With all of the information overload we deal with daily, its hard to believe Twitter could possibly make things easier. It’s true Twitter  is one of the distractions, but like anything else, how you use it make all the difference.

Mobile

The world is more mobile than ever before. Over 80% of the US population has a mobile phone of some sort. Almost daily new ways to update your Twitter status from your mobile device pop up. The push by wireless carriers towards data enabled devices create a whole new market for mobile applications.

If you register your phone number with Twitter, you can update your status via good ole SMS. This method is still a very popular way to update your status and receive updates from people you follow. If you have a device such as a Blackberry, iPhone or other data enabled phone, there are numerous applications with varying features available. Apps like Ubertwitter, Tweetie or even Twitter’s mobile site make it ridiculously easy to access your account.

When using your mobile device, following apps like @gcal, @myen and others can make Twitter VERY productive. Here is a POST with other apps to follow.

Desktop Applications

The desktop application arena is packed with really amazing choices.  Seesmic and Tweetdeck allow access to multiple social media sites other than Twitter. Digsby even let you check email, social sites and instant message.

This area may be a little trial and error to find what fits your need. Seesmic is easy to get the hang of, where as some of the more feature rich applications may be a little intimidating when you first start using them.

Web Applications

Just like the mobile and desktop applications, web-based applications are springing up all the time.

Seesmic Web, Hootsuite and many others allow access to your account from any computer with the internet.

Hootsuite for example allows for multiple users, stat tracking, URL shrinking and delayed tweets. I personally use Hootsuite a lot. I will go in and schedule tweets for days or weeks in advance. I can spend 15 minutes setting up tweets for the next few days whether they be a promotion, link to a site or random thought. It gives the illusion you are updating regularly when in actuality, you do it days in advance. I also use the bookmarklet (see below) to tweet random things or more time sensitive news.

Following The Right People

Following like minded people or people who are in a certain industry can save you enormous amounts of time. I follow people like @techcrunch. They post all kinds of useful breaking technology news. Instead of searching for a technology keyword, they post tweets about all of the latest apps, companies, hirings and firings. By having information come to me, I can choose what I want to read. It also keeps me on the cutting edge of what is out there.

Finding informative people to follow isn’t all that hard. A simple search for a keyword can give you hundreds of options. Once you follow a few of the more popular twitterers, you can take a look at who they follow, RT or list on #followfriday.

Search

Using Twitter’s built in search is a great way to find out up to the second news, topics for blog posts, find software recommendations, movie reviews and pretty much anything else people are talking about. Sifting through all the non-relevant information can take some time, but it is a good option for certain searches. The searches can also be saved and accessed later.

Bookmarklets

Posting to Twitter doesn’t mean you always need to have the homepage, web app or desktop app open. If you don’t use them, bookmarklets are a very easy way to post just about anything. Hootsuite made a video on how to use their bookmarklet or Hootlet as they call it. Many sites like Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit, Friendfeed, Facebook and many others all have one. I did a quick Google search for you HERE.

Share the ways you use Twitter productively in the comments.

main image credit Mike Licht

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