Twitter has grown into a massive communication platform, and businesses are heavily utilizing its powers of customer engagement and reach. There is, however, a problem.

As a web developer/designer, most of the accounts I follow are of my peers in the industry, professionals I look up to, and a huge number of companies providing products and services that interest me. The problem here is that everything mashed into a single timeline. All updates from individuals, companies, products, and services, in one big scrollable page... is unmanageable.

Sure, Twitter has lists, but it's not accessible. It's hidden under the 'settings' menu. When you do get to it, you're presented with a list of your lists. I have a bunch of lists that I've created, but I never go to them because nothing pulls me towards it. There's no UX to easily filter between individual, company, product, and service accounts. What's the solution?

While I do love the visual transition that Google is making with its apps, including Google+, I think that Facebook's UI is near perfect. It has come a long way with negative feedback after every update, but the fact is that it works. Facebook has an iconic look and feel that people have come to expect, while Google is building theirs out out from scratch, pretty late in the game.

I came across an article on TechCrunch, written by MySpace Co-Founder, Tom Anderson, regarding Facebook's strategy, the new Skype partnership, and so forth. Read: Why Mark Zuckerberg’s First Public Response To Google+ Is The Right One. He points out may positives about what Facebook has going for itself.

The new "Circles" approach of organizing friends is something Google+ users will have to learn/get used to. We are generally good with adapting new methods, but there has to be an obvious "return" value. Why should we put effort into your new product when Facebook already works well?

What the heck? Why? How? — Questions that are probably running through your head after reading the title. Carry on reading if this prediction somehow interests/angers/enlightens you. If not, well, your loss!

Apple's advantage in the cloud game is that so many Mac and iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch owners already use the core applications that iCloud will seamlessly integrate into, such as iPhoto, iTunes, Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and so forth. The keynote explained that, because of the seamless integration, people won't have to learn anything – it'll just work. Maintaining total synchronization will require no effort. No web apps to log into, no new interfaces, buttons, etc.

Facebook has achieved a comparable level of integration, but in its own sense. It has become a truly integral part of people's lives, as well as for the Internet itself. Facebook can never "fail" unless it was deliberately shut down. Too many people have too much already invested into it to just switch to another platform. Sharing photos, event planning, communication, entertainment, promotions, and gossip is apparently a winning formula. More after the jump...

Everywhere you look, you find people complaining about things that change; Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Applications, and so forth, but rarely do they ever do anything about it. In fact, in most cases (with the exception of Digg), time spent on them increases.

Every time Facebook changes its layout, everyone and their grandmas throw a tantrum, complaining about how they want the old layout back. A week goes by, and it's as if nothing happened at all. They're still using Facebook with all of the same features, if not more. After all, Facebook spends millions creating the optimal interface (at least I hope they do) for an increase of addictiveness.

A few months ago, Twitter drastically underwent a major interface overhaul. As per usual, a ton of people complained saying it was too complicated, slow, etc. Well, has Twitter reported a loss of user activity? Nope. An increase of user activity? Yep...

About 2 years ago, I blogged about Penzu, a web-based private journal and diary. Today, Penzu is alive and well, and better than ever! Recently, a mobile web version was unveiled (pro accounts), compatible with iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry. This is HUGE for Penzu, because now users have a dedicated interface for an optimal journaling experience. It even uses the latest HTML5 techniques that allows you to access and write entries when you're offline.

What is Penzu? A quick overview.
It is an online private journal and diary. Every entry is private by default, and not viewable publicly unless you specify. Entries are auto-saved as you write so you don't have to. You can upload photos from your computer, or insert them directly from Flickr. If for some reason you want hard copies of your entries, you can print them out, too. More after the jump...

A few weeks ago I discovered Flavors.me - a website that allows you to quickly create and customize your own website. You can link your existing blogs and website feeds, Flickr, LinkedIn, Netflix, and so forth, all in one simple interface. Here's mine: flavors.me/lasha

Flavors.me is a GREAT way to get you started if you don't have your own website, and a great addition to your online presence. It allows a decent amount of customization such as colors, fonts, and various options for Facebook, Flickr, etc. With this service, you can link people to just one page and have them access everything else. Great for potential clients and networking.

On another note, I'm getting decent traffic from my Flavors.me page back to this blog. I don't know how that happened... haha.

Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, IE, Camino, Netscape... all good browsers in their own way, but to me, only one stands out: Firefox. I have a bad habit of keeping 50+ tabs open simultaneously, almost all the time. Last night, I browsed to a site that caused my Mac to have a meltdown. The Mac wouldn't even shut down! Waited hours before I had to hold the power-button for 5 seconds.

This morning I turned on the Mac, launched Firefox and saw this:

They admit their fault, even if it wasn't theirs to admit. They offer a smart interface to deselect the tabs that may have caused the crash. As you can see by the side of the scroll bar, I had A LOT going on. I deselected a bunch of tabs, hit "Restore" all without a bit of worry.

This level of attention toward functionality to provide an excellent user experience should be mimicked by other developers. When I'm conceptualizing new ideas, this is the type of quality I incorporate. Thank you, Mozilla.

Which browser do you use, and why?

By now, you have probably heard all you think you need to know about Twitter, and you either love it, or hate it. There are a million and one ways of approaching and using a service like Twitter. Some of the obvious ones are:

1. Staying in touch and up to date the minute with your friends
2. Following big-time celebrities like Oprah, Jimmy Fallon, Al Gore, Britney Spears, and you name 'em!
3. Keeping up with the news way faster than traditional print and TV media (ie; Iran Elections).

What I'm trying to get at is that Twitter is a lot more than what the average person thinks it is. It is not only a social networking service, but a tool for business, professional networking, resource mining, and virtually endless knowledge.

Since I am in the Graphic and Web Design field, I will be talking about its relationship with Twitter and all of its benefits. More after the jump...

To many, this year's World Wide Developer's Conference will be the most exciting and future defining Apple event to date. When Apple unveiled the iPhone 3.0 software on March 17, I knew that the iPhone was going to go beyond the existing lead it already held over its competitors.

Before the unveiling of the iPhone 3.0 software, I was absolutely certain that the Palm Pre and the Android platforms were going to give Apple a run for their money. Boy was I wrong. I always preach the idea that if a company doesn't keep a heavy eye on its competitors, it will begin to fall short. When Apple set a goal to sell 10 million iPhones within the first year, they stuck to it and sold well over their desired mark. This is simply because they have an ingenious R&D department that knows exactly what needs to be done to stay ahead of the game.

Okay, enough about the software. The iPhone is close to hitting the 2-year mark and we have only seen 1 hardware update that wasn't too significant (addition of 3G, GPS, and a flush headphone jack). Rumors around the web are going nuts trying to predict what the next major hardware update is going to be like. The original iPhone set a new industry standard for the things that should be expected in a smartphone. There have been no major performance upgrades in the last 2 years, yet the iPhone still outperforms most phones of its kind to this day. If the next version of the hardware is unveiled come the 8th, I cannot imagine how ahead of its game it will be.

Now to talk a bit about what's to come for the Mac OS. More after the jump...

In a little under 20 hours from the time this post was published, your chance to get your hands on this amazing app bundle will be up. First thing's first, click the link below to view the MacHeist page with ALL the information.

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For $39, it's probably the best investment I have ever made! Well, what are you waiting for? Check it out already!