The Online Toolbox for College Students

November 23rd, 2009

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If you’re a current or prospective college student, the new chapter in your life can be exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. You’ll come face-to-face with new challenges, whether it has to do with your studies, your social life, or your personal life.

Fortunately, the web has provided a solution for most of those problems.

That’s why we’ve made up a list of 105 of the best resources from around the web that can make your college life a whole lot easier. If you’re looking to manage your time, money and resources wisely, you’ll find a handful of sites from which you can benefit.

ESSENTIAL STUDENT RESOURCES
Financial Aid
Online Education
Textbook Resources
Free Software
Cheap Computer Hardware Sites
WRITING, STUDYING AND EDUCATIONAL AIDS
Learning Sites, Academic Materials and Studying Tools
Reference Sources and Materials
Tech Tips and Tricks

EMPLOYMENT
Career Guidance
Employment Resources
Human Resources

MISCELLANEOUS
Entertainment
Popular Social Sites for College Students
Student Tips and Related Articles

In order for your college experience to go smoothly, there are a few essentials that you’ll need first. Here, we concentrate on the essentials that have to do with planning your educational career (financing, online educational options) and starting out on that first day (computer hardware, textbooks, and software).
Financial Aid
1)
Upromise
If you need financing for your college education then Upromise can help. The idea revolves around utilizing the purchasing power of your parents, relatives, and other students to make it easier for you to pay your education.
2)
Fast Web
The site covers almost everything a college student needs with regards to financing. It includes sections for scholarships, financial aid, colleges, as well as some discussions about college life.
3)
FinAid
With its tagline “SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid”, you can definitely expect a lot of things from this directory. Browsing the database can yield good results.
4)
International Student
Mainly focusing on the needs of international students, this site helps college students find scholarships that will suit their specific needs.
5)
International Scholarships
As its name implies, International Scholarship features financial aid, international scholarship resources, and college scholarships. Get a comprehensive list of loan programs, grants, and scholarships for studying abroad.
6)
Young Money
Young Money helps college student stay out of debt with its comprehensive list of tips and guidance.
7)
The Simple Dollar
This popular blog talks about money issues for young people, college life, and other things related to students and their education.
8 )
FAFSA
This is the official website to visit if you need Federal student aid. Visit the site and determine your eligibility for this financing option.
9)
Sallie Mae®
Sallie Mae is one of the most credible providers when it comes to student loans. In addition to loans, Sallie Mae also handles various types of college savings plans.
10)
Wachovia
This particular bank is noted for its student-friendly loans. Wachovia lends out educational loans for parents, undergraduates, and graduate students.

Online Education
11)
Open Culture
The world is increasingly becoming globalized. Open Culture lets you explore other philosophies, lifestyles, and cultures around the world using educational media such as videos, online courses, and podcasts.
12)
Top 10 Tools for a free online Education
There are so many things you can learn on the internet from being a programmer to a guitarist. This particular article just gives you a glimpse of its possibilities.
13)
World Wide Learn
Features online colleges and universities that will help you get a degree program on the internet. It contains more than 16,700 degrees that can be earned online.
14)
Online-Education.net
Offers a listing of more than 2,200 campus-based and online colleges. The site is particularly useful for international students as it provides information about each US state as well.
15)
Guide To Online Schools
Essentially, this is an educational directory that focuses on distance learning, online degrees, and internet-based schools.
16)
Top Online Schools and Colleges
Has articles, insights, tips, and advice about getting an online degree. The site also aims to assist you with enrolling in the top online programs out there.
17)
Top 10 Universities With Free Courses Online
You may still be uncomfortable with the thought of getting a degree from an internet-based institution. Well, this list addresses that concern–it features campus-based institutions which give free courses online.
18)
Peterson’s
Connects schools, students, and corporations through its websites, online products, popular books, and admission services.
19)
The Open University
From its name alone, it is easy to conclude that the Open University provides high-quality university education to all–and it does.

Textbook Resources
20)
Alibris
Alibris is an online marketplace for independent book sellers. Here you can find a number of new and used books.
21)
Project Gutenberg
If you need convenience, check out Project Gutenberg. This site catalogues nearly over 100, 000 titles—free, online and downloadable. You can read your book right from the desktop or on the go.
22)
CampusBooks
The best thing about this site is that you get to compare prices on over 8 million new and used college textbooks with a few clicks for the best deal.
23)
Direct Textbook
Just fill in the search fields on this site to find text books and even sell your own while you’re at it.
24)
bigwords.com
You might also want to check out this site as it boasts the cheapest prices online.
25)
BookFinder.com
On BookFinder.com, you can find not only use and new books, but rare, out of print and international books as well.
26)
AbeBooks
“Cheap, Fast, Easy”—the first words that stand out on this online marketplace for books. In addition to great deals, this site is set up like a community and even lists top ten sellers in case you need a book for that off-time, leisure read!

