Posted on Friday, 5th March 2010 by Frank
I’ve been on Twitter since 2008 and I really enjoy using it and interacting with others. When I realized I was using Twitter constantly throughout the day I decided to use a Twitter app. The two I heard about at the time that were the most popular were Tweet Deck and Seesmic. Still to this day, those are the two most popular Twitter app’s for the desktop. Granted, there are a ton of other apps for cell phones, but these two apps in particular are the one’s with the most recognition and popularity. It has led me to the question, which of these two Twitter apps do you prefer using?
I recently had a conversation with Loic Le Meur on Twitter who’s the founder of Seesmic about writing a post on this topic. We both agree that trying to compare the two is like comparing apples to oranges, but I wanted to focus more on the features, interface, and usability of the two apps. I’m going to be fair in my opinion so that if you choose one or the other, you will have a good outlook on both. You may not even want to go with the two more popular apps and go with something completely different. That’s fine, but I’m still going to stick with these two for this matchup.
Tweet Deck – Founder Iain Dodsworth
-Customizable interface: you can change the colors to whatever preference you choose.
-Use the app in a single column: you can choose to have the app show multiple columns with mentions, DM’s, searches, etc. or just have it in one single column and use the scroll bar to switch to the others.
-Pull in updates from other sites: such as LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook.
-Easy to use utilities: place your cursor over someone’s profile pic to have the option to retweet, reply, DM, or check out settings in regards to their tweet.
-Simple: by far the easiest Twitter app to navigate around. All of the icons are there in front of you. You don’t need to go searching for anything.
Seesmic – Founder Loic Le Meur
-Desktop app and Seesmic Look app for beginners: having the ability to choose from two different types of apps gives you options. Try them both out and use what you like.
-Window is too large: didn’t see a way to move the app into one column like on Tweet Deck. It causes for some clutter and takes up too much of the screen. Hopefully in upcoming versions they can incorporate this feature.
-Seesmic Look: it’s more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. As compared to the desktop app which is pretty plain, Seesmic Look brings a more colorful and appealing feel to it.
-Real Time Trends: on Seesmic Look when the app first loads you see a real time view of the latest trends. They constantly are changing which is a really neat feature to see top headlines.
Splash Icon: When you open the app, it loads a splash icon onto the screen which is rather annoying because it takes longer for the app to load. I’m just not a fan of it, but it may not bother other people.
Live Twitter Feed: an auto update of new Twitter posts to your feed would be nice for Seesmic Look. It’s on the desktop app, but not on Seesmic Look. Instead it lets you know when there are new tweets and you need to click the notification for the new tweets to show. I believe this should be updated.
Ping.fm: having bought this company is a huge acquisition and they have it incorporated into Seesmic to update all of your social networking platforms at once. This was a brilliant move!
This is my breakdown of the two applications. Obviously from my review, Tweet Deck is still my preferred choice. No disrespect to Seesmic because it plays big and offers quite a lot to the user, but I think Tweet Deck brings more of what I want and is simpler. Both apps are easy to navigate around, but I’m really into customization and usability when it comes to anything I use. What are your thoughts? Which app do you use? Do you agree or disagree with my review? Would you add or subtract anything from either list?
Further reading:
Which Sponsored Tweet Platform Is Best For You?
The One Social Networking Tool Essential For Your Business
What’s Your Favorite Twitter Client?
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Tags: iain dodsworth, loic le meur, seesmic, tweet deck, Twitter
Posted in Twitter | Comments (6)
March 5th, 2010 at 11:44 am
I’m all about tweetdeck. I have 5 columns (about to be 6) running. It sits on it’s own space in OS X. I keep things organized and constantly up to date. I can follow and unfollow from within the app and clicking on a link for a photo hosted within yfrog or twitpic will open in the app instead of another browser window.
I have a video screencast showing different clients as well
http://www.viddler.com/explore/jayvig/videos/1/
I don’t think I could use seesmic just out of personal opinion about Loic
[Reply]
Frank Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I agree with you. I believe that’s what I like best is that Tweet Deck sits in its own space in OS X. There’s so much usability within the app and I’ve always liked how much I can do with this application. Such things that you mentioned like TwitPic are a prime example and it offers so much more.
What is it that you don’t like about Loic? I’ve talked to him a good number of times and even though I’m not a fan of using Seesmic, he’s always willing to listen to your thoughts and opinions.
[Reply]
March 6th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
thanks for your review and interest. As I said on Twitter, I don’t think it makes sense to compare Seesmic Look to TD: they have different targets and are not designed for the same people. You probably don’t even have the users of Look as readers of your blog, they are the ones who heard about Twitter on Oprah. Comparing Seesmic Web or Seesmic Desktop would have made more sense.
As far as the above comment from VigTheGeek is concerned “I don’t think I could use seesmic just out of personal opinion about Loic” I regret to read that and would love to discuss what personal opinion about me bothers you so much! Who knows, if we talk and I understand what you mean, I could explain and we could even fix that.
[Reply]
Frank Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Thanks for your thoughts Loic. It’s nice to have the founder of Seesmic sharing their thoughts. I guess like I mentioned on Twitter, we agree to disagree. I don’t really see how one app appeals to one audience over the other, but you are right about not having users of Look as readers. Them finding out about Twitter on Opera makes a good point and I agree that they are coming from a different perspective. Comparing Seesmic Web to Seesmic Desktop though didn’t make much sense to me, but that’s because I like looking at two different brands to compare (from separate companies).
I contacted VigTheGeek and hopefully he will get back to you to clear up his reasonings with you. I know you are always willing to listen to what other people have to say even if both sides (like ours) disagree.
[Reply]
VigTheGeek Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
@Loic, @Frank,
Well, I suppose I never expected Loic LeMeur to see that comment and I’m a bit embarrassed by it now.
Loic, I don’t know you personally. We’ve never spoken or met. I’m like Frank in the way that we’re both big Gary Vee fans and we’re both working on our personal brand. I find that as this happens, each person tends to fall in one of a couple of camps.
I have no issue with Seesmic or even you as a person. I have problems with people like Arrington, Gillmor and Scoble. I know you’re aligned with them in several ways – not like Gillmor Gang aligned. I guess I shy away from people that associate with them – especially Arrington, who I just don’t trust. Scoble is just nonsensical.
I know who I sound like and while he’s right on several things, Loren and I don’t often agree – except about Sam Odeo.
I know the hypocrisy since Loren is friends with Jason Calacanis and Jason is technically part of the Gillmor Gang.
I know you and Loren have had your spats in the past as well.
Tweetdeck is a fantastic product. I use it on my Macbook Pro, iMac, Mini and iPhone.
Plus I think Ping.fm is going to be useless in time as most of your integrated list fades away.
I respect what you’ve done with Seesmic and that you get down to this level interacting with people. It’s just that crowd of people that are just trouble.
[Reply]
July 8th, 2010 at 8:57 am
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