Twitter Photo Sharing Sites
Microblogging site Twitter (click here for info about Twitter) allows 140 characters to answer the question “what are you doing?” but words aren’t always enough which is where photos come into play. Many Twitter users tweet by using pictures to express where they are- what restaurant a networking event is at, the disaster with the subcontractor at their new listing, etc. With so many options at hand, it can be overwhelming so let’s check out four of the many options:
TweetPhoto
Newly released TweetPhoto not only allows users to share photos on Twitter, it has a social networking aspect allowing you to see your Twitter AND Facebook friends’ photos. TweetPhoto is the newest player in the field and I predict it will very quickly surpass all others- the interface is clean and simple and they’ve thought of many of the details others have missed.
TwitPic
With mobile phone integration, TwitPic has been around for quite some time. It’s basic and easy to use and is a reliable platform that allows you to upload a picture and then broadcast it to your Twitter contacts automatically.
SnapTweet
SnapTweet allows you to share your Flickr images with your Twitter contacts- you set it up once and it automatically puts your Flickr photo uploads in your Twitter timeline. This is a great timesaver.
Picnik
Picnik is a free photo editor (that I use as a substitute for Photoshop) that lets you manipulate photos you’ve uploaded to Flickr. This way, you can crop your pictures to get rid of that jerk in the gold lamme jacke before you publicly display them on Twitter. When you go to save an image in Picnik, look at the options of where to save and you’ll see the blue Twitter logo and voila, it’s broadcast to your followers!
Head to Head
Each service is free and has its advantages, most notably that they piggyback on your existing efforts in social media. Do you already use any of these four? There are others- do you have another service in your stable you recommend? My favorite is TweetPhoto, how about you?
Lani is the COO and News Director at The American Genius, has co-authored a book, co-founded BASHH, Austin Digital Jobs, Remote Digital Jobs, and is a seasoned business writer and editorialist with a penchant for the irreverent.

Toby Boyce
May 5, 2009 at 10:43 am
I have not played with TweetPhoto yet, but need too. Twitpic has been my default favorite.
Jason Sandquist
May 5, 2009 at 11:29 am
TweetPhoto looks interesting. I use Tweetie for the iphone which makes sharing pics on twitter a snap. The default one is Twitpic but also have the option of yfrog and Mobypicture, haven’t really used both so I can’t really give my opinion.
Pikchur is another one that I would try. It shares photos across multiple platforms.
Missy Caulk
May 5, 2009 at 11:53 am
I use Twitpic if I am out and about and want to snap something fast and send it on.
I love, love, love Picnik, thanks Lani for recommending that when I first joined AG.
TweetPhoto sounds awesome as does Snaptweet so I will check them out. Since TweetPhoto is your fav, must be good
ines
May 5, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I was going to write a post about Pikchur (which happens to be miami based) – I asked @floriansroussi yesterday for some info to share about Pikchur and I’m sure he won’t mind that I’m sharing this:
and they are so hands on and it’s what I love about it – @pikchur
@florianseroussi
@orical
@jewgonewild
**disclosure**don’t have any vested interest in Pikchur, just think it’s a great application
Ben Goheen
May 5, 2009 at 9:12 pm
TweetPhoto seems to be very cool, but I can’t get it to sync to my facebook account yet. Customer support has been quick to respond and is trying to help me figure out why. By far the best feature is the ability to ‘enlarge’ each photo – very flickresque (yes I just made a new word). Plus you may find some interesting photos while browsing the public stream: https://www.tweetphoto.com/3260lrv
After seeing Ines use Pikchur I decided to give it a shot. It does sync to twitter and facebook easily but the fb post looks a bit spammy, adding the text “Send pics 2 FB from your mobile device, and view full size @ https://……” to every photo.
Lani Rosales
May 5, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Toby- I have an affinity for the underdog, hence my leaning ๐
Jason- if you try any of those other apps, I hope you’ll come back and comment with your thoughts (posts like these have a long shelf life). ๐
Ines- the cross platform capability is what intrigues me most, I’ll have to check that out! How fun to be able to promote a local, huh? ๐
Ben- I’ve heard similar things about TweetPhoto customer service, I’m glad they are working with you.
Robin Taylor Roth
May 6, 2009 at 10:45 am
I really LOVE TwitPic, because I positively live with my BlackBerry. So many media sites are unfriendly to PDAs, and TwitPic is as friendly as can be to BlackBerrys.
It’s also a very easy- and quick-to-use application, which is a “plus” for those just getting started with sharing media.
Lucie
March 2, 2010 at 1:12 pm
How does Google’s acquisition of Picnik affect these other photo sharing sites? Can they compete anymore?
Lani Rosales
March 2, 2010 at 5:43 pm
They can for a few more years on the sheer basis that 99% of America is not well informed enough to know or care about the acquisition, so they’ll continue visiting their favorite sites for photo sharing.
Those outlined above don’t typically compete directly with picnik, as they each piggyback on an existing service like Twitter, etc.
Brian Davies
June 23, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I love twitpic as it is so easy to upload a photo. You don’t even need to register a new id as yoiu can use your twitter one.