Free Software
27)
eNotes
Very useful for students. This educational resource is also used by teacher and contains thousands of literature study guides, lesson plans, literary criticism, and a vibrant community.
28)
Notecentric
Forgot your notebook? Word processor crashing on your laptop? Take notes online with Notecentric, a web-based note taking application. Keep your notes organized, secured and accessible over the internet. A handy tool in tight situations.
29)
NoteMesh
Aids in collaborations with classmates. Essentially, it lets you create a unified set of notes for the class in wiki style. Post up and edit lectures notes which everyone can benefit from.
30)
Zoho
If you haven’t heard, Zoho is a popular online suite of applications you can use for creating documents, projects, spreadsheets and much, much more. Check it out.
31)
OpenOffice.org
Looking for a free desktop suite? Try OpenOffice.org. It’s the number one free alternative to proprietary software like Microsoft Office.
32)
Acrobat.com
There’s a high probability that you’ve used Adobe Acrobat before. Well, its online version allows users to create, store and share documents and PDF files.
33)
WriteOnline
Its tagline, “software for all abilities” says it all. WritOnline offers unique writing support tools like word prediction, writing analysis and voice review.
34)
ShareNotes.com
As its name implies, Sharenotes.com is a note sharing service provider that lets you connect with classmates easily.

Cheap Computer Hardware Sites
35)
OnSale
Looking for a good deal on computer hardware? Try onSale, an Internet retail site where you’ll find a ton of deals on a wide range of computers, software and other electronics.
36)
TigerDirect
Another great site for getting deals on computers, computer parts, computer components, netbooks, electronics and more.
37)
ResellerRatings.com
Want to shop around first? This site allows you to compare prices and read store reviews by existing customers. Compare similar products and get the best deal possible.
38)
Shop Frys.com
Contains the most common items every college student needs including computer parts & accessories, software, games, televisions, and cameras.
39)
Geeks.com
Geeks.com offers great deals for everyone. Excess inventory, closeouts, rare computer components, and manufacturer closeouts can all be found here.
40)
Newegg.com
Newegg.com is a popular site that helps every college student when it comes to computers, computer parts, software, PC games and more.
41)
BestBuy
BestBuy is one of the leading consumer electronic sellers in the country. Browsing the site will yield a lot of good finds for students from all levels.

When you get into the swing of things at school, papers and assignments will soon weigh you down. These tools can make your learning experience go much smoother and with less stress.
Learning Sites, Academic Materials and Studying Tools
42)
Cramster
Cramster is one of the best places that can help you with your math, science, engineering and business homework. They provide handy lecture notes, formula sheets and course outlines.
43)
BartelBy
Described as a preeminent publisher of literature on the internet, BartelBy lives up to its name with its thorough list of materials.
44)
World Lecture Hall
If you’re looking for course materials from a popular university from another country, then World Lecture Hall is the right place for you. It gives free online course materials from around the world.
45)
Study Guides and Strategies
Provides a complete resource of study guides, strategies, skills, tips and habits for learners and students in 30 languages.
46)
Merlot
Looking for more? Here’s a collection of selected higher education, online learning material accessible from Merlot. Get free access to a number of learning aids to help you get the grades.
47)
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
Another site that can help out any student. FREE has over 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources.
48)
Howtostudy.org
Contains various helpful study skills resources for students.
49)
AcademicInfo
Founded in 1998, AcademicInfo is a resource center that contains extensive topics and online learning information. Free and unbiased data can be sourced here.

Reference Sources and Materials
50)
Biology Online
You probably already gathered that Biology Online deals with everything Biology. But one thing that makes it unique is that it utilizes a Wiki concept wherein everyone can make a contribution.
51)
Merriam-Webster
The paper edition of the Merriam Webster dictionary is used throughout the world. Well, there’s no need to turn those pages anymore because the info you need can be accessed in a click of a mouse.
52)
The Glossarist
Terms from arts & culture, science, entertainment, health and medicine among others can all be located here with complete definitions. A handy site to bookmark.
53)
Dictionary.com
Known as the largest free online dictionary and audio pronunciation, you can literally know everything from this site.
54)
YourDictionary
This is a free online dictionary and much more. Conducting a search gives you definitions, thesaurus entries, spelling, pronunciation, and etymology results.
55)
OttoBib
References and bibliographies are a must in creating research papers. Students who struggle with this will no longer find it a problem when they use OttoBib.
56)
Virtual Learning Resources Center
Here’s a great resource. The VLRC directory indexes thousands of the best up to date academic information websites you can find.
57)
Classic Encyclopedia
Do you need to access encyclopedic information? Then Classic Encyclopedia is the site for you. Find information on a wide range of topics.

