Tinker

Tinker with Twitter

Hands up - who’s spending more time on Twitter than making the boss’s deadlines?
Thought you were. Well for all you Twitter nuts out there tempt yourself away from that work preventing demon with well, another.

Tinker is the latest micro-blogging platform to hit the web, allowing you to follow real-time conversations from Twitter and Facebook. Casting its social eye over the net Tinker collects what people are talking about and bundles them into a group, allowing you to easily click on a topic you want to talk about.
Requiring a simple log-in system, Tinker is as approachable and as easy to use as any blogging format on the web. Whether you want join in on a topic, create a post, or set up a private room, Tinker if fluid with its delivery.

It all sounds great, but here’s the best part. Tinker not only shows you what people are talking about but it calculates the popularity of the topics in a tool called Tinker Trends, a device which allows users to see breaking news, top events, and track which subjects are growing or decreasing in popularity, all shown in a graph format. It’s an imaginative idea which is truly captures the current fashions in popular culture, a heaven sent tool for any journalist.

In terms of appearance, well, it looks good, using a simple subject bar across the top, with the topics and discussions beneath, comparable to Facebook, but it works.

Launched by Glam Media, Tinker also allows prospective advertisers to advertise within the micro-blogs which are relevant to their product, with the reassurance of an advertising filter so not to associate a possible taboo topic with their product.

All in all, Tinker is an effective micro-blogging format which is sure to keep you in the social click, just don’t let the boss find out.

Reviewed by Tom Jones

Is it free? Yes
Where do I get it? www.tinker.com
Easy to use? 5/5
Useful to journalists? 4/5