TMO Quick Tip - Build Your Own Twitter Client

by , 7:30 AM EDT, July 18th, 2008

The list of client applications for accessing the microblogging social Web site Twitter is as long as my arm, but some people still prefer using the site's interface to enter and view tweets. Instead of always jumping to a Web browser to access Twitter, you can turn the site into a free-standing app on your Mac -- and its amazingly easy to do.

• Start by download Fluid. This free application handles the process of building an application from Web sites.
• Enter the Web address in Fluid's URL field for the site you want to convert into an application. To make my Twitter client application, I entered http://www.twitter.com.
• Enter a name for your app in the Name field and then click Create.

Fluid builds desktop applications from Web sites.

Launch your application to access Twitter, read and write tweets, follow your friends, and do anything else that visiting Twitter's Web site allows all without using a Web browser like Safari or OmniWeb.

Twitter's Web site as an application.

I used Fluid to build a Twitter client even though I rely on Twitterrific for my tweeting needs. Sometimes Twitterrific and other Twitter clients lose their link to the service and you can't see or view tweets. When that happens, I launch my Twittertronic application and continue on with my tweeting life. Since my Fluid-built app accesses the site from the Web front end instead of using the back end API system that other client apps use, I can typically continue reading and posting tweets.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

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