Tech Tips and Tricks
58)
Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User
If you’re looking for savvy tech tips, then this article is a resource to check out. It’ll provide you with all the information tips you need to get by.
59)
Windows XP Tips & Tricks
Windows XP still remains as one of the most popular operating systems. This page containing tips and tricks helps users make the most of the system.
60)
MalekTips
This is a very comprehensive computer tips website geared for average users. The site contains over 3,820 neat tips that’ll help you become more productive in using computers, digital cameras, and everything tech-related.
61)
CNET Tips & Tricks
CNET is one of the top sites when it comes to technology. Composed of die-hard techies, the website provides how-to’s, tips, tricks, and techniques on every tech topic imaginable.
62)
Online Education Database
Specifically geared towards college and graduate students, this database contains 27 applications, resources, and tools that can help any student become more productive.
63)
Websites For Students: 10 Online Learning Tools
Are you still looking for a website that’ll help you access learning tools easily? Well, this page contains a list of online tools you might find useful in your studies.

At one point or another, the number one question on every college student’s mind is, what am I going to do once I’ve graduated? It can be daunting to find yourself out of school without a prospective career, let alone employment opportunities. That’s why we’ve included this category.
Career Guidance
64)
Carrer Know How
Helps you find a job in today’s competitive workplace by giving you the right information and know-how for the application process.
65)
Career Consulting Corner
Still confused about the career you should pursue? The Career Consulting Corner is a popular source of workforce publications including career educational training materials among others.
66)
Career Pro News
Contains career-related news, conferences, online resources, organizations that will help you stay updated about the current job market.
67)
AboutmyJob
Features stories that may help you make the right decision when it comes to applying for a job.
68)
CareerPath
Specifically designed to help its visitors learn which type of job will suit them, their interests and their personality.
69)
Internship Ratings
As its name implies, Internship Ratings basically rates internship programs around the country to help users find the right one for their career needs.
70)
Careermag.com
Has a lot of valuable information about the job trends, available careers, and the market in generate in the United States.

Employment Resources
71)
JobShark
After your college experience, the next step is usually finding a job. JobShark is an online recruiting site that fits your qualifications with the appropriate job opening.
72)
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a renowned social networking site for professionals. What most people don’t know is that it can also be used as a tool to network with companies and find a job.
73)
Zumeo
This is a relatively popular college career network that matches students with internships and job opportunities around the country.
74)
Employment Guide
In essence, the material found here offers thorough guidelines in helping you find employment opportunities after college.
75)
Jobboom
Jobboom is an online recruiting service for the Canadian job market.
76)
WorkopolisCampus.com
Specifically catering to fresh grads, this online service that gives access to 200+ participating Colleges and Universities across Canada, with over 1,000,000 registered job seekers.
77)
Ecademy
By viewing the source code in your browser, you can make your own annoying novelty Push button.

Human Resources
78)
Worksmart
Certain applicants maybe qualified but don’t get hired because they flunk the interview. Worksmart gives tips and techniques that lets them ace that interview.
79)
Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook tells you everything you need to know about the jobs you’re getting into. Find out the training and education you need, your potential earnings and the and working conditions of a job you’re interested in.
80)
Job Interview Tips
As you’re probably expecting, this page provides job interview tips for fresh graduates who have no previous interview experience. Those who are having a hard time getting hired can benefit from it as well.
81)
Geek Interview
Don’t waste your chance to impress your potential employer. Be sure to come prepared during the interview or your efforts just might come down to nothing.
82)
Resume Edge
If you’re still looking for a way to get that desired interview, Resume Edge might be the solution to your concerns.
83)
Resume and CV Resources for Job-Seekers
This site provides free resume-writing and resume-strategy resources for job-seekers in both the work and academic fields.
84)
WorkBloom.com
Has comprehensive resume writing resources that let your curricular vitae stand out from the rest.

