Connect to the world through the Internet with this group of 10 awesome social networking apps. These selections bring you closer to friends, family and people all around the world.
Tweetbot 3 ($4.99)
With a simple aesthetic and tons of useful features, Tweetbot is one of the best Twitter clients on the iTunes App Store. It brings users all the capabilities they expect from Twitter: your timelines and lists, the ability to quickly post updates and links or images and videos from your device’s Camera Roll. You can access multiple Twitter accounts as well, and keep track of all that’s trending in the world.
Facebook (Free)
No social networking list could be complete without Facebook, as the app is basically the mobile version of the uber-populous website. The app brings users access to their friends lists and updates, with the ability to look at photos, post statuses and share links, as well as just about anything else. You can do almost everything in the app as you can on Facebook’s website, and there’s no reason not to keep the social network handy in your pocket.
Paper – Stories from Facebook (Free)
Another of Facebook’s apps, Paper gives users a scaled-back version of its main app by focusing just on the News Feed. You get an elegant interface that brings you all of your friends’ updates, shared photos and videos, and comments, and the app allows you to post your own. But it filters out everything else in Facebook you might not need, like birthdays, profiles and group pages and the like. Use Paper just for keeping up with your Facebook friends in the easiest and most visually interesting way possible.
HootSuite (Free)
Managing multiple social network feeds can be a pain, but not if you’ve got HootSuite. The app lets you tie in your networks from Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and more, and is great if you’ve got more than one account, multiple pages or other social networking needs. You can quickly see all your feeds and send messages to all of them (or the same message to multiple accounts), as well as set up scheduled updates.
Vine (Free)
Twitter got its start with super-short status updates and brings that same idea of tiny posts to video with Vine. All Vine’s videos are six seconds of less, and users can create and edit their own vines to post to the app or Twitter. Vine is a social network by itself, though, allowing you to search for other users, follow them, and view, like and comment in their videos.
Foursquare (Free)
Foursquare is all about telling people where you are and what you’re doing. It lets you “check in” at various locations, posting a status update that comes with a note about where you are. You can use Foursquare to find out where your friends are hanging out and to meet up with them, or leave ratings and review of the best things about a place or business. You can even unlock badges and discounts at the places you frequent.
Pinterest (Free)
Imagine having a bulletin board filled with pictures, magazine clippings and other things you like. That’s Pinterest, only the bulletin board is online and can be seen by other people. You can add stuff from all over the internet to your boards within the service, and the app lets you add to your own board or view those of other users. You can leave comments on their pins and follow them to get updates when they add cool stuff, as well.
Path (Free)
Where networks like Facebook have users with huge groups of “friends,” some of whom they might not know well, Path takes a more targeted approach to social networking. The app limits users to just 50 friends, allowing you more privacy and intimacy, filtering out people you don’t know so you get just those who are most important to you. Path supports functions like sharing links and images, adding status updates and leaving comments on those posts of other people, just without all the noise of larger networks.
Quora (Free)
Got a question you need answered? Take it to Quora, a social network focused on bringing together people with questions and the folks who can answer them. The network lets you post your questions and encourages you to find those inquiries that you might have special knowledge about. You can also follow other users to see the questions they ask and answer over time.
Tumblr (Free)
Tumblr is a blogging site that allows lots of users to write and share content, but it’s also a social network unto itself. The Tumblr app lets you tap into the many blogs created with the service, making it easy to see posts, shares, and comments, as well as allowing you to create and add your own. You can also access multiple blogs, create posts and schedule updates for later.
