Although TweetDeck and HootSuite are still known as “Twitter clients,” these applications can do so much more than update your Twitter. They can manage multiple social media profiles, allow you to schedule your updates, monitor your link analytics, do your homework, and listen to your wife while you watch the Super Bowl.

The only issue with these “Everything Social Media Clients” is that there are two major clients to choose from: TweetDeck and HootSuite. Which should you use? Well lucky for you, I’m about to tell you.

Let’s get on with this showdown!

Round 1: User Interface

In the beginning, TweetDeck’s dark, sleek interface was more appealing than HootSuite’s browser-based application. Now, if you’re lucky enough to own a Mac, Smartphone, or iPad, you can download a HootSuite application of your very own.

TweetDeck App:

• Standalone application for PC, Mac, Smartphones, iPad.
• Column-based system: All of the social media profiles are viewed in one window, but in separate columns.

HootSuite App:

• Standalone application for Mac, Smartphones, iPad.
• Desktop applications via Chrome, Prism.
• Hootlet Firefox Add On.
• Tab-based system: Each social media profile has its own tab.

Summary: It is easier to keep track of multiple profiles in one window using TweetDeck, whereas you have to click to different tabs in HootSuite.  Also, adding an update with a URL is much easier in TweetDeck, which automatically shortens any URLs you type in the box. When doing the same thing in HootSuite, you have to input your URL into a separate field in order to shorten them.

Round 1 Winner: TweetDeck

Round 2: Scheduled Updates

Both TweetDeck and HootSuite provide the ability to schedule your updates. However, in order to use TweeDeck’s scheduler, you must create a TweetDeck account.

HootSuite’s update scheduling tool is slightly more sophisticated than the competitor’s tool. You can schedule your updates in bulk, receive updates once the update is sent, and you can schedule an update for more social media profiles (Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn, MySpace, PingFm, WordPress, Foursquare, and Mixi).

Round 2 Winner: HootSuite

Round 3: Speed

This round has a clear winner – HootSuite is by far the faster client to use.  TweetDeck uses Adobe Air to function, therefore it is a massive resource hog.  HootSuite’s interface (both in the browser and the actual application) is very snappy and clean.

Round 3 Winner: HootSuite

Round 4: URL Shorteners

TweetDeck allows you to choose between 4 different shorteners – and whichever shortener you choose will be automatically applied for any URL that you paste into the TweetDeck update field. HootSuite uses its own shortener. Although ow.ly does provide a robust set of analytics, it isn’t nearly as convenient for quick updates that you won’t be closely monitoring.

Round 4 Winner: TweetDeck

Round 5: Photos

Both social media clients will allow you to upload photos, but TweetDeck will automatically integrate with your choice of 3 different Twitter photo services.  HootSuite, on the other, clunkier hand, just lets you upload a picture file.  TweetDeck lets you keep your picture uploads uniform – so if you use TwitPic when you update from your mobile decide, you can use TwitPic on TweetDeck. I think we have a winner for this round!

Round 5 Winner: TweetDeck

Round 6: Statistics

Holy analytics, Batman! With HootSuite’s interface, you can completely integrate Google Analytics. From the dashboard, you can use Google Analytics to analyze site traffic and performance. Using “OAuth secure login functionality, you can track conversion to sales, lead generation, or other metrics from your Google Analytics, using advanced URL functions.”

With TweetDeck, the only analytics you will be able to use is the statistics that bit.ly will automatically provide for your links. Ouch.

Round 6 Winner: HootSuite

Round 7: Additional Social Networks

HootSuite and TweetDeck will allow you to update from multiple Twitter accounts, Facebook accounts, and LinkedIn accounts.  However, HootSuite also lets you to update your Facebook fan pages, any Ping.fm account, WordPress, FourSquare, Mixi, and MySpace.

If you have a relevant social media profile (i.e., not Friendster) – you can update it easily with HootSuite.

Round 7 Winner: HootSuite

The Final Round: Multiple Accounts & Multiple Users

HootSuite easily lets you add multiple users and control which accounts they can update. Each user can have a specific timezone, initials with each update, and other user-specific preferences. With TweetDeck, you will be able to add multiple accounts but since it’s a desktop application, there isn’t really any ability to have multiple users per account.