Let’s face it. College life isn’t all about studying. It’s also a lifestyle. And in honour of that, here are some popular websites and resources that’ll help make your college experience a fun one.
Entertainment
85)
StudentCity
For some, traveling is an important part of education. StudentCity helps students celebrate their college years through travel
86)
IGN.com
This is a complete entertainment solution for everyone whether they are college students or professionals. IGN is a popular site that provides news and information about the latest in movies, games, and entertainment.
87)
Webtoolkit.com
Contains full-fledged entertainment materials for a pored college student. Some of the things you can expect include personality tests, jokes, polls, columns, urban myths, and comic strips.
88)
YouTube
What could be a better source of entertainment than YouTube?
89)
JimmyR
This site compiles all the popular news from all over the web. Find the latest in news, videos, pictures, science, technology and more.
90)
Myspace.com
Myspace needs no introduction. It is one of the leading social sites on the internet today. Everyone uses it to connect with old friends, meet new people, share photos, watch entertaining videos, and listen to music.
91)
WAYN
WAYN has a narrower focus as it essentially caters to people interested in lifestyle and travel.
Popular Social Sites for College Students
92)
Twitter
Works around a unique concept of “following” people around whether they’re celebrities, classmates, acquaintances, or complete strangers.
93)
Alumwire
Socialize with your school’s alumni for insight, words of wisdom or just plain networking.
94)
PerfSpot.com
This is a free, public, international social network offering custom privacy tools, photo sharing, blog publishing, interest groups, messaging and chat.
95)
Multiply.com
Lets users can create, share and discuss blogs, photos, videos and music with others. They can even post reviews of movies, books, and share their calendar of events.
96)
Flixster.com
Focuses on sharing user multimedia experiences. You can rate movie reviews and share them with friends. Get access to actor photos and movie lists as well.
97)
StudentSocialNetwork
As it’s apparent from its name alone, the Student Social Network aims to provide connections and networking opportunities to its student members.
98)
Classmates.com
This site lets you find a friend or high school alumni from its database of over 40 million people.

Student Tips and Related Articles
99)
Campus Grotto
Covers a wide range of college related topics including study tips, college admission, college rankings, student financing, and general college life. A popular college news site in the United States.
100)
ZenCollegeLife
ZenCollegeLife is written by a friendly blogger who uses real-life examples and humorous stories to get his point across.
101)
College Tips
Basically described as a survival guide, it contains resources that will help students not only survive, but excel during their college years as well.
102)
Studenthacks.org
This is another blog that deals with college life. Personal experiences are minimal, but it contains a lot of tips.
103)
Gradspot
Most of the guides available on this site is for graduating students looking for help with apartment hunting, tax filing, resume writing and more. It’s a site geared towards that transition period between student life and real life.
104)
Gearfire
Described as a student productivity and organization blog, Gearfire has a large resource of fun articles contributed by other students on how to do well in school.
105)
CollegeBoard
This is a not-for-profit organization whose core mission is to provide students and graduates the opportunities to attain success.

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The Software Developer’s Ultimate Guide to Twitter Tools

October 5th, 2009
So you’ve heard about this thing called Twitter. As much as you try, you can’t avoid it. It’s everywhere on the Web.

And as a developer, you’ve probably tried it out, got hooked and became an official Twitter addict. But there’s something missing—a feature you can’t find; a convenience you need; a functionality you wish your Twitter tool had.

If only you could find a tool that had the features of one application and the functionalities of another, right? Why not develop your own mashup tool? Despite the many Twitter tools online, there’s always room for another.

The trick is finding the right resources. Tech resources are the first part; finding the inspiration for your own tool is the second. To help, we’ve made up a collection of the most useful Twitter tutorials around and the most popular Twitter tools online.

Get inspired right here with a software development guide made especially for Twitter developers.

BEFORE YOU START: THE TWITTER DEVELOPER ESSENTIALS
Twitter API Wiki Home
Twittut—Twitter programming for dummies
Ruby Class for interacting with the Twitter API
Python-Twitter–A Python wrapper around the Twitter API
PHP Twitter wrapper class to interact with the Twitter API
JTwitter Java Library for working with the Twitter API
ACCOUNT CREATION
Username Lookup Tools
Backgrounds and Customization Tools
Icons & Images & Buttons
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
SEARCH
Tools for Finding People by Interest
Twitter Directories
Search Engine
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
ADDING FOLLOWERS
Tools for Screening Followers
Tools for Mass Adding Followers
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks

TWITTER MASS
FOLLOWING TOOLS
Managing your followers
Tracking Tools
Monitoring Tools
Analyzing Tools
Tutorials Tips and Tricks
PUBLISHING & MANAGING TOOLS
Twitter Account & Usage Tools
WordPress Plugins
RSS to Twitter Tools
Browser Plugins
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
Removing people
Tools for Filtering and Managing Unwanted Followers
Tools for Annoying Followers
Tools for Mass Unfollowing
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
It takes some inspiration, a bit of know-how and a few handy related tutorials along the way, but you also need the basics. Make sure you have these Twitter library resources handy before you start.
Twitter API Wiki Home
Twittut—Twitter programming for dummies
Ruby Class for interacting with the Twitter API
Python-Twitter–A Python wrapper around the Twitter API
PHP Twitter wrapper class to interact with the Twitter API
JTwitter Java Library for working with the Twitter API

Keeping updated on friends, personal branding, passing on information—for whatever reason they’re made, Twitter accounts are a hot commodity, high in demand. However, the Twitter backgrounds and colours they provide users with can leave you with a LOT of room for improvement.

