This time last year I  shared with you my discovery of the social media manager, Tweetdeck
(www.tweetdeck.com). I was thrilled with its versatility and all the options it  offered.

Fast forward to this year  and Twitter has since acquired Tweetdeck and my love affair with

this program  has waned. It no longer offers many of the options that helped me organize and
manage my social networking. Here are just a few that have gone missing.
•The  ability to copy and paste something into updates.
•The  general ease of navigation that made this program so simple.
•The live  timeline that pops up no matter what you’re working on.
•The easy  interface between Tweetdeck and Facebook.

Because of these changes  I’ve switched programs and now use Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com) almost
exclusively. There are drawbacks to Hootsuite, but now I find it infinitely  superior to the new Tweetdeck.

I use the free version of  Hootsuite and have found it works fine for my needs. If however, I add more
twitter or Facebook account, beyond what I have now, I’ll have to go to their paid membership.

But this is what I get with their free version.
•5 social  profiles
•Basic  analytics
•2 RSS  feeds

There is also a very good  video on how to navigate Hootsuite to help you get started.  It doesn’t offer the live timeline that
appears on your computer screen no matter what you’re working on, but I know
that will be an advantage for many of you.All in all, I’m very
happy with my move to Hootsuite.

Edie Melson is a freelance  writer and editor with years of experience in the publishing industry. She’s a  prolific writer,

and has a popular writing blog, The Write  Conversation. In keeping up with the leading edge of all things digital
Edie has become known as one of the go-to experts on Twitter, Facebook, and  social media for writers wanting to learn how to plug in. Her bestselling eBook  on this subject, Social  Media Marketing for Writers, is available on Kindle and Nook.

Fighting Fear, Winning the War at Home, is Edie’s latest project. This devotional book for those
with family members in the military debuted on Veterans Day, 2011. www.winningthewarathome.com

Married 30 years to her high
school sweetheart, Kirk, they have raised three sons.