Final Round Winner: HootSuite

And the WINNER IS: HOOTSUITE!

TweetDeck has plenty of options that makes it a snazzy, younger brother to HootSuite that wears better clothes and doesn’t make good life choices. But HootSuite should still be your preferred method of social media updating.

Scheduled updates are easier to create, the analytics are more robust, and using multiple accounts with multiple users is a breeze.

It comes down to personal preference regarding which you decide to use – but we suggest backing HootSuite. It might not seem like much since you might not be able to download a standalone PC application – but it’s a ringer!

It’s time to face an important fact – Twitter isn’t a fad. If grandmothers are tweeting about fist pumping and Ke$ha, it is official that the adoption laggards have been infected by Twitter.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

But, as more people embrace Twitter, more bad Twitter habits are forming. I know there are responsible Tweeters out there, but be cautious. Even the SEO aware Tweeters can fall into a Twitter #FAIL trap.

So, Tweeps, think before you Tweet and avoid the following 10 Twitter fails that lurk around every corner:

1. Auto Replying to EVERYTHING
   You may think that auto-replying to follows is a great marketing idea, but let me topple that house of cards right now – it isn’t. It is a spam tactic that annoys more than it enlightens, no matter how inspiring you think your company’s e-book about parliamentary procedure is.
2. Being Obscure About Yourself and Your Company
   Saying that you analyze analysis and engage in social media enhancements and optimizations that guide company values through various mediums… doesn’t mean anything. Be concise about what your company is. And, for the love of Twitter, make sense.
3. Inside Jokes or Obscure References
   If a tweet is going to make your frat house buddies from college high-five and crush beer cans on their heads, don’t Tweet it. It’s okay to have a personality and a sense of humor, but you should always provide value to 99.9% of your followers.
4. Mentioning a Great Resource… Without Linking to It
   Awesome! You’re fulfilling your Twitter dream and you’re talking about great resources your followers would love. The only catch is that you need to make sure you LINK to it. And if the link is broken, you’re just insulting the Twitter gods. Make sure to check every link that you post to ensure that it is working.
5. Not Branding Your Twitter
   Do your Twitter profile a favor and brand it. Make it different from all of the other profiles out there by putting your company’s logo (and some tasteful graphic designs) in the background. It will improve the theme of your profile and make YOU more memorable. Everyone is using the blue twitter background with the tree branch. It’s old news.
6. Posting 10+ Messages in a Row
   Twitter is a social networking tool. Part of being social is acting like a human being. So, don’t post more than 10 times in a row (or 5 if you can swing it). It’ll make your company (or yourself) look like a spam-tastic robot that doesn’t deserve any attention from followers.
7. Following More than 1,000 People in an Hour
   Deciding to follow someone on Twitter should be an informed decision – not something that is done en masse. That’s why following a small country’s population on Twitter overnight seems fake. Take your time and learn who you are following! You will be one of their Tweeps and will be receiving daily updates. So don’t follow @LovingTheRecession if you don’t mean it.
   7.5 Cleanse Your Twitter List
   On that note, you should also make sure to clean out the list of people you follow as often as you can. Sometimes the purges are necessary, even if they seem cruel. It might have sounded great to follow @DeepakChopra back when you thought you should be enlightened. But, apparently he does nothing but tweet 42 times a day instead of offering tidbits of wisdom. A clean list is a non-frustrating list.
8. Posting Too Many Tweets about Your Hangover and/or Cat
   Sometimes it’s funny to complain about how your Russian neighbor listens to some awful techno music at 3a. However, most of the time it’s just obnoxious and unnecessary. Keep the random, pointless tweets to a minimum.
9. Conducting Business Networking and Swearing at the Same Time
   Even if it’s not necessarily at your business connections, using inappropriate language will make your colleagues and connections not take you seriously. If you have to stop and think about whether or not it’s offensive – just don’t tweet it!
10. Over-Abbreviating
    Rule of thumb: If you type out 50 characters without a single vowel, something is wrong. Abbreviate when necessary, but know that the majority of the Internet is behind on 1337 speak. The fact that you probably don’t know what that means only proves the point.