With the Twitter API handy and your favourite developer tools though, you can start developing tools that’ll personalize Twitter accounts even further than Twitter itself will let you.

These tools and tutorials on account creation and customization are just a starting point for what you can do with username tools, background customization tools, and icons, images and buttons.

Username Lookup Tools
If you’re looking to create more than one account, be warned: it can be difficult to come up with a user name that you like and that’s available. Make it easier for yourself and test out a few of these tools.
Domain Pigeon
Domain Pigeon is the number one place to find out which Twitter names are still up for grabs.
Tweetname
Tweetname lets you find Twitter domain names straight from the web or from your mobile phone. It’s a handy must have functionality with the popularity of mobile tech.
Tweexchange
This online tool is being branded as “the fatestest Twitter Username and Domain name search EVER!” Find out why.
Backgrounds and Customization Tools
Customization tools are definitely in high demand. A few of the best online resources and tools might give you some ideas on a background idea or a background generation tool. Find out what these sites have to offer you.
Twitpaper.com
Twitpaper.com is the site to check if you want contemporary and cool Twitter backgrounds.
Twitter Background Checker
To check if your Twitter background page works, a function like the one Twitter Background Checker has to offer is a great way to do so.
Twitter Backgrounds
Users love to customize. If you’re savvy with the graphics, check out a number of free Twitter backgrounds that everyone’s checking out.
Freetwitterdesigner.com
This tool lets users generate and customize their own Twitter background image. Try making a version of your own that’s just as easy to use.
Icons & Images & Buttons
Where would Twitter users be without the ability to click on a Twitter icon, button or image? Users love clean, easy to read and eye catching buttons. Try making yours just as cool as these ones.
TwitterImage.com
A person’s image on Twitter is important. At TwitterImage.com, you’ll find ways of making the right image for Twitter users.
31 Logos and Buttons For Twitter
Blog Marketing Web 2.0 et Techno may be a site completely in French, but you don’t need a translation to appreciate the style of these buttons and logos.
Twitter My Site
It’s a necessity to make it easy for people to follow you on Twitter. Do it with a customized button like the ones found here.
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
Take a look at these related tutorials. Here’s where you literally get to customize your own customization tools and ideas! They help you do exactly what they say they do.
Give A Personalized Touch to Your Twitter Page
Pixel Perfect Background Photoshop Template
Custom Twitter Backgrounds Tips for Better Readability
Build Your Own Social Home
GoDaddy Wants You to Go Twitter
Once a Twitter account is up, the fun begins. Usually the next thing needed is to add people to the account, but that first involves searching for people, aka Followers. This is one of the major reasons why Twitter search engines and directories are popular Twitter tools.

But with search engines and directories especially geared towards working with Twitter, users can find others conveniently. Here’s a variety of online searching tools that can get you started on building your network quickly.

Tools for Finding People by Interest
These people finding tools are perhaps the best starting point as they can help tailor your following network immensely.
Twollow
This tool is cool because it lets users discover others with the same interests, and lets users automatically follow them based on keywords.
Whoshouldifollow
Users may find it tough to find people to follow. Whoshouldifollow makes it easier by making suggestions on interesting people to follow.
Twubble
Twubble “searches your friend graph and picks out people who you may like to follow”.
Mr. Tweet
Search tools can goes even so far as to help you recommend and find relevant Twitter followers.
Justtweetit
Justtweetit is popular because it makes finding other Twitter users as easy as choosing a category.
Twitseeker
This tool finds users based upon what Twitter users are talking about.
Twitter Directories
Yet, sometimes, as a Twitter user, you aren’t looking for an individual Twitter profile. Sometimes it’s a company profile you’re looking for. See how these Twitter directories can come in handy for you.
Twitterectory
A popular online directory of Twitter profiles.
Twello
The Yellow Pages of Twitter with all the same conveniences.
Twitterholic
This site is popular because it lets users find the top 1000 Twitter users and accounts easily—celebrities included.
WeFollow
The Twitter directory that lets you find popular Twitter profiles by tags.
Twibs
A Twitter directory designed for finding out which businesses are on Twitter.
Twit4.com
Twit4.com makes the list because it allows users to conveniently look up twitter accounts related to companies they’re interested in.
geofollow
Another Twitter directory, but location based to help users find other Tweeters in a certain geographical area.
Search Engine
Each search engine in this section comes with its own special feature that makes searching for people and things on Twitter easy. Get some inspiration for a search engine that you can add to your own Twitter projects and tools.
TwitterTroll.com
As the site says, “TwitterTroll.com is the coolest real-time Twitter search engine!”
Twitter Search
One of the most popular Twitter search engines that lets users see what’s happening on Twitter.”
Tweet Scan
Another great searching tool for Twitter. One special feature of TweeScan is that it notifies its users with email updates when their keywords come up on Twitter.
Twazzup
Its landing page may look simple and uneventful, but when a search word is typed in, Twazzup offers a lot to ensure users find what they need—popular links, real-time tweets, trendmakers and featured tweets.
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
With the above searching tools, you may already have some ideas on what to add to your own. These additional tutorials provide you with easy instructions on a small range of things you can do to your own Twitter search engine.
Search for People on Twitter
Searching through your Twitter archive
Using the Twitter Search API
21) Simple PHP Twitter Search Ready to use in your Web Projects
Once a Twitter account is up, the fun begins. Usually the next thing needed is to add people to the account, but that first involves searching for people, aka Followers. This is one of the major reasons why Twitter search engines and directories are popular Twitter tools.

