Twitter, a micro-blogging service that can take up as little as a minute a week or the entire week itself. Once you’ve dove into the world of posting to your followers & the public it seems there is no turning back. (except for these people) But, if your like me you want choices. The freedom to post when, where and most importantly how is very important. I searched around and discovered the many ways to tweet. You most likely already know most of these but if you dont just think of it as a review. So lets liberate you from the Twitter website and on to other methods already shall we?

Tweet by Email

Say you don’t want to have all these fancy applications and widgets and heebejeebes everywhere. Your more of the simple type that can do things on your own. Tweet to your desire through email by simply going to twittermail.com and signing up for their service. Enter your Twitter username & password and it generates a unique email address for you only. Then send your twitter posts to this email. Anything that is sent is automatically posted to Twitter. Its a great tool if you would like to “share” a twitter account without giving the password to it so a group of people can email / post tweets to one account.

Tweet by SMS (Text Message)

Take advantage of this service if your away from your computer and all you have is your (non-smart) phone. Visit http://twitter.com/devices & login to enter your details. Once you give Twitter your cell phone number you’ll get a verification text message to proceed with completing the setup. Once everything is peachy you can send SMS messages to the number they give you to post.

In the US, use 40404.

In Canada, use 21212.

In the UK, Vodafone users can text to the new local UK Vodafone short code 86444; people on all other UK carriers should use +44 7624 801423

In Sweden, use: +46 737 494222

In Germany, use +49 17 6888 50505

Anywhere else, use +44 7624 801423

Dont forget though, your cell phone plan might charge you per text message you send/recieve when you have this feature on.

Tweet by Gtalk

This one’s pretty easy. Just add twitter@twitter.com to your Google Talk Contacts and you’ll be able to post updates through it. Google writes more about it on their blog here.

Tweet by GMail Widgets

This one can come in handy for those of you at work and happen to be behind a firewall. *Most* offices allow you to at the very least check your email. (Not that I have any knowledge whatsoever on that subject, its just all hearsay.) If you have been a good boy/girl you should be using Gmail by now. A widget that operates withing your Gmail Inbox sidebar will let you do your dirty work.

TwitterGadget uses Google Labs to run beside your messages so its out of the way and non-obstructive.  First you will need to enable Labs by going to the “Labs” page withing Gmail located under Settings. Enter the following URL in the “Gadgets” link area:

http://www.twittergadget.com/gadget_gmail.xml

It will prompt you for your Twitter username and password. Pop in your credentials and there you have it! You’ll be able to collapse the gadget in case you don’t want to be Twittering while reading your Emails. For those of you who like “everything in one place” (especially your inbox) then you should definitely look into the many widgets Gmail has to offer. TwitterGadget lets you view your timeline, direct messages, replies, favorites and the “all timeline”.

Tweet by Facebook

Heavy social website user? Most likely your a Facebook’er but how can you combine that with your other micro-love Twitter? Sign up for Twitters Facebook app. Once added, you’ll be prompted to supply your credentials for Twitter. This way, everyone will be able to know your using Facebook as a disguise to post on Twitter.

Tweet by Flickr

Photographers of the Twitter world unite. With TwitterGram you can have all your photos uploaded to Flickr also posted as a tweet. You can also add tags to the photos so that only certain pics get tweeted. Check em’ out at http://flickr.twittergram.com/

Tweet by XBOX 360

Even though Microsoft has announced that Twitter will officially be coming to XBOX Live soon (read article here) you can still try out an Xbox-Twitter link now by letting a service called Twee60. When your Xbox Account status changes so will your Twitter account. Be VERY careful how you use this because you could potentially lose hundreds of followers in a few hours because at the moment there is no way to control which status updates get posted. But if your a hardcore gamer and love Twitter, this is the service for you.

Tweet by Firefox Plugins

Internet Explorer’s got nothing on Firefox. Being the safest and most reliable browser out its no doubt its marketshare will soon surpass IE’s. The ton of plugins you can install are real fun too. There are quite a few Firefox plugins you can download that will allow you to post/read to Twitter but I picked only one that goes above and beyond. Its free of course and is very lightweight.

Head to TwitterFox.net and click on “Install”. Restart Firefox and a small “t” will be located on your bottom right hand window. Set your username/password within the prefrences and you’ll have a handy Twitter pal ready for you at any webpage ready to take orders.

If this doesn’t tickle your fancy there are always other add-ons you can choose from. Take a look at the full list here. (Also, if you are not using Firefox by now go download it or else you are never allowed back here)

Tweet by Desktop Clients

Twitter has a few desktop clients they mention on their applications page and its really up to you on which one you are more comfortable with. I’ve tried most all of them but my top pick for Mac would have to be Atebits “Tweetie“. Just like their iPhone app, its quick and responsive. There are two versions, one free and one paid – the free one gives you a small banner every so often between your tweets in your timeline. Both of them have the ability to use http://search.twitter.com right within the app itself which comes in handy when searching for hashtags without going to a browser. This is completely acceptable since I dont have to install that horrendous Adobe Air just for a 2 MB program like other twitter desktop clients.

