I've been using Socialthing to read and post to Twitter, Brightkite, Plurk and supposedly Facebook - more on this later - via Ping. It conveniently displays posts of those I follow in a convenient view that allows me to assign a color to users I never want to miss anything on.
Its interface is uncluttered and displays thumbnail images of photos posted on Brightkite, something I have not seen any other desktop application do. It's web-based which means I can access Socialthing from any computer anywhere - it's just so darned convenient!
I've been using it for about one year and when it was offline I was lost. Of course, I tried searching Google for replacement desktop apps like Twhirl but it must be downloaded and installed via Adobe Air to use. Also, Twhirl doesn't access Brightkite's API so this made my decision not to use it easy.
Apparently Socialthing has been bought by AOL and they've been enhancing it to integrate into AOL's network. I don't know if non-AOL users like myself will continue having access or if we'll be shunned. The one thing I do know is that I will be lost without Socialthing. Its absence last weekend left a huge void in my enjoyment of social networking.
As for Facebook, I feel like they're a walled garden. It seems they fuss with their API enough to thwart other apps from accessing their network and allowing users to read / post. I've become increasingly frustrated with Facebook's antics to the extent that I rarely login. My page is getting dusty!
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