Many say that this market is crowded- the market of social media suite. But in true sense there are hardly any serious players in the space pushing innovation. Remember all those initial players in the social media suite tweetdeck, co-tweet, brizzly and seismic. Today, all these players are lost in the silos. They are still struggling to find their space in the market.

This happened because they stopped innovating and stopped listening to the market cry. Then came hootsuite with its not so revolutionary column layout (which was the innovation of Tweetdeck).  But what they added on top of this layout was revolutionary? Team management, multiple networking sites, easy interface and so on. But recently, even hootsuite like all its counterpart have digressed from the main innovation line and have moved towards paid service, leaving very less option on its free model.

On the other hand, Buzzom has been in the market since the times of Tweetdeck and seismic. From its early journey, Buzzom has always been listening to market cry and innovating on that lines. Buzzom started with basic follow/unfollow and analytic feature. Then Buzzom kept adding features and improving its system day by day.

Read here for more Buzzom Story.

As a result, today Buzzom has almost everything that a power twitter and general twitter users would require. Multiple account addition feature, list management, saved keywords tracking, plug-ins for browsers, adding feed urls, people search and engagement console.  Comparing with Hootsuite’s free version, Buzzom adds more value to users than anyone. Not to mention that there is no other application as innovative as Buzzom’s People Search.

This an in depth comparision between Hootsuite’s free version and Twitter.

We would want you to take a closer look at the comparison above and make your choice. Not to mention that Buzzom Team has one of the most responsive team who go all the way to help you.

Representing Buzzom team, I would like to add that we are in continuous innovation chain which will not stop in the above list and there are lot of interesting project coming on your way.

This afternoon, Twitter added its “Tweet Button” to the ranks of online content-sharing tools. Tech Crunch has been using the Tweet Button to share links with its custom bit.ly short domain tcrn.ch, and we wanted to pass along some tips for using bit.ly and the Tweet Button together.

Publishers can use their bit.ly short URLs with the Tweet Button the same way they have done with other sharing tools. Since bit.ly links never change or expire, a publisher will typically shorten long URLs on their back end and cache the corresponding bit.ly short URLs for repeated use. When the short URL for a given page is stored locally, it can easily be shared using the Tweet Button’s “url” parameter (and passing the page’s long URL in the “counturl” parameter to ensure that the Tweet count is correct) . For example, the following code creates a simple “Tweet” link for sharing this blog using its bit.ly short URL (http://bit.ly/2pqyWD):

Tweet

You can also use the “url” parameter to send a bit.ly short link to the Javascript Tweet Button:

  Tweet

… and to the Tweet Button IFrame widget:

Note that in all of these cases, the URLs being passed must be URL encoded.

We are working on some additional tools and resources for integrating bit.ly and the Tweet Button, and we look forward to sharing these with you soon!

Twitter is great for sharing interesting things you find on the web. In fact, close to a quarter of all Tweets include a link in them. Despite the high volume of sharing, there is plenty of room to make it easier. Copying and pasting, link shortening, and bouncing between browser tabs just to share a link in a Tweet is too much work.

Today we’re launching the Tweet Button to make sharing simple. It lets you share links directly from the page you’re on. When you click on the Tweet Button, a Tweet box will appear -- pre-populated with a shortened link that points to the item that you’re sharing.



After you post to Twitter, you may see suggestions for accounts to follow. These accounts are suggested by the web site you visited and may include, for example, the news outlet and reporter of the article you shared.

Check out our video, and try out the button at the bottom of this post!



The Tweet Button is not only simple for users, but for publishers of all sizes, too. Recreational bloggers to large media companies can quickly and easily add the Tweet Button to their sites. It only takes a few lines of code. The Tweet Button will help publishers grow traffic and increase their Twitter following.

