(I track particular people at times to see what they’ve been saying, and usually, I know the regulars I follow can always be counted on to post something cool, so I have them to fall back on them if the general public lets me down. ;-p

Seems like two issues at work, the quick-hit nature of a Twitter update and the apps used to scan them all.

Tiwtter by it’s nature forces changes in the way people write about what they think. At times, it’s great, at others, shorthand takes over and nuiance is lost. (You can say IM has it's own shorthand, but that’s in the individual words, not the overall thoughts of a sentence. If I said something on IM that was confusing, at least I have far more room to explain myself, not to mention the issue of immediacy it offers, unlike Twitter. Another issue perhaps for another time.)

The apps available are popping up everywhere. I generally try everything that comes out once just to see if I like it, then I move on. Funny thing is I find now that I use Twitter online for messaging but more often than not, use Twhirl and other desktop apps for the features Twitter lacks. (Like when it comes to followers or tracking, etc.

Before TweetDeck added the url shortening upgrade today, I had both Twhirl and TD running together so I could read from one and tweet from the other. Now, I think Twhirl will stay closed for a while.

The full TD screen is super easy to dip in and out of. Alt+Tab. Check in, check out. What’s nice about the full screen is reviewing your topics of choice (see below) and the all tweets screen at a glance.

Many users, like yourself and the other posters, prefer a single column. The second most popular request on TweetDeck’s feedback forum is to develop a single column view with tabs. Go vote! You can make it happen.

Another upgrade, currently in process, introduces a pop-up window to show new tweets, Twhirl style.

Grouping might be handy if you have friends and family, or news feeds, that are clearly distinguishable – but I think you’re right, in general, the chaos of consciousness is part of the value. I haven’t attempted to use this function.

My favorite new feature is a dedicated column on a topic (not a group, a topic) of your choice. Do a Summize, er Twitter, search on keywords of your interest, and suddenly you’re following a conversation – without the hassle of your browser! Interested to see what people have to say on TweetDeck the day before you publish your post? Create a column for a Summize TweetDeck search. This feature, I love.

Another thing I like about TweetDeck: it does a better job of introducing me to people. The pictures are bigger and the profiles are easy to read. It’s more personal.

Remember, it’s only a beta. Vote for your improvements by following the link below. Let’s specify the user goals.

http://tweetdeck.uservoice.com/pages/general?referrer=popin

I downloaded Tweetdeck after hearing a couple of “power users” praise it.

Looked at it for about 5 minutes and discarded it, for all the reasons you mention.

I can’t fathom following thousands of people the way some others do. (If nothing else, my real friends tweets would sink to page 4 in a matter of minutes!)

Tweetdeck takes up too much real estate. It’s not easy to classify people without overlap (and don’t get me started on the whole Plaxo “Friend or Business” thing) and the functionality seems well-intentioned, but ultimately pointless, since you’re getting the same number of tweets, only in different places on your screen.

The beauty of Twhirl is that it sits in the background where I can ignore it or check it, depending on how busy I am. Twhirl (and its predecessor, Snitter) are what made Twitter work for me in the first place.

Very nice dissection of the app, btw.

That said, I think a simple UI change could turn things around. If the groups were tabbed (or buttoned, a la Twhirl), you’d need far less real estate and would have a nice way to reduce the chatter *when necessary*. For example, I have a regional group that really helps me follow a conversation among local Twitterers.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

Who is that dashing man giving @mediajunkie a hard time? :)

Thanks for another good read.