TweetDeck, like a few of the other social media enablers (StumbleUpon noticeably) seems to have been going through a spate of updates and releases recently.
They had a big upgrade a few months back that included the Facebook integration, but I've actually found the most recent ones more useful in terms of additional functionality.
The most useful of the recent updates has been the creation of a TweetDeck account system that facilitates the syncing of TweetDeck groups wherever you use the application.
I'm a fan of TweetDeck's groups, they improve the functionality of Twitter as an application for me significantly. Something that I'd like all applications to do, facilitate the existing service offering and improve from that base.
I mentioned recently how they can be useful for accounts with large numbers of followers to ensure they keep track on key individuals, without having to restrict following back. Following back is something that I feel is important for brands using Twitter to engage with their customer base, building a greater feeling of an inclusive community.
In order to use the syncing of TweetDeck groups you need to create a TweetDeck account, allowing you to login wherever you use the application; the only way they could really enable this functionality.
What other purposes this account creation might lead to in the future is yet to be seen. It is certainly a good way for TweetDeck to track how many active users it has relatively accurately.
They've included a default "Mentions" column, which removes the need for my previously created TweetDeck search on "Digital Signals" that picked up any mentions outside of replies or direct messages.
They've also added extra functionality on the columns with a "show popular" filter which creates a miniature word cloud of popular topics in the column.
You can move your columns left or right to ensure the columns you view the most stay visible in your normal viewing mode.
You can also create your own filters on individual columns to allow you to view specific news stories or replies from individuals of your choice. This could be very helpful in gathering campaign related data.
Additional Twitter accounts can now be added, along with Facebook accounts from the "Settings" tab. I've yet to use this functionality, but I'd be very interested to hear from anyone that has.
This adds a functionality that has deterred a number of users that required multiple account support from using TweetDeck previously. Prior to these updates users had to turn to the likes of Twhirl and HootSuite, although both of these offer other additional features that make them unique.
If all of these updates weren't enough to prove an improved feature set, they've also recently made TweetDeck available on the iPhone. As most regular readers of Digital Signals will know I still don't have a smart phone so I've been unable to test this addition.
The version numbers are starting to get a little unwieldy, like Google unwillingness to drop the "beta" tag from Google Mail and a few other products from their suite until recently, perhaps it's time for TweetDeck to release version 1.0 and drop the Beta tag.
All in all, I'm very happy with the way TweetDeck is developing. They've recently appointed a Community Manager in Richard Barley and they operate an active TweetDeck blog, run on Posterous interestingly, that shows that they understand the social aspect of their work.
TweetDeck seem to be illustrating how to develop a great social desktop application and, from a personal perspective, it's great to see this being done by a British collective.
More of the same please TweetDeck!
Related reading:
Do you get social media? 10 brands on Twitter - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/07/do-you-get-social-media-10-brands-on.html
Why bother with social media? - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/06/why-bother-with-social-media.html
TweetDeck - The benefits of groups - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/04/tweetdeck-benefits-of-groups.html
Hashtags - Communicating via Twitter . . . Faster - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/03/hashtags-communicating-via-twitter.html
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