Late last month Twitter announced @Anywhere, a tool set which will enable developers to integrate twitter functionality into their websites meaning users can tweet from all over the web.  More tweets, more interaction, more followers… that’s the theory anyway.

Right from the get go, Amazon and Bing jumped on board allowing you to tweet and be tweeted to whilst shopping or searching connecting you to people in a ‘real time’ way.

The full list of sites who have been working on @anywhere implementations pre-public launch include AdAge, Amazon, Bing, Citysearch, Digg, Disqus, eBay, Foursquare, Gawker, Google, Gowalla, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Hunch, Mashable, Meebo, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Salesforce.com, WSJ.com, Yahoo!, and YouTube.

Official Twitter Blog

So what could this mean, well I see it as having two main benefits; firstly it’s an extra advertising stream for companies as if people see something they like on your site then they can tweet, with link immediately giving their followers an quick recommendation which could in turn support a buying decision from them.  More recommendations, more sales. Secondly, it could give a more personal feel to websites and you may feel more connected to the site removing the barriers between consumers and customers.

Aside from that we will also see a whole heap of new weird and wonderful twitter apps using the three API’s available.

we wait with baited breath…

I was watching the news this morning (unusual, I know) and they were discussing the power of social networking as a tool for winning votes.

Apparently there is the apathetic age band of 18-25 who are the ones the main parties in the UK are after.  Most are busy having fun, at uni, on the dole, or generally just not interested.  But after the Obama’s election in 2008 which used every social media under the sun, the UK politicians are keen to keep up to date and so are now faceboooking, tweeting or youtubing in aid to connect with that apparent care free slice of society.

So with the election looming we will see the usual newspaper, television and radio campaigns but along side that we will have stories of a tweeting Gordon Brown, a David Cameron Facebook group and maybe if we are lucky, an amusing youtube video of Nick Clegg having a skateboarding accident.

It doesn’t surprise me at all and I wouldn’t be too surprised either if ‘micro payments’ start to emerge via a Conservative In-App purchase or Labour widget with games on…

But all this technology isn’t all bad… Surely hearing the mundane from the Prime Minister is a good thing… What I worry about though it that it won’t be the actual leaders tweeting but rather a marketing agency just making it up to fit a certain campaign which is a shame as simple tweets about the rubbish cheese sandwich the prime minister just had does make him more human, more approachable and more likely to get my vote.

Top Paid App – Tweetie 2

If you are willing to part with your hard earned cash for your twitter habit then Tweetie (and now tweetie 2) is the app of choice.  This is definitely the most polished twitter app on the market and boasts:

• Multiple twitter accounts
• Extensive exploration options including, mentions, timelines, favourites & followers
• Tweet Caching and phone call UI saving
• View offline modes
• Landscape support
• Add photos, links, videos and more
• Easy to compose screen with hashtag support
• Link contacts to twitter accounts

and SO much more its ridiculous. Its fast loading and easy to use catering for all your tweeting needs.

Get it here >>

Top Free App – Echofon

If you are not willing to spend money on a twitter app then Echofon is for you.  Previously called twitterfon this free app from Naan Studios has a whole host of features including integration which its web based echofox (for firefox) and Echo Mac (for Mac). Echofon has many of the benefits (which tweetie 2 recently added) but also has features such as:

• Nearby tweets, map or list view
• Native geotagging support
• Mutiple colour themes
• Voice over support
• Quick name lookup
• Map & Photo preview of tweets

As well as most of the above list…

The only issue with this free version is that it has in app advertising and although you have the choice of ‘going pro’ for a cost, you soon forget about the adverts.

Get it here >>

So if you like to frequent the world of the tweet then you can’t go wrong with Echofon as it has bags of features for free. However if you are serious about your tweeting and you need speed, flexibility and range then perhaps tweetie 2 is for you.

Twibbon is the easiest and most powerful way to promote awareness of your cause on Twitter. The service overlays a small icon onto supporters’ profile images to create a ‘Twibbon’, making an impactful online statement. The user’s Twitter account automatically tweets to let everyone know about their affiliation.

Twibbon application was built by storm ideas, a team who are passionate about the immediate and viral power of Twitter, and who believe that there has never been a better time for small groups of talented individuals to affect global change using the web.

There are a huge range of twibbons to choose from breast cancer to Michael Jackson so visit http://www.twibbon.com and show your support today.

A small selection of twibbons…

Most followed twibbon supporters

We’ve recenly joined at Twittercounter.Com

What is it? On the site you will see the progress of your twitter account on a daily basis, Monthly Basis by showing statistic on a graph form. You can also see the status details of account, numbers of followers, joining date etc.

what is more interesting on this is the Prediction, They were able to predict your future number of followers the next day, After a month and Twitter Rank,, Mine is Twitter Rank (top 100): 347,047 very bad!! i might include someday at their most popular Twitter users.. anyway look furtively, on what i am telling you about. Presenting my Twittercounter

Check it out at http://twittercounter.com/

Find out which of your Twitter updates made people follow or leave you. Simply enter your Twitter ID in the following form.

Simply enter your twitter name and they analyze your 200 latest updates and flag those up that made people follow or leave you.

Of course there are more factors that make people come or go, but it is an interesting indicator about the effect your tweet might have had on the world.

TweetEffect is a test – you could call it a hack to try out some of the Twitter API functionality mixed with free Yahoo and Google services. Maybe this will go places, maybe it won’t.

Check it out at http://tweeteffect.com/

**STAR APP OF THE MONTH**

SCREENR – Instant screencasts for twitter:

Create up to five minute screencasts for your followers as you tweet.  Each video is ready to tweet in seconds and uses a web based recorder meaning you do not have to download.

The recording software works on both PC and Mac and plays everywhere on the web including iphones!

And the best thing is that its totally FREE!

Twitnest

Its hard to describe what twitnest is… you have to see it for yourself

At first the screen is a blank page and a simple login box.  Enter your Twitter username.  Then watch your nest gather.

• You can zoom in & out on the right side
• Drag anyone around to get a better idea of their connections
• See everyone that connects to each other
• Play with auto-groups (see below)
• Drag the page around to see more

You have types of modes in the bottom right.

• Mouse allows you to drag the page or items on the page
• Who knows whom lets you click someone and it darkens those not connected and highlights those connected
• Autogroup – this cool tool starts shrinking the communities into groups with a slider where you control the size and colors the icons for easier vision

This is an interesting tool that lets you see connections in a different way and visualize their connections

Tweetmixx is a Twitter service brought to you by Mixx.com. Tweetmixx cuts through the clutter of Twitter by bringing content front and center as well as allowing you to focus on topics that interest YOU.

Once logged in you can see all your tweets along with the content which it links to.

Users can also add interests in order to get updates from people from that category, see the top tweets and view the trends on twitter web!

Check it out at http://www.tweetmixx.com/