Twitter for newcomers

Seesmic is a popular Twitter desktop client, and Seesmic Look aims to build on that, and introduce newcomers to the joys of Twitter.

Built especially for Windows 7, although it runs on XP and Vista, Seesmic Look is a very attractive application. It is really flashy, with lots of animations and smooth interface transitions. That’s great, but if you’ve got an older PC, it will just look jerky and use too much memory.

Seesmic Look is meant to be a showcase for how useful Twitter can be. It opens by showing the current Twitter trends, which give you an overview of what’s going on. That may be useful for some people, but it’s not likely to win over skeptics, as popular trends on Twitter can often be a bit stupid!

However, it’s not all bad. Log in with your Twitter account, and you’ll be able to do all the normal Twitter things, but within a really attractive interface. The additions are more interesting – Seesmic Look will filter Twitter by subject, from politics to sport and culture, so you can follow real-time developments in your favorite areas.

Settings are a weak point. There’s a choice of two visual styles, and animations can be turned off, but the advanced settings are terrible, and there’s no user-friendly way to add to your favorite channels.

Seesmic Look tries to reinvent the way we use Twitter, but ends up being just another Twitter client.