Hi all! I have a lot of questions about Twitter. So, please forgive me if this seems long, but I'd like as much info as possible.
1. I've been wondering off and on, should I get a Twitter account? Do I really need it when I already have Facebook? I know this is a personal preference, but...
Also, I know this is probably a stupid question, but how does it work?
2. How accessible is it compared to Facebook? Is Twitter more accessible? What parts or items on Twitter not accessible if any? Are there workarounds?
3. How accessible is the Twitter app?
4. I've often heard you guys talk about 3rd party Twitter apps. And I'm wondering if I do get an account, which ones would you recommend?
4. How accessible are they compared to the Twitter app?
I think the only things I'd use it for is to keep up with people/events and other assorted things like that. Maybe I'd post, but I'm not sure. I won't use the message feature since I have Messenger.
I'm sorry if this seems long, but, like I said, I'd like to have as much info as possible. And I might have more questions, but, I'm not sure. I'm still not sure if I'm going to get an account or not. Thanks in advance!
Comments
Re- creating a Twitter account.
Hi. I have both Twitter and Facebook. I actually came across this comment on twitter. I guess the main difference between the two, is that tweets are restricted to 280 odd characters, whereas in Facebook, there is no such limit. As for accessibility, I'm tending to think that perhaps Twitter is marginally more accessible than Facebook. I have tried the third party app Twitteriffic, and while some people swear by it, I personally prefer the native Twitter app. I guess ultimately you'd probably have to try them both, and decide for yourself. As for how it works, well, when you first set it up, you'll be given a bunch of suggestions as to who to follow. Mainly news organizations and such. You can also look people up on Twitter and follow them as well and oh, you don't need a separate app to message fellow users like you do on Facebook. Retweeting is the equivalent of sharing on Facebook, and retweeting with comment, is much like commenting on a facebook post you're sharing. I hope that helps some.
Two Recommendations from Me
Hi. I've been on Twitter since 2009 and love it. I have a personal account, and I helped run the account for a local nonprofit organization up until the end of last year. My brother is also on that platform, and we message back and forth all the time. As far as 3rd-party apps go, I use 2 which I swear by. These are just recommendations, but if you find yourself gravitating towards something else that's fine. The first is specifically for the Mac. It is called Night Owl and is free. You can find it in the Mac app directory here on AppleVis. The other one I use is web-based. It works on the Mac, Windows, and probably other platforms as well. It is called Easy Chirp, and can be found at http://www.easychirp.com . It is free as well. You would need a Twitter account though in order to use these or any other 3rd-party app, and accounts can only be created on the native Twitter website. Hth and best of luck.
Answers
1. No, you don't really need one. Compared to Facebook, Twitter is more like an internet forum with limitations similar to SMS, except that now the character limit is 280 for English and possibly some other languages. Twitter is often refered to as a micro blogging service.
2. I find the Twitter website relatively accessible, and at least to me the Twitter website seems to be less cluttered than the Facebook website.
3. The official Twitter iOS app is fully accessible in the majority of cases. I have found minor navigation issues when accessing someone's profile, but those are usually resolved by touching the screen to refocus Voice Over where desired instead of swiping.
4. Twitter is best experienced with the official app. Some features like Twitter polls aren't available in third party apps, and Twitter doesn't have a good record for encouraging third party app developers to create fully featured clients.
5. With some notable exceptions, third party Twitter iOS apps can be less accessible than the official Twitter client for iOS.