Of all the social networks that exist, my fave by far is Twitter. Why? Well because i don’t have to spend my precious time adding dozens of glitter buttons (not that there is anything wrong with that) or filling out numerous quizzes or downloading a million gazillion photos.

I just update and go. Love it. It is a tool on the web like no other. I like to describe Twitter as IM on crack.

With that fine introduction to what Twitter is, below are my top picks for twitter tools you should be using if you’re a blogger.

1. Twitter Feed -This is where the RSS feed function of Twitter comes into play. I cant’ tell you how many times i’ve come across a feed tweet from a blogger that led to some interesting or useful information. Feed tweets get me all the time from a variety of bloggers. Don’t miss out on sharing a great post, use TF.

2. Twirl -This is a neat widget download that allows for the use of Twitter like an instant messenger, as opposed to having a web window open. You can send tweets, receive tweets, fave tweets, share pics, share links, (and my fave feature) you can re-tweet with Twirl. It’s free, easy, and fun. A must if you’re a blogger.

3. Tweet Later – You can do several things with this one. First you can schedule an upcoming Tweet and have it delivered at a predetermined date and time. Second you can auto follow people who follow you. And third you can send a thank you or welcome message to new followers in the form of a DM, automatically via Tweet Later. 3 very cool features. (hat tip to Sly from Slyvisions on this one) UPDATE: I no longer auto follow or send out automatic DM’s. I still think Tweet Later is good for its initial purpose though.

4. Twitter Search -The name says it all. This site allows you to search in real time for whatever topics you want more information on. You type in a search query and it searches all of Twitter for a result. Very addictive.

5. Monitter – I just found this one, but its worthy of mention. It’s like Twitter Search, in that it allows you to search. But it displays three columns worth of tweets, as opposed to one. Great for multi-taskers.

The Famous Follow

Of course one can’t write a post on Twitter, and not ask for the famous follow. So you know what comes next, right? If you’re a blogger and use Twitter, follow me here.

Want More?

Here is a link to a fantastic round up of Twitter tools. It’s a really long list, so go grab a cup of coffee before reading this one.

Not On Twitter, Yet?

If you’re not on Twitter yet and have questions on how to use it, how to add followers, what to tweet about, etc. Grab a copy of my Awesome Twitter Guide, a beginners guide to Twitter.

There are many tools and apps that expand the functionality of Twitter and or just make it more fun. Subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out on cool Twitter tools, apps and resources.

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Consumers with the bad economy and rising fuel prices, are flocking to the web more and more, to do their shopping. Online shopping is expected to be very popular this holiday season.

Online Shopping Portals Popular, Plus ExplorZ Review

I want to review shopping portals, and one in particular ExplorZ. This is an SEO optimized site that allows small shop owners to feature their products on the web. This creates excellent search visibility of your products.

How Does It Work?

Essentially the way it works is you register up an account, set up your store details through their interface, and then list your products via easy to submit RSS feeds.

Store Directory

I browsed through the store directory, and randomly picked a store. I found one called Blue Dragons Gifts. This store sells collectibles and hard to find gift items, such as glassware, 45 RPMs, vhs tapes, books, postcards, 33 RPMs, dvds, and figurines.

SEO Friendly Pages

If you take a look at the products featured in this store through Explorz, you will notice that each item get its own page, and carries an SEO friendly title on each page. What does this mean? It means that with proper marketing and promo, each page (and hence the products) will be found by web searchers. This is good.

How Much Is It?

There is no cost to list your store, or your products. According to the About Us page on the site, the service is 100% free. I can tell they make their money based off of banners on the site. There is no cost to sellers or buyers.

Final Note

My final comment on this site, is on the design. It could use a different sized width, as i quite dislike scrolling side to side to see what is on a page. This can easily be remedied, with some minor site modifications.

Let me also mention, that the site is web 2.0 enabled, as it features store reviews and ratings, tell a friend buttons, and has social networking built-in, via its community forum.

To wrap up, if you have an online store and are wanting another venue in which to showcase your products that is search engine friendly, give ExplorZ a try. If you do use it, let me know your thoughts and experiences with it.

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Want a convenient and easy way to keep track of certain keywords, your blog, or other topics in Twitter? Enter TweetBeep, it is like Google Alerts but for Twitter. The alerts are sent to your email inbox, and you choose what to keep track of.

via – Web 2.0 Blog

For example, lets say you write a blog on vintage clothes, and you want to stay updated on what others on Twitter are saying and discussing on this particular topic. Just TweetBeep this keyword, and alerts are automatically generated and sent to you, on your schedule, as frequent as hourly, or less so, once daily.

The Twitter alerts service is quick and easy to set up, try it out.

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