How to use Twitter to improve your shopping experience
If you're looking to save some cash, you might want to consider some Twitter tools that help you do just that. They all work well and they all should make your wallet just a little heavier.
Twitter might just seem like a social place to converse with friends, but it's actually much more. In fact, with the help of some Twitter services that help you either compare prices or the find the right product for any occasion, it has become an appealing shopping tool.
So, if you're looking to save some cash, you might want to check out these Twitter tools.
Go shopping
CheapTweet CheapTweet combs through Twitter to find the best deals, coupons, or sales, users are tweeting about. From there, it displays all those findings on its home page, allowing users to vote on the deals they like.
CheapTweet is the like the Digg of the cost-conscious Twitter world. The app lists deals on industries ranging from fashion and beauty to technology and entertainment. The most popular deals, as voted by users, are listed under the "Cheapest Tweets" option. If you're looking for new deals, CheapTweet lists those under "Newest Tweets." In either case, CheapTweet is a great way to find deals. But beware that because it has so few users, you won't find Digg-like voting tallies.
CouponTweet CouponTweet finds coupons from across the Web that Twitter users have tweeted about. Right from the site, you can claim your coupon.
After analyzing tweets, CouponTweet lists all the latest coupons on the site. Once you decide you want one, you can claim the coupon and be brought to the appropriate page to redeem it. The site lists deals on a variety of topics, including cell phones, travel, and tickets to sporting events and concerts. You can also search the site for deals you don't find on the home page.
JustBought.it Since Twitter is a community, sharing great deals is an important element. JustBought.it exploits that by helping you find the deals JustBought.it users have already found.
When you start trying to find deals, JustBought.it automatically determines your location and displays all the recent deals in your area. If you live in a small town, you might not find too many deals. But if you're in a big city, you'll actually find quite a few. In either case, the site is constantly updated with new tweets from people who used JustBought.it to tell followers about the deals they've found. When you click on the link in their tweets, you'll be brought to a JustBought.it page, which displays a picture of the product. So, consider JustBought.it a location-based, deal-discovering TwitPic.
Schmap Schmap sifts through user tweets to help you find reviews on restaurants and bars in your area.
When you first get to Schmap, you need to input the city you want to search. From there, you can view the latest tweets from users in that city discussing local establishments. If you want to narrow it down by the type of meal or drinks you're looking to have, Schmap lets you do that too. You can even choose the city district you want to stick to. All the tweets Schmap lists are tweet reviews of different establishments around town. It also plots all the places on a Google Maps integration to make it easier for you to find it. It's really a neat service. But beware that it's currently only available in select cities, so if you live in the suburbs or smaller metro areas, this tool won't be all that helpful.
TinyMassive TinyMassive is an online search engine that combs the Web to find you the best deals on just about any product you can think of.
But if you're a Twitter user, it goes one better. Simply tweet a search query to @TinyMassive. It will then reply to your tweet with the number of results matching your query on TinyMassive.com. If you follow the link in the TinyMassive tweet, you'll be brought to the results page. The TinyMassive tweet also includes the top result, so you can see if it's finding what you want. I think it's a neat way to use Twitter. And based on my experience, it works quite well.
My top 3
1. CheapTweet: With so many offerings, CheapTweet provides a really great service.
2. TinyMassive: Answering tweets with search results? A smart plan, if you ask me.
3. CouponTweet: You'll probably find some good deals with CouponTweet.