Tweetdeck – it’s all about the columns

The purchase of Tweetdeck by Twitter is not really a surprise. While there’s any number of Twitter clients out there vacuuming up the Twitter API, only a couple of them are likely to stick around any longer than a floating whale – and one of those will be Tweetdeck.

Well, when I say ‘stick around’, what I mean is, ‘will be consumed and become that which is The Twitter Interface’. Tweetdeck is best placed to become the application layer between the pith and the publish because it has a few notable features:

• It runs on multiple platforms
• It effectively integrates Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc.
• It allows you to post more than 140 characters with deck.ly
• (Actually forget that last one – I don’t get it)
• It’s got columns

Not sold on the last feature there? Really, it’s the thing that sets Tweetdeck apart from all the others.

Of course, I have no idea why Twitter has decided they really need to buy Tweetdeck other than where Twitter’s own interface falls short, Tweetdeck appears to excel. There would be no real point in incrementally evolving the Twitter interface, when, if you happen to be able to magic up that kind of cash, you can effectively ‘big-bang’ it’s update through acquisition. It would be like flogging a live horse.

If you’ve not tried Tweetdeck yet, give it a go and try out the columns for yourself. They are the single biggest differentiator between Twitter clients right now. I think that differentiator is why Tweetdeck has the edge. I think that differentiator is what makes the difference between acquisition and obscurity. Who says user experience can’t be a source of competitive advantage?

08/06/11 no_one_really said:

you forgot to mention the massive memory leaks and the need to restart every hour or so to stop your computer slowing to a halt

08/06/11 Tim said:

You're right, I didn't mention those things. They don't happen to me, so I can't really comment I'm afraid. Doubtless subsequent versions of Tweetdeck will address any performance issues, so maybe it will become more stable for you.

20/06/11 Mark Hunter said:

Excellently short and concise summary of why Tweetdeck is good at what it does and will now be added to my repertoire when I try to tell clients why they should be using it.