A better Twitter Client – Using augmented metadata streams to add value and information

I’ve been pondering twitter for a while and how i’d like to use it better (probably like a number of users), being the permanent heretic that I am, never satisfied with the world around me or the tools provided.

I’d like to posit an idea on how I believe some of these problems could be solved using a simple twitter hack, which could then be openly adopted by a range of clients.

Whilst reading @stoweboyds request to start using / as a location identifier, and also pondering the ubiquitous use of #tags, it occured to me that a lot of the additional user hacks that twitterers employ greatly reduces the already meager number of characters available to tweet. My solution to this is as follows.

A client twitter solution that posts an augmented stream with additional information selected by the user, which would be matched by other client solutions with timestamping and username or @reply selection. This would make it easier to track twitter conversations, but furthermore it would allow for #tag, location, userthread information, and other data I haven’t yet considered to be transfered adding value without cannabalising the existing twitter feed.

For an example of use see below.

I recieve a tweet of interest to a specific field of interest, I want to retweet but also add a #tag for archiving purposes (obviously first we need a client good at archiving). My client allows me to add #tag information in a completely seperate tweet (lets say a direct tweet to prevent stream pollution) which can be accessed by twitter client and added as extra information at the other end.

Thoughts greatly appreciated.