3 Tools to help increase your Twitter interaction

Search engines today like Google and Yahoo look into Twitter as a resource of real-time results as recommended by users. This makes it important for bloggers who would like their content become widespread to share quality content and interact. This helps increase your network size as you proactively connect online and mingle relevantly with active users.

There are three tools that I find valuable for one to become effective in using Twitter. This includes:

1. Hootsuite
   This allows you to manage multiple Twitter accounts. I also added my Facebook fan pages for various websites (rather than Facebook personal profile) for simultaneous update. You can schedule tweets at a later time too.
   
   It has statistics that you can use to monitor which of the links you tweeted merited the most number of clicks.
   
   It can also promote your latest blog post as you can add RSS feeds.
   
   
2. Twitoaster
   You can use this tool to monitor which of your tweets elicited a retweet and response from followers. You can post follow-up replies from their site too (example). I posted this at the sidebar of my blog with the intent of encouraging readers to check it out and join the discussion if interested without necessarily leaving this blog.
   
   
3. TwitterCounter
   This is similar to MyBlogLog that you can add at your sidebar where you will be able to see members checking out your blog. This is a great tool if you want to connect with other Twitter users who passed by. Effective too if you want to see how your Twitter profile is growing. (example)

If you have other tools to suggest, please post a comment and share. Are you on Twitter? Let's connect! (my id is digitalfilipino)

Did Twitter, Plurk change your blogging habits?

I just came across Rob Angeles blog sharing his observation as to how Twitter and Plurk have change the blogging post habits of some and asked his readers to share their experience.

As my reply is quite long, I decided to just post it there. My blogging slowed down for quite sometime as I got addicted to Twitter and then Plurk when it was introduced. I even made a blog post in 2007 speculating that Twitter will replace discussion groups (yahoo / google groups).

However later on, I realized its use more on:

• Disseminating information (with links) and get instant readers/reactions.


• Rant and rave about a specific product or service without having to blog about it.


• Ask a question and get replies.


• Clarify an issue, if you want to, and let those concerned read about it and even reply.


• Keep in touch even if your friends are not online and let them reply at their convenience.


• Live micro-blog about events and share information right away. This I did several times already disseminating data / insight.

And so in the end, my blogging returned to normal and use Plurk / Twitter for the above uses and keep in touch with online contacts.

How about you? Did Twitter or Plurk change your blogging habits?