Sprouter: Twitter’s Thinner, Smarter Attractive Friend

I like Twitter.

Ok maybe that’s not accurate. I really like Twitter. I constantly update and I’ve connected with some really awesome people so I guess I shouldn’t complain. There are some things about Twitter, however, that annoy me a little.

I go on Twitter to connect with like minded individuals that like some of the things that I like: education, social media, Dallas, technology, football. My following is based on reciprocity; generally speaking, if you follow me and have something interesting to say and aren’t spamming , selling or undressed, I will usually follow you back. This means that I sometimes i see the most random, completely useless tweets in my feed such as “8 Foods To Hide Your Bad Breath” or my personal favorite “People on my team average An EXTRA $800-$5000 WEEKLY! No SELLING, So EASY, ANYONE Can Do It!”.

When Twitter created lists a couple of months back, I was totally stoked because it gave me a way to weed through all of the clutter and noise and get to the people and information that I really wanted to connect with. It’s that continuous Ferris Wheel of interesting people and info that keeps me coming back to Twitter.

Enter Sprouter.

Sprouter looks and feels a lot like Twitter except that it was specifically created with the collaboration of entrepreneurs in mind. An entrepreneur at any level ( start-up or established) can join Sprouter for support and relevant resources. Writing a business plan and need assistance? Reading a cool article on search optimization tools for small businesses that you think other business owners might find useful? Sprouter wants you to share, collaborate and network with other innovators. It’s not just about self-promotion but rather building a cool, little community. I find this pretty cool.

How They’re Alike:

Same micro blogging platform with 140 word count limit

News feed format

Still have the ability to follow and be followed back

#hashtags used

Similar to twitter “lists”, Sprouter allows you to create and name a “Filter” to organize your followers around a specific topic, idea, location,etc.

A Couple of Differences:

Instead of asking “What’s happening?”, Sprouter asks “What are you working on?”

Follow topics, not just people.

With Sprouter, you have the ability to claim #hashtags. If a hashtag is in green, then it means it’s been claimed.

You can still contribute to that topic, you would just click on the link. If a hashtag happens to be in white, then it means it’s up for grabs. The reason why this is cool is that claiming a hashtag definitely gives you the ability to establish yourself as an authority on the topic because all “sprouts” or posts on that topic will originate from you.

Sprouter allows you to create your own “sprout-ups” or search for events in your area.

Sprouter is still fairly new but with a recent Twitter integration & 4 different ways to connect with friends on other social media sites, it won’t be long before it gets a nicely sized fan base of entrepreneurs looking for relevancy & value not always found in tweets.