TweepML Manages Twitter Contacts Like Email Lists

Have you ever wished for a way to manage groups of Twitter contacts as easily as an email list?

A new Twitter application called TweepML has granted it.  This useful little service, launched just a week ago, provides a big function that Twitter sorely lacks:  groups.  Similar to email distribution lists that contain email addresses, TweepML lists contain Twitter contacts.  With TweepML you can create and share public lists, or groups, of Twitter users.  Others can then view your list and follow everyone on it with just one click.

To test the waters, we used TweepML to create a list of Web Ad.vantage team members currently active on Twitter:

TweepML makes it extremely easy to share your lists.  It automatically generates a nice variety of links for you to post on your site, blog, or Twitter, including plain HTML, a shortened URL, and a wide variety of “Follow Us” buttons and badges, like these:

Some standout features we really like:

• TweepML includes the name of each list in a dedicated URL.  For example, if you make a list of marketing tweeps and name your list “marketers”, the list would appear at http://tweepml.com/marketers.  This is a great opportunity to snag a nice vanity URL or claim a list in your brand’s name.
• You can add optional descriptions and tags to each list, to help define the list’s purpose and make it easier for others to find.
• You don’t have to follow an entire list if you don’t want to.  You can pick and choose exactly which tweeps you want to follow in each list, by checking or unchecking the boxes beside their picture.
• Anyone viewing a list is welcome to make suggestions to the list creator to add or remove tweeps from the list, using the appropriate links.  Someone making a suggestion must supply their name, email, and a justification for the change.  TweepML will email the suggestion to the list owner for moderation and approval.
• TweepML provides a few nice stats for list owners, such as the number of follows your list has generated, and its unique access number.
• You can further customize TweepML with custom XML, to organize your lists into hierarchical groupings.  For example, if you created a huge list of sports teams on Twitter, and wanted to further group them by geographical region.

Who is TweepML for?

TweepML isn’t for everybody, especially casual Twitter users, or those who don’t follow specific groups of people.  But for power users, marketers, organizers, and community managers,  it might be a godsend.  (Of course, it’s also a godsend for mass-follow spammers, too,  but we’re hoping TweepML’s potential for abuse is minimal.)  One of the real benefits to using TweepML is the ability to export a list of Twitter contacts from one application to another, which places TweepML high up on our list of useful Twitter tools.

You can create an unlimited amount of TweepML lists, and they’re accessible from anywhere online.  If you manage groups of  Twitter contacts in a spreadsheet or in your desktop UI, consider putting them on TweepML for easy access and sharing.  However, TweepML does not currently provide an option to make a list private, so any TweepML lists you create will be visible to everyone.

TweepML is already host to over 1,000 user-created lists in its first week.  We predict the number of lists will continue to grow, as more people catch on and realize how useful this service can be.

1 Comment »

1. Sounds like a very useful tool. Thanks for this. I’ll check it out and see how it goes for me.
   Javier Ramos´s last blog ..Changing The Face of Online Marketing Through Social Networking

   Comment by Javier Ramos — September 23, 2009 @ 2:26 am

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