But with search engines and directories especially geared towards working with Twitter, users can find others conveniently. Here’s a variety of online searching tools that can get you started on building your network quickly.

Tools for Screening Followers
On the Web, it’s easy to be paranoid about the people in your immediate network. With dozens of followers, these tools can tell you which users to keep and which users to bypass. Trust us, it’s necessary.
TweepSearch
TweepSearch lets Twitter users search not only their followers’ location information, but also their bio.
TwitterSheep
This one lets users see a tag cloud from the bios of their Twitter followers.
The ReTweetability Index
Here’s a tool that measures a follower’s tweets—if they’re retweetable or not. A good tool for finding out the most influential users on Twitter.
Foller.me
According to the site, Foller.me “can provide you with the most detailed information about a specific Twitter user in the least amount of time!”
Tools for Mass Adding Followers
Adding a mass amount of followers isn’t as hard as it sounds. There are a few tools that can turn the lengthy and time consuming task into a few clicks. Take a look.
TweepMe
TweepMe is the easiest way to get new followers. How it works: “When a new member joins, every other member automatically follows the new member, and the new member follows them back.”
Twitterator
With this tool, users can follow a bunch of other Twitter users in one shot.
ifollowback (Beta)
iFollowBack.com is similar to the above tools—users agree to follow back other members of iFollowBack.com.
Twannabe (Beta)
For this tool, users can enter in their “Twitter hero” to find out who he’s following so they can follow the same people he is.
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
Do you still feel like something’s missing? A few handy tutorials related to adding Followers might just be what you’re looking for.
Tracking Twitter Traffic Trick
Automate linking to Twitter users
Twitter is all about up-to-the minute posts. It’s great when you have a ton of followers that want to hear what’s going on with you, but when you finally build up a network, you’re then faced with the problem of able to follow all the people you’ve added.

Don’t worry. You won’t have to chain yourself to your desktop in order to update over 1,000 or more people. The right combination of mass managing and mass following tools can have you checking in on your Twitter account less than 5 times a day (less than 20 if you’re a Twitter addict).

Here, we’ve got managing, tracking, monitoring and analyzing tools which can definitely make following 1,000 Twitter users manageable.

