I think we can all agree Twitter, and microblogging, is a real thing. It’s hip. It’s cool. All the kids are doing it. Who knew there would be so much activity in 140 characters?

In fact, Twitter has become a great tool for gathering information. From first hand accounts to general internet memes.

The best sign of Twitter’s popularity are the companies latching on to its success by building tools extending the services’ functionality. We’ve already gone over the top 8 tools for tweeting. Here are five of our favorite Twitter service-enhancing tools to help you navigate and make the most out of other people’s tweets.

1. Tweetbeep.com — Give tweetbeep a keyword and the service will email you every time someone uses the word in a tweet. It’s Google Alerts for Twitter.
2. Qwitter — When someone follows you on Twitter, you get an email to inflate your ego and give you a chance to follow them back. When someone quits following you on Twitter, the betrayal is hidden from you — that is, until you signs up for Qwitter. Qwitter will send you an email telling you who left you and for what offending tweet.
3. Twitscoop — Twitscoop gives you a live tag cloud of what’s happening on Twitter. See words expand and shrink in real time. It’s particularly interesting to have on hand during big-time political events, like debates, when you’ll see “Joe The Plumber” grow irregularly large.
4. Twellow — With so many big wigs, celebrities, friends and acquaintances on Twitter, sometimes it’s hard to know who to follow. Twellow allows you to search based on industry or topic and find people who are notable in the profession you have chosen. For example, you might be interested in Twellow’s web developer category.
5. Twitter Search — Want to see what people are saying about a particular topic? Try Twitter’s search. Twitter search began as Summize before it was bought and integrated by Twitter in July of this year. It was a good match. Twitter’s search is particularly handy to gain the pulse of certain topics. For example, search for ‘earthquake’ after an earthquake and get live first-hand accounts — at least, by those still with an internet connection.

See Also:

• SteamGraph Maps Twitter Word by Word
• Webmonkey Tutorial: Get Started With the Twitter API
• Twitter 100: Follow Everyone You Know on One Page
• Twitter Swallows Summize to Build Search Engine