free time creating content online in all forms: written, images, and video. One of the questions people most often ask is what type of video camera do you use? or what mic are you using? The short answer is, that it doesn’t matter. Equipment doesn’t make your video more interesting, you do. I think a lot of time we get caught up on the equipment, so that we don’t have to focus on the hard issues, like being interesting.

I suggest that you use what ever you have to get started and as you get better at creating good content you will figure out what the next best step in terms of buying equipment is for you. But this doesn’t answer the bigger question of: How do I make sure I am interesting?

Here are my ideas:

• Be yourself – If you try to be someone else it will be clear and you will be irrelevant.
• Establish a “trademark” – Create a saying, style, or prop that is unique to your content.
• Learn from others – Look at the content creators that people are most interested in. What are they doing that others are not?
• Understand you audience – It is impossible to create relevant content if you don’t know who you are talking to.

Bonus:
Here is a quick video Wayne and I did at SXSW to talk about how to live stream. Should give you some basic how-to information:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Recently, I began thinking about the idea of event sponsorships and how social media tools like Twitter and Facebook could change the way companies approach sponsorship opportunities. Traditionally, sponsoring an event meant handing out swag, having over sized booth displays, and having sales reps on-hand to convince attendees that your product rocks. Their is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach.

However, what if we reversed the traditional sponsorship situation and instead of focusing on promoting and selling the company focused on listening. Sure many companies have done this in the past by handing out surveys or conducting taste tests, but social media now makes this a better option. Instead of taking your 30 second time slot to plug your product at a local event, how about asking the group to reply on Twitter with their opinion of the product and pricing.

I wanted to discuss this issue deeper so I shot a quick video to further explain what I was thinking about. I hope that you will take a second to watch it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So what do you think? Am I crazy? Is plugging product from every mountain top the best way to sell it? Or should we change our sponsorship approach?

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Some corporations get it and others don’t. While at SXSW Interactive this past week Chris Brogan organized a flash panel with social media leads from some of America’s most well-known corporations including Pepsi, JetBlue, Crocs, AMD, Best Buy, and General Motors. I was able to record the entire panel (note: it is shaky in the beginning but then I switch to a tripod) and I recommend watching the video as these companies had strong insights about using social media and integrating it into large corporations.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The theme they all talked about is humanizing the brand. To humanize a brand in today’s two-way communication world, you have to personalize your brand.  When personalizing a brand their are three important steps: listening, engaging and creating value. How does your company do these three things? How could they do it better?

What was you favorite nugget of information from the panel?

Big thanks to Chris and all of the panel speakers for putting on this event.

I have talked about QR Codes a few times in the past, mainly because I see them as a great opportunity to bridge the physical and digital worlds.  For a quick refresher QR codes are two dimensional bar codes that can be printed on anything from a packing slip to a movie poster. These codes serve as a portal to some type of digital action: Web site, video, text message, and even a phone call.

Here is a video I did to help explain QR codes and to review one of the QR code readers available for the iPhone:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So if you have a QR code reader then they are pretty simple right? The problem is not everyone has a QR code reader and the bigger issue is that most people in the U.S. don’t know what QR codes are.  QR codes and other 2D bar codes are very popular outside of the U.S., especially in Japan. The opportunity with QR codes is that they are low cost. Most companies have Web sites that are used in their marketing efforts so they are already shelling out the cash to create them. The QR code can simply serve as a free method of extending that site into the physical world. Since QR codes are black and white they can easily be added to print materials with no additional cost. They are also free to create and the process only takes about a minute.

This sounds good right? It is, we are stuck with the problem that people don’t know what they are. So that leads me to my experiment.  I will be at South By South West Interactive next week and while I am there, I am going to conduct my own QR code experiment.

Watch this video to see what it is:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I realized that I have created a super dorky t-shirt, but I am interested to see the response. I will report back after SXSW to let you all know what I found out.

One of the best things about the social web and the Internet in general is the access it provides to people’s reactions. Services like Twitter search make monitoring for real-time reactions and trends free and easy. Understanding trends helps each of us to better comment and provide feedback on trending issues.

In the video below I talk about two free services that deliver some powerful trend tracking information and comparison. Both Google Trends and Trendrr are free services, but they do take a few minutes of time investment to understand how they can become of use in your personal and professional life.  I do a quick walk through and discuss the applications of the two services here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

These two services as well as others can provide great stats and graphs that be included in blog posts and generate conversations on Twitter and FriendFeed.

Yesterday we held our second meeting of Social Media Breakfast Raleigh. We had a great turnout and I would like to thank everyone who came out to participate. As part of the event I asked Jeff Cohen to speak for a few minutes talking about how the volunteers of Raleigh Twestival used Twitter to market the event, which raised money for Charity Water.  Jeff went a step farther and created this blog post to outline the 11 steps people should take when promoting an event on Twitter.  I recommend you check out his blog post. It is good stuff. I also did a quick video of part of his talk which I have included in this post.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For folks getting started with Twitter and are trying to understand its applications this is a prime example of one of them.

I have recived a lot of questions lately about Brightkite recently and why people should use it. Here is a quick walk through video of the interface and a discussion on the value of using the service.

Click here to view the embedded video.