Daniel Crenna, a Microsoft MVP, recently expressed his thoughts on why Twitter clients don’t matter in the long-run. According to Daniel, the focus could shift from clients to applications in the true sense of the word: “unique software that solves a particular need, whether broad or niche.”

While I don’t disagree with Daniel on whether Twitter clients don’t matter, he’s helped me define why Twitter Clients will continue TO matter to ME. It’s because of where they could be headed:

“I think Twitter clients really do matter. Web apps are great. They’re portable and once you’re done with them you can simply sign-out and move on. However, that could lead to users constantly hopping from place to place just access one application. Would you rather do that or just live in ONE Twitter client?

I think Twitter clients will eventually evolve into social networking clients, making them far more important standalone apps or features.”

This is a comment I left on Daniel’s post.

Respect My Conglomerate

In the next level, things will surely become a race of who can conglomerate the most apps in the most visually appealing client. However, those that started as Twitter clients are no longer just Twitter clients. They’re dipping into other prominent and bubbling social networks such as Facebook and FriendFeed.

That’s because it’s not just about the features or the apps. Sometimes people just want an easier way to tap into their network. Other times, people just want one place to use their most common apps for their favorite social networks. Twitter clients solve this now and save a lot of tab space in my web browser while doing it.

Which only makes me wonder if these clients will eventually become branded as social networking clients or something along those lines…

What Do YOU Think?

What do you think is the next level for Twitter clients?

• How will they evolve?
• What will they integrate?
• What apps will eventually get lost in the midst of things?