How to Get Twitter Updates Online Using Auto-Refresh

One of the things I really wish Twitter had an option for was auto-refreshing when there are new tweets, sort of like it does on search.twitter.com. I know there are lots of Desktop applications you can use that do this, but honestly, I prefer using Twitter on the web. If you’re like me and are looking for some options to have Twitter auto-refresh without downloading clients or applications, here are 2 options.

Option 1: Assuming you’re using Firefox, install the Add-on “Tab Mix Plus” and set your Twitter tab to auto-refresh every x amount of time. Here’s how:

1. From Firefox, Click Tools >> Add-ons. Then click the Get Add-ons button. Search for “Tab Mix Plus.” Once you’ve found it, install and restart Firefox.

2. Once installed, sign into your Twitter account. Then right click the tab Twitter is in >> Reload Tab Every >> select time increment you want.

Make sure there’s a check mark next to “Enable: _ minutes” at the top (not pictured). I usually keep mine set to 5 minutes, but you can do whatever you want (if time you want isn’t listed, you can use “Custom…”).

Option 2: Use a service, like Splitweet, that does this automatically.

I came across Splitweet last week and would recommend it to others. Besides it’s auto-refreshing feature when there are new tweets, it especially shines as a tool for managing multiple twitter accounts at once. I’ve also used HootSuite to do this, but have found Splitweet to be a lot more reliable and easier to use overall.

I hope this is helpful. If anyone has any other recommendations, please leave in comments.