We previously speculated about how Twitter deals might be promoted through the @Earlybird account using a group buying model. However, as it turned out, Twitter is merely partnering with group buying sites like Groupon and Gilt to deliver time-sensitive discounts on products with limited quantities. Unfortunately, Twitter’s initial promotions weren’t exactly killer deals. The first one was a buy one, get one free movie ticket for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the other deal offering was for a 32-inch Vizio HDTV at Target. Depending on how much you may have disliked the movie, the TV is the worst deal out of the two since it could have been purchased at Sam’s Club for $1.99 less ($349.99 at Target, $348.00 at Sam’s). Read more »

Custom Twitter backgrounds and free Twitter layouts are showing up on nearly everyone’s profile these days. With Twitter being one of the top social networking sites in the world right now, users are constantly looking for unique new backgrounds to give them that edgy look. The number of free Twitter background sites continues to grow, making it harder to choose the perfect one. If you’re still using your default Twitter layout or would like to change your design, check out these top sites to get yourself a cool Twitter background. Read more »

If you’ve got a blog or website then you know that redistributing it through platforms like Facebook apps is key to your branding and marketing. In order to effectively grow your blog, make it accessible to a wide array of readers and facilitate discussions around your blog content, you have to be able to share your blog in various forms just like Facebook. Lucky for you, there are several apps out there to aid you in this quest. Here are some of our favorite top Facebook apps for bloggers and webmasters. Read more »

WordPress Twitter plugins combine the awesomeness of two great blogging platforms to seamlessly integrate Twitter directly into your WordPress blog. Getting the best of both of these worlds was once a daunting and limiting task, but there is a wealth of WordPress Twitter plugins to choose from now. WordPress acts as a great basis for your published content while Twitter brings the social activity to a high frequency with the amount of buzz it can incur around your shared content. We’ve sifted through a ton of WordPress plugins for Twitter found throughout the web and the WP plugin repository to identify the best WordPress Twitter plugins that are listed below. Read more »

Facebook tends to be considered the epitome of social networking, but there are other social media tools out there. Cross-promotion of one social networking profile to another can really help build your brand and increase visibility around your presence. Whether you’re maintaining multiple presences across several social networks, or you just need an social media application to make you more socially active on Facebook, our list of free apps can help. These are some of the best Facebook apps and social media tools for to get you moving in the right direction. Read more »

Twitter does not directly store photos but there are plenty of third party Twitter apps and Twitter tools that can. Whether you need a simple Twitter tool to share quick pics or a feature rich image sharing application there’s many to choose from. We’ve identified some of the top sites to share Twitter images and upload Twitter pictures below. Feel free to leave your comments regarding any of the Twitter related services listed to let us know your opinion and past experiences so we can share them with other users. Read more »

Remember Twitter before November, 2008? Don’t worry, neither do most people. A year ago the microblogging juggernaut started to skyrocket in popularity as celebrities began flooding it with their own personal tweets. Once they began promoting it throughout various television interviews (e.g. Larry King Live with Ashton Kutcher and Sean Combs) and infomercial-like talk show specials (e.g. Oprah) it became a nationwide tech phenomenon that everyone and their mom just had to try out. Read more »

In case you hadn’t noticed the Twitter homepage now tells you how many new tweets you have. On your @mentions page, the same alert appears at the top of the page. For most browser users, the Twitter tab will also display the number of new updates you have, depending on which page (home page or @mentions page) you currently have open. The tab indicator is similar to what we’ve seen for years with various email services, yet it highlights the necessity to continuously stand out from other tabs you may have open in your browser. Read more »

Social networks are still in the process of becoming the natural hubs of our online activity. This is being further proved with the more recent addition of Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm for Microsoft’s Xbox. But Xbox Live already had limited support for web browsing and a few other native social features. Why is social network integration such a big deal? Because people spend the most of their online life on social networks and if you can bring those services into your gaming platform you can increase playing time. Read more »

Vidly is bringing HD videos to Twitter, reaching for quality features in order to attract the right type of clients. The Twitter video client is reportedly hoping for brand participation with the introduction of HD video capabilities with its service. Similar to the manner in which you share photos through third party clients on Twitter, Vidly offers the same type of service for video. With a number of video-Twitter services emerging in the past few months, Vidly may be looking to stand out from the crowd in order to become a leader in this particular space. Read more »