The microblogging service Twitter has become a very big deal, enabling everybody to depose dictators, mock X Factor contestants and lose their jobs for posting offensive things when they're drunk.
However, while the service itself is really simple the choice of desktop Twitter software isn't. From stripped-down clients to do-everything social media dashboards, there are stacks of Twitter programs to choose from.
So which ones are best? Here are 22 options for 2012.
1. Twitter (Web, OS X)
The official Twitter website is a marmite affair: some people hate it, while others really hate it. The free OS X client is a much nicer effort, though, with tweets and direct messages and multiple accounts in a small tabbed window that looks rather like an instant messaging app. It's the closest thing to a mobile Twitter app we've seen on the desktop.
2. Twitterific (OS X)
The Iconfactory's Twitter app normally costs $9, but Twitterific is currently half price on the Mac App Store and there's a stripped-down free version to play with too. Like the official Twitter app it resembles a mobile app — you can sync between it and your iPhone and iPad versions — but there are additional features including easy translation of foreign-language tweets, multiple account support, keyboard shortcuts, multiple windows (in the paid version) and a choice of light or dark themes.
3. Echofon (Windows, OS X, Firefox)
Echofon is available for almost everything: there are iPhone and iPad apps, a Firefox extension and desktop versions for Mac and Windows. The free version is ad-supported, and going ad-free is a reasonable $9.99. The desktop apps sync effortlessly with their mobile siblings, support multiple accounts and include a nifty Detail Window that enables you to easily see entire conversations and user details. The Mac version also has drag and drop attachments and what Echofon calls a "super clean interface".
4. Janetter (Windows, OS X)
Janetter claims to be the best Twitter client on the net, and while that claim's open to debate it's certainly one of the more flexible apps out there. There's a multi-column view, support for multiple accounts, 27 different themes, customisable fonts and display formats, wallpaper, notifications, autocomplete, keyboard shortcuts and language translation. If you're using the Windows version you can even create your own themes in HTML.
5. Tweetings (Windows, OS X)
Tweetings is another multi-platform client with versions for iPhone, iPad, Google's Chrome browser, Windows and OS X. The Mac version's nicer than the Windows one, but both offer a decent selection of features including device synchronisation, filters, scheduled tweets and Twitlonger support for when 140 characters aren't enough. The Mac version is £1.99 and the Windows and Chrome versions are free.
6. Echelon (OS X)
Echelon would be better described as a Twitter viewer than a Twitter client: it enables you to see what people are talking about, one tweet at a time. It's an interesting little diversion, but it's strictly read-only: if you want to post, you'll need a different program.
7. Hibari (OS X)
This chat software-inspired Twitter client "aims to make your timeline as useful as possible by blocking annoyances and revealing gems". There's easy keyword blocking, the ability to mute users without unfollowing them, threaded conversations, inline saved search results and an option to hide specific tweets if you find them annoying or offensive. The app is $9.99, but you can download a free trial from the Hibari website.
8. Destroy Twitter (Windows, OS X, Linux)
This Adobe AIR app is one for power users with an interface that's as big or as small as you want it to be: you can go full-screen and multi-column or tuck it away in a corner of the desktop. Destroy Twitter boasts an excellent range of filters, lots of customisation options, username autocompletion, nice notifications and a small memory footprint.