You may have seen similar buttons on blogs, news sites and other places that let you share content on Twitter. These have been created by third parties. Most notably, a company called TweetMeme created a popular “retweet button” for publishers. They’ve already made it easier to share links on Twitter and have helped a tremendous number of publishers get their content into Twitter. We’re pleased to be working closely with the good folks at TweetMeme and, from here on out, they will be pointing to the Twitter Tweet Button. Check out TweetMeme’s blog to learn more about what they’re up to next.

Starting today, the following sites will use the Tweet Button. All of them integrated this in less than one week.

AddThis
Arizona Republic/azcentral.com
Ask.com
CBS Interactive
CNN.com
Cracked.com
Detroit Free Press
eHow.com
Eventbrite
Gawker Media
HuffingtonPost.com
Hulu
LIVESTRONG.com
Redfin
SFGate.com
ShareThis
Sky News
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Des Moines Register
The Indianapolis Star
The Onion
The Tennessean
Threadless
TIME.com
TV Guide
USA TODAY
WordPress.com
WUSA 9
Yardbarker
YouTube

Our guess is that more than a few sites will join the above in the hours to come. Get the Tweet Button for your website today and let the sharing begin.

You begged. You pleaded. You offered us all manner of enticements, some of which we think may be illegal in some countries. We took this to mean that you really wanted TweetDeck on your Android device, and we agreed!

So without any further ado, we are delighted to announce that a beta version of our Android app is now officially available!

In order to receive the beta, you must visit http://www.tweetdeck.com/api/android_whitelist/ and sign in with your TweetDeck account. We will then email you further instructions and a link to download the app.

Don’t forget, even though we’ve worked really hard to make this a truly amazing app for you, it is a “beta” application. This means there may still be some kinks to iron out and more improvements will come along before we reach a full-blown launch.

So why is our Android app so different to what you have seen before?
Well, for starters, we have not just taken the well-trodden path of pulling together some basic screens and calling it an app. TweetDeck has been totally built from the ground up with a new approach. It’s still TweetDeck, with a column-based layout as you’d expect, but we have pushed the boundaries of what you should expect from an app in several ways:

Blended columns

The concept of blended columns is something new and different, but we feel that it is the way forward. Why should you have to scan across multiple columns to find out what your friends are doing? Bringing all your Twitter, Facebook, Buzz and Foursquare feeds into the same column allows you to focus more on what your friends are saying and less on where they are saying it.

The exciting new “me” column gives you an unparallelled view of how your friends are interacting with you by bringing together your Twitter mentions and likes and comments from both Facebook and Google Buzz.

Smooth, slick UI

We were determined that scrolling through your updates and columns in TweetDeck should be a joy, and we think we’ve achieved that. We optimised everything for a mobile display by trimming out anything that wasn't really necessary and focusing on making the key functions work like magic.

Logging in using your TweetDeck account is effortless. Updates scroll up and down with silky-smoothness, and “infinite scroll” means that you can keep gliding back in time to your heart’s content. Tapping the column header springs you back to the top. The update clock in the header lets you know where you are in your timeline without cluttering each update. Yellow indicators that subtly alert you to unread updates. Lots of little details that make the simple things a pleasure.

Key features at your fingertips

For each service, we wanted to make sure you had the most common features available at your fingertips. So for Twitter updates you can reply, retweet and favourite with the touch of an icon. You can comment on, and “Like”, a Facebook or Buzz update. From a Foursquare update you can check in, send a shout, leave a tip, or launch the map mode to explore check-ins and venues in the area.

Update detail views also include image and video previews, and geotagged updates include a map, so you’ll always have fast access to the cool content that your friends are sharing, without the pain of multiple clicks. Stop fumbling around with multiple apps and just breeze through your day with TweetDeck in your pocket.

Clever composing

The compose window has also been designed to be stylish yet powerful. If you just want to fire off your first  “OMG I SO love Justin Bieber” update of the day, then you have a clean & simple compose box. Toggle any of your accounts as desired and TweetDeck will send your update in the background, notifying you via the Android notification bar of the progress.

