The average online user is probably signed up to half a dozen different social media services. Personally, I’m signed up to an embarrassingly large number of social networks and service, and it’s hard to keep them organised.
There are a number of solutions around for dealing with multiple accounts. Tweetdeck and Hootsuite are popular for dealing with both Facebook and Twitter, and Threadsy is great for viewing your emails and social media sites at once.
At the moment, I’m using a mixture of Threadsy and Hootsuite. Threadsy lets me keep on top of several email accounts while I’m at work, and Hootsuite lets me schedule and read all my tweets and Facebook page posts.
The problem is, Threadsy tends to slow down my browser, and Hootsuite lacks the email capabilities. So I was intrigued when a new service, Alternion, began to follow me on Twitter. Could this be the answer to my online life organisational issues?
I really hope so.
Alternion: A social media and email aggregator?
Alternion lets you “combine and manage all your social accounts and emails, and stay in touch with your friends from other networks.” It’s a web-based tool with access to over 220+ different services. You can add your email accounts, social networking sites, photo, video and music sites and various other services.
Essentially, it’s a one-stop-shop for your online life.
While Threadsy offers your social media steam as a column on the right next to your emails, Alternion has tabs for your emails and social services. You can also use the Contacts tab to search for your friends, across all the social networks. Click on their name and you can check out their profile.
Pros and Cons
Here’s a quick overview of the service.
Pros
- Access to hundreds of services.
- Email and social media integration
- Personalised theme.
- Social Address book
Cons
- Occasionally slow to update social media streams and emails.
- No Facebook Pages support yet (though the help pages would suggest this is coming, along with mobile and iPad apps)
- Some services are currently only one-way, meaning you can only view your activities, and not the ones of your friends.
It’s in beta at the moment, but I love what they’ve done so far, so hopefully these are things that can be fixed afterwards. You can sign up to the beta list.
How do you keep on top of all your online profiles?