I’ve finally found something that allows me to update both Twitter and Plurk simultaneously from my computer, without having to use my browser.

This desktop app, called Statuzer, is a pretty nifty app that can possibly rival the hugely popular Tweetdeck once it’s got a few of its bugs ironed out.

Tweetdeck users probably won’t have much trouble switching over to Statuzer, because your Statuzer screen, when expanded, can be divided into three, just as Tweetdeck can – Latest Tweets from people you follow, Replies / Mentions, and Direct Messages.

Here are some things I like about Statuzer:

1. Ping.fm integration: Statuzer allows you to update both Twitter and Ping.fm, which opens up the possibility of updating so many other social network sites simultaneously!
   a
   How to do this:
   a. Set up a Ping.fm account,
   b. Set your Ping.fm account to update Twitter and Plurk, by default

   c. Go to ping.fm/key and copy the ‘Desktop/Web key’ that you see on the screen:
   
   d. Go to your Statuzer app > Settings > Prefs > Accounts > Ping.fm user key, and paste the ‘Desktop/Web key’ you just obtained in step c into the “User key” box. Click “OK”.
   
   e. To make sure Statuzer updates your Ping.fm profile, ensure that the is highlighted, as below:
   

   a

2. Twitpic and YouTube preview: If someone posts a YouTube or Twitpic link, you’ll be able to see a decent-sized picture within your Statuzer app, without having to click on anything.
   a
   
3. Check whether a person is following you or not: Click on someone’s profile pic in Statuzer, and you will come to a screen on the app itself, which looks like this:
   a
   
4. Differentiating Replies and Mentions: Under the “Replies/Mentions column”, there are markers to tell you whether a Tweet is a Reply or a Mention.
   a
   a
5. Search Tweets: You can search Tweets of people you follow, your Tweets, and even direct messages, by keying in your search term into the grey box (with blue highlight) at the top of each column. Although it still seems a little buggy, it will work out fine once they’re out of Beta, I’m sure!
   a
   a
6. Option to not play sounds: Tweetdeck doesn’t allow this at the moment. Highly annoying.
   a
7. Statuzer minimizes to Taskbar: Less distracting. ‘Nuff said.

Here are some buggy things about Statuzer:

1. After using the search feature on Statuzer, I can’t seem to revert to the original column. Then again, Tweetdeck’s Search function is also buggy. Once I search for a term, it keeps notifying me of new Tweets that match my search term. And I can’t seem to switch it off!
   a
2. Statuzer doesn’t allow me to have up to 100 updates in each column, which Tweetdeck allows.

I’m sure there are other bugs, but I’ve just begun playing with Statuzer tonight! Despite all the bugs, I’m just glad that I can use it to update Plurk and Twitter simultaneously!