For the full “Here’s me when I met Justin at NYC” experience, tucked away behind the keyboard are the advanced features, where images and location information can be included.

Quick access to your favourite friends

We know that many of you spend a lot of time speaking to the same group of friends, and TweetDeck allow you to put these ...

Hello HootSuite Community,

HootSuite is pleased to announce new premium packages designed for business and organizations, while also continuing to provide a free version for most customers.

Following in the steps of industry giants like Salesforce, Basecamp and Flickr, we’ve crafted the package tiers to provide the most useful tools to as many customers as possible while also providing advanced tools to customers who need the business-centric features. We’ll keep listening closely to see how we succeeded in meeting your needs.

Tiers for All

We aim to continue providing free service to approximately 95% of our current users. Based on a customer survey (thanks again to all of you who offered your opinions), along with a comprehensive review of usage data, we’re confident we’ll achieve this goal.

This means most of you will continue to use HootSuite in much the same way you do today. Additionally, power users and enterprises with teams can confidently rely on HootSuite for critical campaigns knowing there will be continuity of service from a stable company.

What’s This Mean for Me?

Starting today (Wednesday, Aug. 11th), all new customers will be required to select a plan upon signing-up — including choosing the free option if desired.

The following week, current HootSuite users will be asked to choose a package with the help of a migration wizard to help you choose the best plan.

For all customers (aside from Enterprise-class accounts), we’ll include a 30-day free trial. This period will allow you to experiment and discover which plan best fits your needs. Again, we’ll continue to offer a free plan for those of you who don’t require advanced options at this time.

While you don’t need to select a plan straightaway, take a look at the Pro Plans and Enterprise Package to see what is included at each level.

Keep on Flying

Since first spreading our owl wings over a year ago, we’ve listened closely to feedback from all corners. In the past 8 months, we’ve rolled out iterations galore — adding thoughtful tools to help you spread messages, monitor conversation and track results.

And don’t think we’re slowing down the pace! The upcoming road-map is loaded with new tools and integrations which will make for more enjoyable surprises. Plus we’ll keep listening to your feedback and offering help as we continue to create the preferred dashboard for social media managers, community builders, marketing agencies, and passionate fans.

Thanks to You

We sincerely appreciate you sharing HootSuite with your friends, mentoring your colleagues, and telling your company about the power of our social media dashboard. We take your trust seriously and look forward to growing with you.

Stay tuned to the HootSuite blog for more info and feel free to share your thoughts with us via Twitter @hootsuite_help.

With best regards,

Ryan Holmes, CEO, HootSuite

More

HootSuite Pro Plans
HootSuite Enterprise Plans
Online Media Kit — includes logos, descriptions and interview scheduling info

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You’ve likely noticed distinctive (albeit slightly odd looking) web addresses at some of your favorite social sites as global brands seek to maximize brand impressions within character-limited messages by creating short vanity URLs.

Domain Shopping

Before you can start using a custom address, first you have to choose and purchase a vanity URL. This requires a bit of creativity and occasionally some international diplomacy.

Here are some tactics to keep in mind while brainstorming:

1. Reflect brand personality — Shorter isn’t always better, memorability and personality are important. For example, the folks behind the “Cheezburger” humor-empire use http://dbl.chz.gr to provide a slice of culture with each URL
2. Make it exciting-ish — Another strategy is to use an action in the URL like social/tech news site Mashable who use http://mash.to (incidentally from Tonga) which implies a call to action as does PBS’s http://go.pbs.org
3. Cut the letters — The most common ways to get short are to remove vowels, like Google’s http://goo.gl, reduce your brand to initials like Wordpress’ http://wp.me and/or remove almost everything like Twitter’s http://t.co
4. Get to know the codes — Check out this Wikipedia entry of top level domain suffixes including: .im Isle of Mann, .tv Tuvalu, .fm Federated States of Micronesia, .ly Libya, and .me from Montenegro. Keep in mind, not all countries offer domain suffixes while others limit availability
5. Find something *actually* available – Once you have some ideas on the white board, you need to find out what’s available — and DO NOT announce your ideas publicly or a squatter may beat you to the punch
6. Choose a reputable vendor — Explore availability at a reputable domain registrar like: http://sedo.com | http://domai.nr | http://www.gandi.net/ Not sure about a registrar? Do a web search to hear what their customers have to say

