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Brizzly: full-featured web client for Twitter
On the plus side, Brizzly allows you to save drafts of tweets, a feature I wish Twitter.com would incorporate. Its threaded interface for direct messages is also nice, and looks a bit like a Google Talk window. If you DM a lot, Brizzly will definitely make it easier to follow your conversations. Brizzly also tells you when there are new tweets in your stream, so you're not fruitlessly hitting refresh to read Twitter. Keyboard shortcuts are handy, too: The j and k keys scroll up and down, which Gmail and Google Reader users will be familiar with. On top of that, photos and videos are displayed inline, instead of making you click through.
Brizzly's not all great, though. It's unfortunately just not a very pretty website, and I don't think I can look at it every day. I'm not saying we're in Fugly Friday territory, but the design is weak, especially the prominent trending topics box. I also miss having my follower/following numbers and my friends' icons in the sidebar, the way Twitter.com does it. Some people might find that useless, but I would say the same about trending topics. It's all a matter of taste, so if Brizzly's array of features fits your needs, and you don't mind its appearance, you should definitely give it a shot.
Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsJeremy DixonSep 30th 2009 10:41AM
Honestly, the only thing in that list that's interesting to me is the drafts, but with futuretweets out there and tweetdeck on my machine I have pretty much all i need. It'll have a tough sell for me.
KLFSep 30th 2009 3:30PM
I disagree - I think the site looks fine, and I actually appreciate the prominent Trend keywords and the multiple account support - something that's missing on Twitter.com.
I also enjoy that linked images are automatically put into the stream. That's a great idea that doesn't even appear in a lot of desktop clients.
adgth1Sep 30th 2009 10:42PM
What the hell is an invitation code?
Joao AlmeidaOct 1st 2009 7:40AM
Having some kind of user lookup, like desktop apps have, in the message window would be helpful
halophoenixOct 1st 2009 9:57AM
I'm with you on drafts, that's useful - but there's user and tweet search at the top of the window, support for multiple Twitter accounts, support for groups of users, and I really think the DM interface on the side is something that's really really worth more discussion on.
Add to that the fact that not only does Brizzly display images and video in-line with the rest of your tweets but it also expands shortened URLs so you can see what you're clicking before you do, and has its own URL shortening and image hosting service so all you have to do is paste or upload your image to include it in your tweet.
I agree that the UI isn't anything horribly special, but I think the desire was to keep it simple, elegant, and above all functional - there's a reason people are scrambling to get their hands on invites, and while it probably won't sway me from my desktop Twitter app, it's got features that could sway a lot of people.
Give the app a little more time and another try, and I think you'll find more to like. I did a hands-on myself with it and did a pretty lengthy writeup with screenshots:
http://www.appscout.com/2009/09/hands_on_with_brizzly_an_app_t.php
Might help you out a bit? :)