HootSuite released just yesterday (July 31) a substantially updated version of their Twitter client. I now think it’s superior to TweetDeck because with Hootsuite you can:

1. Manage multiple profiles (also true in TweetDeck)
2. Schedule tweets (big shortcoming of TweetDeck that you can’t do this)
3. Shorten links & track statistics (TweetDeck offers bit.ly but I prefer the ow.ly shortener)
4. Create groups (TweetDeck does this, but not well – HootSuite is superb!)
5. Integrates with Ping.fm (can’t do that in TweetDeck)
6. Tabbed view to manage profiles, groups & search columns (big advantage over TweetDeck’s “flat” layout)
7. And, the knock-out punch – HootSuite is web-based, whereas TweetDeck is a massive resources hog on your desktop

Check out this video for a run-through of all these cool features and more.

PLUS, I include a super-informative tutorial on why you want to schedule tweets in the first place, and how to best leverage this strategy to maximize your efficiency on Twitter.

If you like this video, please send me a tweet or comment on my Facebook wall!