Get Shorter

Seeking a unique URL for your business. Well, good news, now your company can get a custom branded short web address while still capturing the valuable statistics you rely on — all from within HootSuite dashboard.

Along with the new premium plans, HootSuite now offers custom URL shortening services through the tried and tested Ow.ly tool.

The benefits of using Ow.ly include:

• SEO – All URLs are indexable and fully redirect for SEO best practices
• Control – Share access with selected team members for control over who can shorten URLs
• Portability – Track clicks on short URLs from anywhere including newsletters, comments, Facebook, and micro-sites
• Flexiblity – Choose which shortener to use each time: Custom, Ow.ly, or Ht.ly (with branded social bar)
• Security – Links are checked against Google’s Safe Browsing blacklist to thwart phishing and Malware attacks

Owly Pro is available to customers using the Enterprise or Platinum package for an additional charge. To get shorter, simply send email to pro (at) ow.ly or contact your VIP Ambassador.

Once registered, you’ll receive technical instructions which should take under 10 minutes for your technical team to update your DNS records and provide a list of authorized publishers.

Your Tips

What other advice can you offer about choosing and registering a short domain name? What are some of your faves? Did you imagine this business trend 10 years ago? We’d be pleased to read your thoughts in the comments.

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Don’t you wonder who are the faces behind the tweets that fill your stream day in and day out. These friends have been a part of daily life through you frustration for a product or love for a brand, they have been patient listeners to your mundane activities. So its time you get to meet the real person behind those @’s.

Buzzom is organizing a TweetUp in Bangalore on August 20th. Its a casual meet intended for meeting Twitter friends sharing your thoughts off Twitter for once. The whole idea of this TweetUp is to meet followers, cross followers (someone else’s followers). We have restricted the seats to 50 so if you are in Bangalore, please RSVP and book your seats.

We have kept the agenda open for now but it would surely range from introduction, Twitter, Goodies and lots of fun.

See you on 20th

Agenda

6:15 PM- 6:35 PM  Introduce yourself in less than 140 characters
6:35PM- 6:45 PM  Whats the Buzz about Buzzom
6:45 PM- 7:15 PM  Personal Twitter Success Stories
7:15 PM- 7:35 PM  Biggest Twitterholic Award Game
7:35 PM- 7:50 PM  Twitter Tech discussions; Moment of glory for Buzzom                                                Techies: D
7:50 PM- 8:00 PM  Highest Buzzom Scorer Award
8:00 PM                       Biryani Time

We’ve always been big fans of trusty SMS messaging. In fact, sending a text was originally the only way users could tweet. This is why Tweets are 140 characters -- they need to fit into a text message.

We value SMS because it’s simple, instant and universal. Recently, we’ve added a few new features to make Twitter even more useful with SMS.

Fast Follow. Anyone in the US can receive Tweets on their phone even if they haven’t signed up for Twitter. This is a simple way for people to get information they care about in real-time. For example, let’s say you want to get Tweets from New York City’s office of emergency management (@NotifyNYC). Just text ‘follow NotifyNYC’ to 40404 in the US.


Try it out the next time you see a Twitter @username at a restaurant or store, on a billboard or on TV, or if you hear one mentioned on the radio. If you want to appear in a user’s followers list or start to get followers, you’ll need to create a Twitter account. You can SMS by texting ‘signup’ to Twitter.

Fast Following without creating an account is currently available only in the US, but we're working with carriers to bring it to other countries.

