Twitter is all about keeping in touch with those around you. As Twitter continues to grow rapidly, more and more users are using the service without ever visiting the Twitter website. Twitter is now rapidly expanding outside of its original tech enthusiast fan base and has recently been featured in the Wall Street Journal and as part of a Coke & Wal-Mart advertising campaign. As Twitter grows, so too do the number of third party applications that enable you to use the service in any variety of ways.

If you're looking for an easy way to access Twitter from your desktop, look no further than TweetDeck. TweetDeck is built on Adobe's brand new AIR platform and works on any Mac, Windows or Linux machine. While TweetDeck is still in beta, a new build is released almost every other week for the last few months. Each new build includes new features and bug fixes.

The Interface

TweetDeck presents all information in rectangular boxes which resemble windowpanes. Each pane is fully customizable and can display a variety of information. I use four panes, one for tweets from everyone I follow, one for @replies, one for direct messages and one for a group I created. TweetDeck defaults to a window which displays all active panes but you can easily opt for a single pane or "slim fit" condensed look.

TweetDeck features a built-in search and filter function for your tweets or tweets from everyone. This enables you to quickly scan hundreds of tweets to find that one link you wanted to check out or find that can't miss blog someone mentioned last Wednesday.

Groups

Twitter does not allow you to filter tweets on its website. If you follow a lot of people, it can be frustrating to find the tweets you absolutely don't want to miss. TweetDeck's "Groups" feature makes sure that never happens again. To give you an example, I follow several Mac developers on Twitter because I like to know about upcoming updates and new releases right away. Because I don't want to miss those tweets, I created a "Mac Developers" group in TweetDeck and added every Mac and iPhone developer I follow. This allows me to filter tweets by author, a welcome addition for any Twitter user.

Twitscoop

Want to know what's trending on Twitter right now? TweetDeck provides access to Twitscoop and its real time cloud of twittered terms. Twitscoop integration ensured that TweetDeck users can keep a finger on Twitter's pulse at all times. TweetDeck helps you keep track of what people are doing in your area. Who knows, maybe your friends and neighbors are doing something really worthwhile, like coming together and donating used clothing to the homeless in your city?

12Seconds.tv

TweetDeck also supports 12Seconds.tv, which is a beta service which enables you to upload 12 second video updates from your phone or computer. 12Seconds' integration with TweetDeck is a bonus to anyone that uses the service.

Shorten URLs & TwitPic

TweetDeck provides access to 13 different URL shortening services, including the popular TinyURL and Is.gd, and also TwitPic. Simply plug the long URL into the "shorten" box and TweetDeck will do the work for you. The TwitPic functionality lets you browse your computer and upload a picture to the TwitPic service in a matter of seconds.

What's Missing

TweetDeck has a lot of great features but it's important to remember that the program is still in beta. TweetDeck is a work in progress and its avid user fan base are already submitting suggestions for new features via the TweetDeck support website, which features a Digg-like page for "bumping" frequently requested features to the top.

The most commonly requested features include support for multiple Twitter accounts, an option for tabbed browsing within one window, support for FriendFeed and smaller cosmetic features, including click & drag-to-re-size support.

Conclusion

TweetDeck is a must have application for any Twitter user. It provides key functions which Twitter lacks by default, most notably the groups function, and makes adding links and pictures to your tweets a breeze. TweetDeck is free and still in beta. Follow TweetDeck's development on the official development blog. Download TweetDeck and support future releases by donating at TweetDeck.com.

This review was written by Brendan Wilhide

Author: Brendan Wilhide