In the last few months, Twitter has seen many changes, including the introduction a subscription plan that offers perks and tweaks to how replies work. A new font was also introduced that wasn't widely welcomed. There are also Fleets which proved to be very short-lived.
Twitter is also updating and developing TweetDeck, its Twitter client. TweetDeck was launched in 2008 and purchased by Twitter in 2011. It is a portal to Twitter for power users. You get real-time updates and advanced search tools.
TweetDeck is a great alternative to the default Twitter web browser. Twitter is currently testing new TweetDeck functionality. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they don't hinder any existing TweetDeck features.
TweetDeck is currently only available via a web browser. However, it's possible that Twitter will develop mobile apps in the future.
All in Real Time
There are many types of columns available. TweetDeck via David Nield
TweetDeck's unique layout is split into multiple columns you can control. Twitter has a single column that shows the tweets from the people you follow. TweetDeck allows you to have this column as well as many others. You can view a lot of tweets simultaneously if you have a large screen monitor.
Click the big blue + icon to the left of the TweetDeck interface to add new columns. You can also set up columns to display your tweets (tweets by people you follow), your mentions and direct messages.
For example, you could set up a search for a hashtag in a breaking news story and then monitor the tweets. You can also create a list of the most interesting people on Twitter and use that list to replace your own timeline, especially if you only need a quick update about what's going on on Twitter.
