There are a lot of interesting and useful browser plugins out there, but very few can actually change the way that you experience a webpage or service.
In this case the plugin is for Twitter, and it creates a whole new easier and faster experience somewhat comparable to Tweetdeck but without ever leaving Twitter’s web domain and installing no more than a browser plugin.
Monkeyfly created by egoing is a browser plugin for Firefox and Google Chrome users (And Safari users if you speak Korean), it allows you to basically customize your twitter stream homepage similar to how Tweetdeck is setup. After the plugin is installed, refresh the page and next to the “Home” text at the top of your stream you have two new buttons. The refresh button is to refresh your stream and the large red plus button is used to add lists or “panels” to your Twitter homepage.
This plugin is a great fix for seeing new direct messages without going to the direct message page, and seeing @’s from people who do not necessarily follow you. When writing a tweet while this plugin is active, a few new buttons are added to the bottom of the text box, these buttons include, URL shortener, draft (to make a tweet a draft), Tweet (to send the tweet) and photo which brings up a small popup where you may enter your TwitPic credentials.
A somewhat overlooked feature of this plugin is all due to a small green arrow that should be located right next to the direct messages link on the Twitter sidebar. This green arrow actually collapses the twitter sidebar and leaves you more room for adding panels. Please note that if you are using a netbook, after 3 panels (including the sidebar) the page does extend, so this plugin is better used on a computer with a larger screen.
So if you’re looking for a more feature rich Twitter experience while still using Twitter on the web, check out MonkeyFly, it just may be what you’ve been looking for. Check out the video below for a preview of the plugin.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.