Set SMS alerts: From your computer, wherever you see a user on Twitter.com, you can hover over their name or avatar, and click on the phone icon that appears in the hovercard. Whenever they tweet, you'll get it as an SMS message on your phone.


It's just as easy to set alerts from your phone. Send ‘on [username]’ or ‘off [username]’ to 40404 in the US. (Tip: Check our list of numbers for each country and add the Twitter number to your address book.)

Tell Twitter to be quiet. Turn text messages on or off by sending ‘on’ or ‘off’ to Twitter. You can also go to our settings page if you want to turn off text message updates during a certain time period.

Keep up with the latest Tweet. If you text 'Get [username]’, that user’s most recent Tweet will be sent to your phone, even if you don’t follow them. There are a bunch of other fun commands you can use with Twitter on your phone.

Follow @twittermobile to keep up with the latest mobile developments.

Text on!

Companies are using HootSuite in all sorts of creative ways and we truly enjoy discovering the ways you utilize social media to effectuate business or organizational aims.

Recently, we heard about a hospital who live-Twittered a surgery. The objective was to help educate patients about medical issues as well as show their innovative use of the new media.

With help from the hospital’s Interactive Media Specialist Kelley O’Brien (@kelleyob), we crafted a brief case study to share the tips and tactics used for, “finding new ways to engage with patients.”

Description

A hospital demonstrated a commitment to innovation and patient education by live Twittering a surgical procedure direct from the operating room using HootSuite and Ow.ly.

This campaign included some unique challenges including ensuring patient comfort, uploading surgical photos in realtime and choosing a useful #hastag.

This case study prepared with High Point Regional Hospital in North Carolina (USA) explains the objectives behind the campaign and reasons why they chose HootSuite for the broadcast.

Additionally, the report outlines social media tactics used for connecting potential patients and medical staff for a conversation about health. Thanks to Interactive Media Specialist Kelley O’Brien.

More Studies

We’ll be creating more of these in the coming weeks and will keep them stashed on Slideshare. We will also continue to feature them in the Library section on the HootSuite Blog.

Do you have a great campaign or have you used HootSuite in an unusual and creative way? Great, let us know with a note to community (at) hootsuite (dot) com with a brief pitch and your expression of interest. We’ll then send you a questionnaire to help craft your story. We especially like stories which show measurable results, plus screenshots, photos, and other interesting elements to enhance the story.

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Ready to go for a ride on real-time? Then hop on board! Twitter recently announced a preview release of the User Streams API allowing you to receive data to your desktop client in real-time. We’re excited about the recent offering that will improve, perhaps even dramatically change, your Twitter experience on Seesmic Desktop.

User Streams will allow tweets in your timeline (including mentions and direct messages) to show up instantly. Events and actions, such as someone following you, or someone marking your tweet as favorite will also appear in real-time, all without needing to refresh.

We’re happy to be working with Twitter to provide our users with a test implementation of the User Streams API through a beta version of our Seesmic Desktop 2. 

Seesmic Desktop 2 will be a cross platform app for both Mac and Windows. This beta version is currently available for Windows, and we are finalizing the Mac version and will have it available very soon. Mac users are welcome in the meantime to try out Seesmic Web.

To experience the benefits of real-time data streams, download the beta version of Seesmic Desktop 2 with Twitter User Streams here. No need to sign up or worry about limits in availability. Simply download it and explore away!

Once you download the beta version of Seesmic Desktop 2, you'll need to activate the Twitter User Streams in the plugin settings:

1. In the Options panel (you can access the options panel by click on the gear wheel in the lower left)
2. Select the Twitter Plugin, and click on "Settings" link
3. Check the "Use User Streams" checkbox
4. Save Settings and Restart Seesmic Desktop 2

Select the Twitter Plugin and Choose "Settings"

Check the "Use User Streams" checkbox and click "Save"