How to use Twitter to improve your shopping experience
Twitter might just seem like a social place to converse with friends, but it's actually much more. In fact, with the help of some Twitter services that help you either compare prices or the find the right product for any occasion, it has become an appealing shopping tool.
So, if you're looking to save some cash, you might want to check out these Twitter tools.
Go shopping
CheapTweet CheapTweet combs through Twitter to find the best deals, coupons, or sales, users are tweeting about. From there, it displays all those findings on its home page, allowing users to vote on the deals they like.
CheapTweet is the like the Digg of the cost-conscious Twitter world. The app lists deals on industries ranging from fashion and beauty to technology and entertainment. The most popular deals, as voted by users, are listed under the "Cheapest Tweets" option. If you're looking for new deals, CheapTweet lists those under "Newest Tweets." In either case, CheapTweet is a great way to find deals. But beware that because it has so few users, you won't find Digg-like voting tallies.
CheapTweet lists all the best deals, as voted by users.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)CouponTweet CouponTweet finds coupons from across the Web that Twitter users have tweeted about. Right from the site, you can claim your coupon.
After analyzing tweets, CouponTweet lists all the latest coupons on the site. Once you decide you want one, you can claim the coupon and be brought to the appropriate page to redeem it. The site lists deals on a variety of topics, including cell phones, travel, and tickets to sporting events and concerts. You can also search the site for deals you don't find on the home page.
CouponTweet helps you find great deals on Twitter.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)JustBought.it Since Twitter is a community, sharing great deals is an important element. JustBought.it exploits that by helping you find the deals JustBought.it users have already found.
When you start trying to find deals, JustBought.it automatically determines your location and displays all the recent deals in your area. If you live in a small town, you might not find too many deals. But if you're in a big city, you'll actually find quite a few. In either case, the site is constantly updated with new tweets from people who used JustBought.it to tell followers about the deals they've found. When you click on the link in their tweets, you'll be brought to a JustBought.it page, which displays a picture of the product. So, consider JustBought.it a location-based, deal-discovering TwitPic.
JustBought.it helps you find deals in your area.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Schmap Schmap sifts through user tweets to help you find reviews on restaurants and bars in your area.
When you first get to Schmap, you need to input the city you want to search. From there, you can view the latest tweets from users in that city discussing local establishments. If you want to narrow it down by the type of meal or drinks you're looking to have, Schmap lets you do that too. You can even choose the city district you want to stick to. All the tweets Schmap lists are tweet reviews of different establishments around town. It also plots all the places on a Google Maps integration to make it easier for you to find it. It's really a neat service. But beware that it's currently only available in select cities, so if you live in the suburbs or smaller metro areas, this tool won't be all that helpful.
Schmap is worth trying out if you want to find something to eat in your city.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)TinyMassive TinyMassive is an online search engine that combs the Web to find you the best deals on just about any product you can think of.
But if you're a Twitter user, it goes one better. Simply tweet a search query to @TinyMassive. It will then reply to your tweet with the number of results matching your query on TinyMassive.com. If you follow the link in the TinyMassive tweet, you'll be brought to the results page. The TinyMassive tweet also includes the top result, so you can see if it's finding what you want. I think it's a neat way to use Twitter. And based on my experience, it works quite well.
TinyMassive lists all the answers to tweeter queries.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)My top 3
1. CheapTweet: With so many offerings, CheapTweet provides a really great service.
2. TinyMassive: Answering tweets with search results? A smart plan, if you ask me.
3. CouponTweet: You'll probably find some good deals with CouponTweet.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
TWITTER RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TWITTER WILL TAKEOVER THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I WANT TO TWITTER ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Neat, but uhh go Twitter?
http://www.twitter.com/retrevoq
Tweet "@RetrevoQ" space, and the make and model of the consumer electronics product.
(now, if only something like that existed for cars, houses, clothing and everything else).
- by michaelhartzell November 17, 2009 8:23 PM PST
- Don, Been around the twitter block a time or two and hear you are giving three new surprises not in my twitter kit.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(6 Comments)Just wanted to give a thanks for taking the moment to help people save some bucks.... vs. all the other topics you might have chosen. Good choice in hard times.
Mike