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Twitter App Update Improves Search

Twitter updated its mobile apps and mobile site Wednesday, adding enhancements to search, web browsing, and autocomplete suggestions.

Across the board you’ll now see improved search results when searching for tweets. Working alongside the recently added ability to see older tweets, now when you perform searches you’ll be given a “top Tweet” at the top of the screen that Twitter feels best matches your particular query.

Twitter also launched several iOS-specific updates Wednesday for its iPhone and iPad apps. Now when you open a link from your Twitter timeline, the tweet itself will be displayed below the website content on your screen. Meant to make it easy to share a link to something like a video while you’re still watching it, tapping the screen can also make the tweet disappear from view.

Autocomplete also saw an update on iOS devices to bring in more hashtag, topic and username suggestions while you’re typing. Autocomplete suggestions for topic searches are also now updated on a more frequent basis to offer a more “real-time” feel.

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Twitter vs. Instagram: The Showdown in an Infographic

It’s been three months since Instagram killed support for Twitter cards, yet we still regularly hear complaints about the newfound hassle in tweeting your ‘grams: “Tragic,” the chorus goes. “So lame.”

Until early December, Twitter users could view Instagram photos within Twitter itself thanks to the microblogging network’s media-friendly expanding content cards. Then one day, they couldn’t — having instead to perform the arduous task of clicking an outbound link to the Facebook-acquired Instagram’s still relatively new website. So, while you could still technically share Instagrams to Twitter, the experience was drastically altered.

While users felt the brunt of the change, it was just the latest instance of growing tension between Twitter and Instagram since Facebook bought the photo-sharing network last April. Twitter and Instagram were once friendly mobile-centric companies — Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey being among Instagram’s first high-profile proponents — but the two have become direct competitors since the acquisition. In November, Twitter announced it would add a native photo-filtering tool of its own, following through on that promise days after Instagram killed its card support.

Many doomsayers predicted Instagram’s aggressive move would end up hurting both companies, as well as users. But according to a February report by Simply Measured, that’s not so: While Instagram photos shared by brands on Twitter decreased in engagement, brand activity on Facebook and Instagram increased.

The following infographic from the marketing agency DNA uses that report as the basis for its visual presentation of the Twitter-Instagram beef. Check it out below, then let us know in the comments — how has Instagram’s pulling support for Twitter cards affected your online habits?

Infographic

Twitter Adds Adobe Social, Visible Technologies as Partners

Twitter has added nine new partners to its Certified Products Program, which provides Twitter-based products and services for businesses.

The new partners include Shoutlet, Spredfast, Sprout Social, Adobe Social, Percolate,Rallyverse, Sysomos, Simply Measured and Visible Technologies. The companies provide a variety of tools including analytics, listening tools, the ability to manage a Twitter presence and services that let you craft more engaging tweets. In addition, Twitter has hired former Forrester Analyst Zach Hofer-Shall to manage the program.

Twitter launched Certified Products last August with 12 partners, including HootSuite, Mass Relevance and Radian6.

The expansion of the program comes as Twitter has clashed with former partners likeInstagram and LinkedIn as the company attempts to gain more control over its user experience.

20 Tweets That Prove Skittles’ Social-Media Team Inhaled the Rainbow

The Skittles social-media team tasted the rainbow, and then threw it up all over Twitter andFacebook.

Whether social-media gurus of the web world label the effort brilliant or bizarre, it’s hard to deny that the candy company keeps 140 characters (or less) quite entertaining.

Skittles’ Twitter feed includes a lot of references to animals — both real and mythical — as well as musings that might sound familiar to anyone who has spent a lot time with — cough, cough — Puff the Magic Dragon.

What do you think of Skittles’ social-media strategy? Finish noshing on the rainbow, then share in the comments.

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Resource for designer Twitter App

It’s been a while since I posted anything but I finally had the time to work on a freebie.
So here’s a Twitter app for iPhone 5. Nothing groundbreaking but I wanted to play with lights, effects as well as with the additional pixel this Phone offers.
Maybe I’ll had some feature to this app in the future if people are interested.
Thanks to Pixeden for the 3D iPhone 5 mock. Make sure to check their website.

Tweetbot is Up!

Tweetbot is a full-featured iPhone Twitter client with a lot of personality. Whether it’s the meticulously-crafted interface, sounds & animation, or features like multiple timelines & smart gestures, there’s a lot to love about Tweetbot.

Multiple Timelines

Following too many people? Maybe you only want to read tweets from co-workers while at work. Use your Twitter lists as fully functional timelines. Create lists for friends, family, co-workers, and more. Tweetbot lets you switch between them as separate timelines.

Conversations and Details

Context is key. Tweetbot makes it effortless to catch up on a conversation or see responses to a tweet. Just swipe to the right to view a conversation thread or to the left to view the tweet in detail.

Smart Gestures

Tweetbot has gestures that can save you time. 1) Tap a Link or Avatar in your timeline to view more. 2) Tapping and holding any of those elements gives you options. 3) And finally you can configure triple-tap to reply-to, fave, retweet, or even translate a tweet.

The 10 Types of Social Media Addicts [INFOGRAPHIC]

Social media addiction: a disease likely affecting millions, but one that’s hard to track because it comes in many forms. The afflicted may reveal themselves as serial likers. They may have push notifications set for the most minor of social media updates. They may self-identify as “mavens,” “gurus” or “ninjas.”

But regardless of their appearance, they do walk among us. Of that we can be sure.

The following infographic, which comes by way of the marketing software company Marketo, details 10 of the most common types of social media fiends.

There’s “The Constant Checker,” who can’t go more than a few minutes without looking at his Twitter mentions orInstagram likes. There’s the Klout-obsessed “Self-Proclaimed Influencer.” There’s also the “Multi-Mayor,” who has to check in to a location every time she moves ten feet.

Any of these stereotypes hit a little too close to home? We certainly have to admit some do here. Check out the full infographic below for more. Then let us know in the comments — which of these personalities do you identify with? Are there any you would add?

Tweet Deck all new!

Popular Twitter client TweetDeck has just released a new redesign. The update brings several highly requested personalization features, like the option to switch between two themes — a light background with dark text that looks more in line with the traditional Twitter interface, and TweetDeck’s iconic dark background with light text. Users can also customize their font size from the settings menu, which offers 13pt, 14pt, and 15pt options. The update is available now for the web app, Chrome, Mac, and Windows — just restart your client to see it take effect.

Twitter New Logo

Over the past six years, the world has become familiar with a little blue bird. The bird is everywhere, constantly associated with Twitter the service, and Twitter the company.

Starting today you’ll begin to notice a simplified Twitter bird. From now on, this bird will be the universally recognizable symbol of Twitter. (Twitter is the bird, the bird is Twitter.) There’s no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase “t” to represent Twitter.

To learn more about our new trademark, visit the Twitter brand resources page. You’ll find updated guidelines, new image downloads — everything you need to start using it immediately.

Twitter: Happy 6th Birthday

A long way for Twitter.

On March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey tweeted the first ever tweet on Twitter.

The sheer fact that you can understand that sentence shows you how far Twitter has gone since then. It has become the de facto short message system of the internet and the favorite social networking service of celebrities all around the world.

And, with over 500 million users, it is the largest one-to-many open communication platform on the web.