Twitseeker allows you to search for keywords in people’s tweets. It does ask you for your login information for Twitter because it is using the Twitter API to search through the Tweetstream, but manages to forget it after a query is done.

Although the tool itself is still in the experimental stage, there are a lot of cool features. There are two types of searches, a simple one and an advanced one. The Simple search is just for a keyword or phrase. With the Advanced search, you can specify location, words or phrase, maximum number of pages to search and Twitterers to list, as well as deciding how many times a person has to be tweeting with the same term to qualify.

The default maximum number of pages is 10 and 25 people listed. In the list of peeps, if you mouse over the Twitter bird, you can see the person’s bio, the cloud shows a tag cloud for their tweets, and the circle shows if you are following them or they are following you. It also shows how many followers they have and the number of times they have tweeted on the topic.

Twitseeker appears to be using Twitinfluence to help it find the information. The only drawback I found was that if you click on the Twitterer’s name (which is a link to their profile page), the page comes up for a second, and then defaults to their background. I also discovered that the Simple Search is best when used with one word keywords. If you want a phrase, I suggest using the Advanced Search.

People on Twitter (“Tweeple”) are dealing with a massive phishing scam this weekend. Someone (or something) is sending out direct messages (DMs) telling people to click on a link for a funny blog. If you do click on this, the link leads to a fake website that then steals your Twitter password and name. Don’t Click On It!!!

If you were taken in by this link, be sure to change your password right away.

Many of the newer Twitter applications out there do not say what they are or even have an About page. Beware of these. If you cannot figure out what the application is for on their front page, RUN AWAY! This should also be a heads up to the developers. If you want people to use your application, tell us what it is and why it is useful on the first page!

This blog is for all of those out there who keep hearing about all these wonderful Twitter tools and applications, but do not have the time to: 1) try them all out; or 2) are having problems understanding the technical descriptions of them.

I will be posting reviews from myself as a cybrarian and teacher of social media, AND from one of our team, who knows how to use the Internet and Facebook, but, up until this morning, refused to touch Twitter. The reviews will be written in straightforward, non-technical language.

Please feel free to comment on these reviews, suggest new tools, and new categories.