comparing Twitter, Jaiku and Pownce

Comparing Twitter, Jaiku and Pownce, gave me a better idea of the things I could use them for. Just read the table to get a quick idea of the differences or look at the video.

Why use it for eLearning purposes:
To inform your learners of the latest developments in eLearning software;
To announce a course that is starting;
To remind them there is a deadline approaching;
To give them more of a team spirit, we all know it is difficult to get a community spirit going and these microblogging systems help with that;
To give learners in low resource settings the possibility to add ideas to a discussion;
To ask a question and get a lot of answers;
To inform learners of a spontaneous get together;
…

Why I want to use it?
Because it enables students from low resource settings to become part of an online group through their mobile phones. And because it is fun!

Twitter	Jaiku	Pownce
Rss available	Rss available	Rss is bugged
Mobile support works great	Mobile support only for Nokia smart phones for the moment, but the java version for the rest is in development	No mobile support
One message template	One message template	Some templates for sending specific things: events, links
Limited amount of characters to be written	Limited amount of characters in the post, unlimited in the comments	Limitless approach to the message that can be send.
No grouping	Grouping is possible with channels, you can easily become a member of existing channels.	You can group persons in sets
No attachment option	No attachment options	Attachment options
You can see a thread of the direct messages	The threading is very interesting: although the posting is limited to 140 characters. Comments are possible and the comments can be as long as you wish.	Threads visible by clicking the title or choosing what you want to see. posting and commenting characters are unlimited.
Public timeline	You can explore public jaikus.	No public timeline, which leaves you disconnected to potential interests.
api documentation available	Api available	Api is not there yet, but it is promised for September 2007
web based	web based	Web based and desktop feature, BUT this requires installing Adobe Air.
Support, but not immediately linked to a community, it’s more of a FAQ-page	Very nice support community	No immediate link to a support community
Limited notifications	Notifications limited to mobile or sms	More notification options
you can not easily customize your profile	Only limited adjustments in your profile are possible	You can customize your profile
You can personalize the background + color scheme	Your own background image	You must select one of the fixed themes
The nice specials
Great Firefox extensions	Very nice location feature	You can forward a note
Add feeds to your Twitter e.g. with Twitterfeed	You can integrate other feeds (e.g. your twitter feeds J

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