Twitter for Lawyers: Using TweetDeck

Written by Amy Derby on November 21st, 2008 | 4 Comments

TweetDeck for Easy Organization of Twitter

Checking your messages from twitter.com’s web interface isn’t the most efficient way to do things. It also only catches any @replies that begin with your username. So if, for example, I send a message that says “Hey @you, do you do Chapter 7 bankruptcies or just Chapter 11?” my message to you would not show up in your @ Reply tab, because my message doesn’t start with @.

There are several different applications you can download and use to make your Twitter experience easier. I’ve tested several, and my favorite is Tweetdeck, because it catches any @ message that contains your name, and it’s the best for organization.

Getting started with TweetDeck

Go to http://www.tweetdeck.com, and click on the “launch now” button, and that will get you started.

You’ll be able to see your tweets in columns, so you can see your replies and direct messages all in one place. You’ll also be able to write your own messages directly from this screen.

Customizing TweetDeck

The colors in TweetDeck are dark and ugly. You can change them so you won’t go blind by clicking on the little wrench icon in the top right corner.

While you’re in there, you’ll likely want to uncheck the box that says “play notification sound”… unless you want to be knocked out of your chair by an annoying tweeting bird every time someone writes a new message.

Then you might want to head over to the colors/font tab, and you can change the colors and/or make the fonts easier to read.

Video Tutorial on Creating Groups, etc

My friend John Haydon at CorporateDollar.org has put together a video tutorial on how to get started using TweetDeck. His video shows step by step how to do everything, from downloading the application to responding to people to setting up and organizing groups. You can click here to view John’s TweetDeck video tutorial.

Are you using TweetDeck? How do you like it?

If you have any questions about using TweetDeck, feel free to drop your questions in my comments box, or shoot me an email at amy@lawfirmblogger.com.

Tags: networking for lawyers, social media for lawyers, tweetdeck, twitter for lawyers