If your on Windows try out Digsby. Although its an all-in-one program for your AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, and other chat services it also has a nice interface for posting to Twitter. If you haven’t noticed by now through this entire blogpost I’m all about having the maximum desktop space so when  program combines services in a well designed manner thats always a plus.

Tweet by iPhone / Cell Phone Application

So you got an iPhone, now you need to know what is the best Twitter app out there. Look no further, Tweetie again comes through for you. Available through the App Store (iTunes Link Here) for as little as $2.99 (as of this post) it is a bargain. Others will attest that this is not your typical twitter app, nor is it that awful “Twinkle”. You have your bottom bar allowing you to access your timeline, replies, direct messages, favorites and “More” (which includes Your Profile, Go to User, Nearby Tweets, Trends, Search, and Saved Searches) Tap the top right corner to post a new tweet at anytime. One of the best features of this app is the ability to quickly swap between Twitter accounts.

I’m not going to be able to cover every single cell phone out there but lets cover some basics. If you have an older phone you could go the SMS way or, if you phone is capable of installing JAVA applications then you got a few options. Check out a JAVA app by Tommi Laukkanen called Twim. Its pretty slick for a basic cell phone application. You got your timeline, replies and ability to post. Download the .JAR file here. Or you could also try accessing the Twim .Jad file from your cell phones web browser.

Moving on to the Google Android phone, an app called “iTweet” lets users do pretty much the same thing Tweetie does (same price too!) It has a cool interface and is pretty snappy compared to others. I’ve only played around with this one a few times but so far I’m pretty impressed. Be warned that just like any other smart phone out there if you leave an application open set to refresh often you will find that your battery can drain much much faster.

The Blackberry itself is a great phone that has a tactile feel to the real keyboard which makes it a great Twitter companion. If you like that old school feel of a qwerty keyboard and want to continue having a “Blackberry thumb” then check out TwitterBerry. (Follow that link within your Blackberry) With it you’ll be able to post tweets (also viewing the remaining characters while you type) click on URLs within a tweet, as well as follow new people within the app. A big plus is its feature to integrate the TwitPic service to upload photos. (assuming your blackberry has a camera)

Tweet by TV

Twitter apps for your cell phone is nothing new, but how about twittering from your TV? Samsung has released a Twitter widget for their flat screen LED TVs. (TV Models: 6000, 7000, & 8000 as well as the 6 & 7 series) The Internet enabled TVs already have Yahoo, Flickr and YouTube widgets but now that Twitter has gone mainstream it just *has* to be on every screen possible now doesn’t it? The widgets capture the RSS feed and display it on the left side of the TV when activated.

Let’s just hope that you arent watching a DVR sports game pre-recorded earlier and have Twitter ruin it as you begin to watch it with a post like “___ Team Wins!!!” Though I have to admit I kinda want this.

Tweet by WordPress / Blogger

Want to have your latest tweet shown on your blog? Your visitors deserve to know what your last micro-blog (aka tweet) post is at all times when they’re viewing your website. As you can see from this particular website (smile) it can be customized to show just one, or as many tweets as you like. WordPress users should check out a plugin called Twitter Tools.

Download the plugin then install it by putting the files in your wp-content/plugins/ folder. Login to your WordPress Admin page and activate “Twitter Tools” and after a minute or two it should refresh and show up on your main page.

Now for you Blogger folk its real simple. Go visit Twitters Badge page for Blogger when signed in and click on the icon with the plus symbol. It will take you to the Blogger Login page. Enter your username/password and your Blogger widget is installed! How easy is that?

Tweet by Nintendo DS

I know I know, your asking yourself why, why! Oh, I have the answer for you my friend, ready? Here it is… Cuz you CAN! BOO YA.

Okay, so for this you’ll obviously need a Nintendo DS with an R4/DSTT chip or a Nintendo DSi with the new R4i chip. Its not something to go out of you way for but it is fun if you have everything already anyway.

First download the ZIP file here. Unzip the file and read the (english) instructions on where to put the folder. Usually its in your application folder of the R4 OS. The XML config file needs to be modified with your username and password before you start up the DS though.

Its pretty straight forward, and although you could just use the Opera DS software pre-installed on your DSi to visit the Twitter page, this makes it much more cooler.

Tweet by Second Life

I don’t use Second Life anymore but for you virtual people out there take a gander over at Twitterbox.  Im not going to get too deep into it because it can be pretty detailed. Worth a gander at especially for those who use Second Life in full screen mode though and can’t see 3rd party apps or a web browser window.

Tweet by Your Brain (as in your thoughts)

Looking into the future of Twitter and beyond we can see that we’re stepping further and further away from traditional keyboards and closer to… nothing! Imagine using only your thoughts to communicate with the computer and control its actions. Its already a reality using electrodes connected to peoples heads and monitoring their brainwaves. But the good people over at the Neural Interface Technology Research and Technology Lab at the University of Wisconsin decided to put it to good use now and try Twitter out with it. What do you think? (ha, get it? Think?)

There are dozens more ways I’m sure you can tweet but I thought these should tide you over till the next post. If you have a different way to tweet by all means tweet me at @SketchStudios. Happy Twittering, stay under 140!