Even with only 180 characters per post, it can be hard to find what you are looking for on Twitter. Sorting through the stream of tweets from the people you follow, let alone the entire Twitter network, can be daunting. Seattle-based healthcare marketing firm Appature recognized this fact, and so early last month released the first product from its long-term development group, Appature Labs. The product, called Chatterfly, is a Twitter client—a way of using Twitter and extra features at the same time—that can search through a feed for keywords and trends, as well as archive tweets for later perusal.
Chatterfly is not the first search engine out to help navigate the Twitter flood. Others are starting to crop up as well, such as Seattle-based CrowdEye, which launched two weeks ago. But Chatterfly is one of the first created specifically for marketers. “More and more, our customers are asking questions like, ‘What is this Twitter thing?'” said Appature CEO Kabir Shahani, in an interview. “Brands are starting to make communities around Twitter.” With companies scrambling for ways to exploit online social media, creating a place for long-term idea development in this space makes a lot of sense, even for relatively small companies like Appature.
Appature was founded in early 2007, is self-funded, and now has 14 employees. The company provides ways of gathering and analyzing data on everything from website traffic to publicity campaign success for marketers and brand managers, using software and Web applications. Its customers include medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. Earlier this year, Shahani was named one of BusinessWeek’s Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs.
At the moment, Chatterfly is still in beta trials and open to public use. “We want feedback not just from our customers,” Shahani said, adding that Chatterfly is being integrated into a