Apparently, TweetMeme is getting big enough that it can have its own “20%” projects, like Google does. That’s how TweetTabs was born, a great new way to search Twitter in real-time.
True to its name, TweetTabs allows you to open several tabs with different Twitter search queries. While some Twitter desktop clients also allow you to do this, TweetTabs is completely browser-based. And it’s great because it’s so simple. All you do is enter a query into the search box and a new tab will automatically pop open that will update in real-time. There are also a list of the top trending topics on Twitter across the top of the site, which you can click on to open a tab for any of those searches as well.
Another nice feature is that clicking on any link provides an overlay to give you more information about the URL, including a few quick lines from blog posts and a thumbnail of an image used. Naturally, there is also a retweet button here to allow you to easily resend the tweet back to Twitter by way of TweetMeme. Hovering over a Twitter icon in TweetTabs also presents the options to retweet, reply to a tweet, or to see that user’s Twitter profile.
You can drag and drop to change the order of the tabs, and if you close the window, TweetTabs will remember which searches you had opened.
A service like this really couldn’t come along at a more perfect time. If you want to track what is going on in Iran, but really don’t want to have a dedicated Twitter Search window just open to that all day, it can now just be one of the many search tabs you have open. And if you really don’t like the browser-only aspect of it, TweetTabs has a solution for that too:
If you want to get #TweetTabs on your desktop then download chrome or prism for firefox and save it as an application!
Unfortunately, I think the API may be limiting the full real-time aspect of the service. Tweets about Iran, for example, start flowing quickly but then seem to hang for a while. If they can get that resolved though, this may be the ultimate web-based Twitter search tool.
TweetTabs is just the first of a range of “complimentary” Twitter-based services TweetMeme founder Nick Halstead plans to launch over the next several months, he says.
I still see no reason I would ever use this… I am so tired of seeing links in twitter.. and when I look at the page all I see is link after link after link.. is that all twitter is? A link machine.. someone please explain why the average joe would ever care about a twitter search? 99% of the news that happens we generally can wait a few hours before knowing?
agreed. if digg or delicious.com gave ppl a stream and a reply feature, it’d be pretty much identical.
That’s correct i agreed .
Again, TC just cant refuse any news pertaining to Twitter!
I personally think they have some stakes in Twitter
NICE. I’ll be keeping a tab of tweettabs open all day for sure. So many great simple twitter related ideas. I’m embarrassed I haven’t had any.
As with all such sites, it is spinning my processor like crazy.
Looks a bit like TweetDeck but browser based with better search functionality.
There are widgets like TweetGrid you can use in the same purposes. E.g. buy vs. sell in Twitter: http://bit.ly/IqI6U etc.
MG, I really enjoy your posts. But, respectively, TC is running 20% visibility on one product every day, a rate matched only by Mashable. It makes sense for them, that’s what they do, social networking. Perhaps TC should start its own dedicated aggregate Twitter section. You could easily monetize that section “sponsored by” with plenty of advertisers jumping at the opportunity based on your traffic from Twitter.
Point is Twitter posts on the TC home page are becoming overwhelming. I’m spending less time on TechCrunch and more time on Techmeme, Gizmodo, and Ars Technica. I understand riding the traffic wave, but at what cost?
Now here’s where I insert my foot in my mouth so no need to reply in your defense (again I like your writing.) The TweetTabs tabs product is useful, at least for me. I tried seesmic and deck, they both suck. The preview is useful too, again without having to install Firefox’s bit. preview.
I wonder how it’s different from twitterfall.com? Maybe it has some neat tabs feature, but would that all cover a separate company? We need more applications, not features. Personally, am a big user of http://www.boilingpage.com the real-time search engine, a competitor for tweetmeme.
It’s cool, but he #iranelection tweets flow so fast I can’t quite read any single one. I’d rather have a browser window open and refresh it as I please. For other, less fast-flowing topics, though, it’s useful.
does techcrunch have a stake in twitter ?
readers would really appreciate a disclosure
twitter is this and twitter is that
but is twitter in its current form as spam heaven really useful at any level ?????
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN FOR BETTER BLOGNALISM
ACTION #1: TC GET RID OF MG Siegler!!
REAL TIMES!!!!!!11111one
this looks very similar to http://monitter.com/
oh thanks, will check this out
Or you can use Fluid.app on the Mac. V. nice
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http://TwitHive.com provides similar features and more, including multiple channels (including search channels), multiple account support with OAuth authentication, auto refresh, integrated blog & ews searches, and more.
It also runs inside the web browser with nothing to install.
Used it. Works pretty well.
Your second paragraph: “There are also a list…”
Did someone fail second-grade grammar?