So the moral of the story, Tweeps, is use common sense. Twitter is a public forum and whatever you put online will be taken seriously. Even if it’s less than 140 characters.

Power.com is a site that aggregates the social networks of users into one spot making it easier to manage multiple profiles and friends. However, Facebook considers this a copyright violation (according to their terms of service) and is suing Power.com for hacking. Twitter is attempting to do the same thing with this new search feature, so the question is: will Facebook sue Twitter?

In my opinion, if Facebook wants to remain a favorite among social network users it needs to unblock this new Twitter feature. Otherwise, Facebook runs the risk of losing more users like it has in recent months due to the debate over user privacy. I think that Facebook is overstepping its boundaries on this one…I mean it is my information after all and if I want that to be given to Twitter, it should be my choice.

Best Buy, Virgin America, and Starbucks are among some of the first companies to try our the new advertising platform on Twitter.

From the New York Times:

“The idea behind Promoted Tweets is that we want to enhance the communications that companies are already having with customers on Twitter,” said Dick Costolo, Twitter’s chief operating officer.

“When people are searching on Starbucks, what we really want to show them is that something is happening at Starbucks right now, and Promoted Tweets will give us a chance to do that,” said Chris Bruzzo, vice president of brand, content and online at Starbucks.

It will be interesting to see how the new ad platform will be received by Twitter users and more importantly, how this will effect Twitter’s future.

Read more about Twitter & its new advertising model at The New York Times.

During the State of The Union Address, I kept an eye on Twitter through my phone. There were several quotes I wanted to Tweet, but I had trouble typing them and paying attention to what he was saying. I thought I had found a solution to the problem: the @BarackObama Twitter feed. However, to my dismay, I was unable to RT (retweet) his posts because of the 140 character limit. I’m not a fan of the new RT features on Twitter and I’m not alone. Very few people that I follow employ the new retweet feature. The new retweet feature is confusing to those seasoned Twitter users who are used to the original retweet, “RT @mikehalvorsen blah.” In addition to this, the new RT feature does not allow additional comments, such as “I love USA RT @BarackObama I never said change would be easy…”

At the end of his address, I checked out the Twitter feed on my desktop and to my shock, almost all of the Tweets made from his account during the address were near the 140 character limit. Out of 12 Tweets posted during the State of The Union Address, only two were RT-able using the old school retweet method.

For anyone using Twitter as a way to spread their brand or message, you must cover all bases. If you want your message to be spread around the Twittersphere, you must fully understand its limitations 140 characters at a time.

For those in charge of handling Barack Obama’s Twitter account and that of The White House, give us a call at 1-800-310-0317 for free Social Media consulting. Make sure you ask for me.

Not only will you enjoy great networking with NEO tweeters, you’ll also have the opportunity to check out all that Maize Valley has to offer, including wine tasting, wagon rides, corn maze, etc.

Follow@NEOtweetups for more details & to RSVP.

There will be free food & drinks, not to mention an awesome networking opportunity. You can RSVP with Cleveland Plus here: www.clevelandplus.com/nitmvii and let us know you’re coming on Facebook, too.

Follow @NEOtweetups for the latest NEO tweetup information!

Follow @NEOtweetups on Twitter for the latest info.

Here is how to identify verified accounts from the Twitter Verified Account page:

The ‘Verified Account’ badge will appear in the top-right portion of a user’s profile page just above the name, location and bio—as shown in the screenshot above.

It will always have a badge followed by the words ‘Verified Account’

If the verified account badge appears anywhere else on a user’s profile page (e.g. in the avatar or the background) it is not a verified account

The verified account badge will also appear next to usernames in the Find People section

The verified account badge will have the same color as shown above even if users customize the background of their profile page or change the color in the sidebar

There are already for examples of Verified Accounts on Twitter.

• Pete Cashmore of Mashable
• Gov. Schwarsenegger
• Shaq
• Michael Arrington of TechCrunch
• LAFD

It will be interesting to see how far Twitter takes this beta program in the upcoming weeks and if it will really help.