X
Tech

Brizzly takes the guesswork out of using Twitter

Considering that I've been a loyal user of TweetDeck for some time now, the fact that Brizzly could potentially steal away my heart is a big deal.
Written by Jennifer Leggio, Contributor

Last night I fell in love. With Brizzly, a newer application for managing a Twitter experience (bluebird + grizzly = get it?), from ThingLabs. Considering that I've been a loyal user of TweetDeck for some time now, the fact that Brizzly could potentially steal away my heart is a big deal. I absolutely love this application.

First, it takes away the guesswork that no other Twitter client has been able to do: It automatically extends all minimized URLs (without the use of a Mozilla Firefox plug-in) so you know what you will click. You don't need to enter in any of your credentials into a third-party application, either (unlike TweetDeck) as it authenticates right from Twitter. And two very small -- yet very usable -- features I like: it auto-refreshes your feed so you don't have to manually reload multiple times as you do with Twitter web. In another aesthetic win, Brizzly also expands pictures and videos right in your Twitter stream so there is no need to launch a browser, visit a different service or deal with another box on your screen:

Did I mention that Brizzly also lets you manage multiple accounts and view them with a quick click to the profile? You can also create groups within each profile, quite easily:

Other features include a muting option for noisy tweeters and a dedicated DM stream that is almost like an instant message client. The only negative of Brizzly is its very nature: it's Web-based. Those of us used to tweeting through desktop applications might find it a hard switch to make. However, the increased security through direct authorization and the automatic expansion of shortened URLs might make it worth it.

Brizzly has a tutorial that explains all of this in quick detail. Check it out. Interested in trying Brizzly? I have five 10 invitation codes to spare. Leave your email address in the comments and I will send you one.

Editorial standards