A Twitter application (app), also known as a Twitter tool or Twitter add-on, is essentially a website with an integrated programming script designed to complement the Twitter social networking website. In particular, Twitter apps provide Twitter users with the tools they need to better monitor their Twitter feed, manage their followers, respond to tweets, and perform other functions. There are thousands of Twitter apps to choose from.
Several hundred apps relate to multimedia. Twitter doesn’t natively support pictures, videos, or songs, but with a Twitter app a user can submit such content. These apps allow users to upload multimedia content to the app’s homepage, after which the app automatically posts the content to the user’s Twitter feed.
Another popular type of Twitter app is one that tracks Twitter trends, topics that are extremely popular. Twitter lists trending topics and hash tags on its search page, but individuals interested in a more comprehensive analysis can use Twitter apps to view the data visually. There are also tools that let users search through trends by typing in keywords, ranking trends by popularity, and narrowing them down by top-shared website addresses.
Since Twitter is a social network, many people use it make new friends. Unfortunately, Twitter doesn’t provide a simple way to find people with similar interests or from the same geographic region. With a Twitter app, however, a user can create his or her own Twitter profile, submit it a directory, and then search that directory for similar people. Such Twitter tools also allow users to find people based on their area of professional expertise.
The most widely used Twitter apps are those that let users track and manage followers. Business users might employ such a Twitter app to track new followers, track what followers are doing, evaluate followers based on their popularity, and even invite many new followers all at once. The benefit to these apps is that they can give a user an inside look into their followers’ behaviors.
Another kind of Twitter app is a power user app. This is essentially an app that combines all the previous functions into one streamlined interface. Such apps can track users and trends, submit multimedia files, and create directory profiles. Power apps also allow business users and celebrities to manage multiple Twitter accounts all at once. Many of these apps are now available for multiple operating platforms, including mobile devices.