Managing your followers
Users always need a way of managing their followers whether it be a single user or 500, a few tools can make it easy to manage a large account.
TwitterLocal
TwitterLocal is an example of what Adobe AIR can do for Twitter. The app lets users filter Tweets by location.
Twitter Groups
Users can get easily connected with their groups by using Twitter Groups.
GroupTweet
Once a user creates a Twitter group, he can broadcast quick messages and updates to them instantly.
Twitter100
Twitter 100 makes it a bit easy to handle a number of followers. See up to 100 followers at a glance.
Tweader
Tweader is a new way to get Twitter conversations into a readable view which users can manage. Just entering the tweet’s ID will do it.
Mattinator
Here’s a handy tool to get you tweeting on a number of accounts simultaneously.
TwitterFriends (Beta)
TwitterFriends helps a user decide which followers are best for his relevant follower network with a tag cloud showing their tweeting stats.
Tracking Tools
Part of the problem with following a large number of people is being able to track things—tweets, URLs, replies, conversations. . . . The list goes on. If this sounds familiar, then this category is just the thing for you.
Twitterless (Beta)
Twitterless does a number of things: posts to Twitter from the browser address bar, lets user set privacy and blocking options, and filters followers. It also keeps track of followers, a user’s follower history and why users lose or gain followers.
Tweetbeep
With Tweetbeep, users get to keep track of conversations that mention them with hourly updates thrown in.
TwitterCounter
Described as the Feedburner for Twitter, TwitterCounter shows you how many people are subscribed to you.
Tweetburner
This tool tracks the links users share on Twitter and Friendfeed.
Re-Tweetist
Re-Tweetist helps users discover popular trends, topics and people by tracking Retweets across Twitter.
Tracking Twitter
Here’s a real-time track listing of the top media, entertainment, and consumer product feeds currently being posted on Twitter.
Monitoring Tools
Monitoring tools are must have in your Twitter toolbox. They make it easier for you to keep an eye on how things are going and in which direction they’re headed, whether it be the latest trends or your closest followers.
Tweethive
Tweethive easily creates channels to monitor Twitter across multiple accounts and even has the tools that’ll let users interact and manage your Twitter contacts.
Tweet-Rank
Tweet-Rank provides users with the relevance of each tweet by checking how much followers are won or lost with each tweet.
Twist
A site that depicts trends that are going on in Twitter.
Monitter
A Twitter monitor that lets you “monitter” Twitter for a set of keywords. It ultimately keeps watch on what people are saying.
TweetStats
TweetStats graphs a user’s Twitter Stats including Tweets per hour, Tweets per month, Tweet timeline, reply statistics.
Alltop
Here’s a great online aggregator news site that gives Twitter users a heads up on everything that’s going on in the Twitter world.
Analyzing Tools
Twitter analyzing tools are another great way of staying on top of your account. But are you looking to analyze something specific in a certain way?Get some hints from the list below.
TwitterMass
Users looking to reach existing or new customers can turn to TwitterMass. They’ve got tools to spark a conversation and manage a Twitter user’s reputation.
Twitter Grader
Users can analyze how their own Twitter account is doing, while keeping updated on the power and authority of their profile.
Tweetwasters
Spending a lot of time on Twitter? Users can find out exactly how much with Tweetwasters.
Twendz
This tool hightlights Twitter threads that revolve around certain themes.
Twitalyzer
Twitalyzer evaluates a Twitter user’s relative influence, signal-to-noise ratio, generosity, clout, and other useful measures of success in social media.
Twinfluence
With Twinfluence users can measure the combined influence of their own profile and their followers.
Tutorials Tips and Tricks
When you need help, look to a few of these tutorials that can help point you in the right direction
Twitter Followers Counter Tutorial
Set and Retrieve Twitter user status
How to Make a Unique Website for your Twitter updates
Twitter: Send Message From a PHP page using Twitter API
Twitter CLI
A Desktop Twitter Client Built on AIR
How to Run Multiple Twitter Feeds on the same page

Getting your Twitter account in working order is important. Being able to publish and manage your Tweets online through RSS feeds, blogging, browser plug ins and with plain old usage tools is half the battle. The other half is trying to do it efficiently.

This category has the tools that can do just that.

Twitter Account & Usage Tools
The following Twitter essentials are just that—essential. They’re the tools you suddenly realize you need in the middle of your daily Twitter routine.
Twittermail
With Twittermail, it`s possible to post tweets directly to your Twitter account with an email address provided by Twittermail.
Socialtoo >
SocialToo can help users keep their follower lists in sync across different networks, while getting daily updates.
Tweet Backup
With the amount of tweeting going on, tweets can quickly accumulate. This tool can help back up a user’s favourite tweets.
Tweet O’Clock
Because Tweeters come from different time zones around the world, Tweet O’Clock cleverly works out the day and time when certain users will be using Twitter.
LinkBunch
Sharing a bunch of links on Twitter can be a bit tedious to the recipient. Check out this handy tool that takes a bunch of links and puts them together in one small “LinkBunch” link.
WordPress Plugins
If you’ve got a WordPress blog, then you’re probably itching to get it to work with your Twitter account in some way and in a smooth way. Here are a few plug ins that might do just what you’re looking for.
WordTwit
This tool keeps a user’s Twitter contacts updated on his own blog by automatically pushing a published post to his Twitter account as a tweet.
Commentwitter Plugin
A tool like Commentwitter helps a blog’s commenting section by letting a user send his comments on a blog posting to Twitter, allowing other people to follow the comments as well.
Simple Twitter Link
Simple Twitter Link returns a URL to Twitter with a user’s post/page URL within it.
Twitt-Twoo
Twitt-Twoo is a nifty plugin that lets users update their Twitter status right from their blog’s sidebar.
TweetSuite
A Twitter-WordPress integration plugin that includes TweetBacks, a ReTweet-This buttons for each TweetBack, A digg-like Tweet-This Button, Automatic Tweeting of new posts and more.
RSS to Twitter Tools
And, no—we didn’t forget about the RSS tools. They’re an important part of keeping readers and yourself updated on the latest. The RSS to Twitter tools give you a few ideas on some Twitter-blogging action.
TweetBacks
Works like trackbacks for blogs, but lists Tweets about a specific post instead.
RSS2twitter (Beta)
An RSS to Twitter posting tool that lets users do just that–publish blogging content to Twitter directly.
Add Twitter RSS
Adds a user’s Twitter RSS link to their blog header. Simple, easy and essential.
http://twitterfeed.com/
With Twitter Feed, users can display the latest tweets from their accounts.
Browser Plugins
The best things about Firefox is its customizing plug ins. They’re created by developers exactly like yourself who saw a browser need, the opportunity to develop and did it. What’s your Firefox Twittering need?
Tw-autocompete 1.4
A “simple add-on for Firefox that adds autocomplete support for @-messages and d-messages to Twitter.com”.
Feedly
A cool tool that can put Twitter content into a fun start page on Firefox.
TwitterBar
TwitterBar conveniently lets users post to Twitter from the Firefox address bar.
TwitterFox
This simple extension notifies users of any updated tweets on Twitter with an icon on the status bar.
82) Twitzer
A definite must-have that lets users post more than the usual 140 characters on Twitter.

Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
Here are a few tutorials for further publishing, managing and using Twitter with blogs, websites and webpages.
83) Develop a Twitter Landing Page
84) How To: Run Multiple Twitter Feeds on the Same Page
85) How to Display Your Twitter Status Message in a Speech Bubble in WordPress
How to Build a Maintainable Site Using CushyCMS and Twitter
Add Sign in with Twitter to your WordPress Comments Template in 3 Steps
How to Create an RSS-Enabled, Micro-Blog with Twitter
At last, one of the things you may dread is a network filled with users you no longer follow or relate to. This is normal. There’ll always be a time when you may want to get rid of some followers. Power users oftentimes change, remove or add followers on a regular basis.

We give you a small guide on how to go about.

Tools for Filtering and Managing Unwanted Followers
Here’s where you start dealing with unwanted followers. These tools help you to first filter out the unwanted followers based upon tweets and updates.
Nest Unclutterer
The Nest Unclutterer should be a staple for all Twitter accounts as it helps users weed out the Tweeters you don’t want in your “nest”.
Twitoria
A tool that tells users which of their followers haven’t posted an update in a while.
Mycleenr
“The best way to clean your Twitter contact list”. It lets users sort out their friends according to their last tweets.
My Tweeple
Here’s an all-in AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, and Google Talk IM client for your mobile phones.

Tools for Annoying Followers
Believe it or not, there are tools that can help you with annoying Followers. You can definitely find some inspiration for a similar functionality to add to your own Twitter project.
follow cost
The ability to find out how annoying Tweeters are before actually following them is definitely something all Tweeters should have.
Twalala
In addition to letting users control what they see in their Twitter stream, Twalala is also a handy little mute button for Twitter.
TwitBlocker
Here’s a greasemonkey script that lets users temporarily remove tweets from their timeline. Perfect for putting the chatty Tweeters on hold.
TwitterSnooze
As you can tell from its name, TwitterSnooze is the snooze button for Twitter.

Tools for Mass Unfollowing
Some of the mass unfollowing tools can help you get rid of a number of Followers in one click. Below are some of the best around.
TopFollowFriday.com
TopFollowFriday.com tells a user who endorses him, and who endorses whom!
Friend or Follow
Users can find out easily who’s following them back and who they’re not following back themselves. An absolute Twitter necessity for power accounts.
Tweepler
With its added “ignore” bucket feature, Tweepler makes it easy for you to stop following the Tweeters you don’t want to follow back.
Qwitter
Qwitter sends out an email notification to users when they lose a follower.
Twitter Karma
Essentially a pagination navigation tool that also contains a bulk unfollowing features.
Mutuality
This tool can perform mass follower tasks including mass unfollowing.
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
When in doubt about how to unfollow users properly with your own tools, try looking here for some handy tips on doing it right and doing it well.
How to Unfollow with Class

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100 Most Popular Rippers, Encoders, and Converters

June 12th, 2009

Want to rip a driving sequence from Fast and Furious? Want a specific song from a movie but donít want to buy the whole album? MP3 player doesnít recognize the format of your favorite songs? Need to upload in GIF format instead of the JPEGs your digital camera uses?

These are scenarios and questions youíre familiar with. The biggest question in the end, however, is–’What do you do?’

The simplest answer to that is finding a ripper, encoder or converter. They can turn those frustrating scenarios into simple tasks. To start you off, hereís a detailed catalogue of the best tools out there.

Most of these rippers, encoders and converters are freeware so you don’t have to shell out a single cent. They’re effective, efficient and can ease your digital lives tremendously.

So ‘what do you do’?–All you need to do is choose!

Read the rest of this entry »

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