When I woke up this morning I was very sad, because Hootsuite had not created the updates I envisioned in my sleep last night. It almost feels like I was robbed. Stripped of my humanity. The last shreds of dignity flailing in the wind.

Eh! Maybe a bit too melodramatic, but once you see what I dreamed about, you will agree with me that Hootsuite needs an update. As a pro user, I get a number of features from the site, but it can still be better.  Who knows! Maybe this is a germ of  a business idea? Ooh! Watch out Hootsuite!

The HootSuite Of My Mind

First, HootSuite needs to allow bulk updates for images. According to their recent support responses, they do not plan to anytime in the future despite a wall of complaints about this lacking feature. Actually had two clients recently ask me about this feature as well. Found a possible alternative, however in Postcron.com.

To help give HootSuite the kick in the pants they need to get this project started vote for pictures to be included: Check out this vote on HootSuite chats, where they have over 150 votes for this feature. However, the voting has been going on for two years now, so it might be time for Hootsuite to follow through on this idea.

Second, the Hootsuite bulk scheduler really sucks. Pardon my French! Or is that a poor excuse for English? Either way, the system is definitely bulkier! I used to use SocialOomph for mass scheduling. Social Oomph was a breeze. You would upload the messages and then create a standard amount of time between each update. The problem with Hootsuite, is that you have to create a CSV file with specific date parameters. This can be time consuming, and negates some of the benefits of a scheduler.

While I do have a quick fix that I will share on Friday for the social networking minute to make this process faster, it is still not a 1-2-3 answer. Part of the reason why you pay for a pro account is to make it easier to use the system. Having to set up the dates in their format on a CSV file is a bit wonky. To go through this idea further, wait for the end of the week (not the end of the world) when I publish my cool thoughts on this subject.

Third, I had a problem with Hootsuite recently, because the bulk uploader was not working properly. The system kept telling me that I could not process updates, and to fix the problem. What was this mysterious problem? I am not sure, because after fooling around with the system for half an hour it finally, magically worked.

I contacted customer service, or their support ticket system. Customer service responded back a week later. These were posts that I needed up that day. Thanks for the quick and efficient help!

Fourth, not to be a mensch, but there is a new social network called Pinterest. Please add them! Also, while we are at it, can you work out an agreement with Google to allow us to post to our personal profiles as well as our page profiles. While I applaud your initiative at putting in Mixi and FourSquare as options, please remember there are amazing social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and Reddit that deserve considering as well.

Future of Hootsuite

While I am not sure what the future holds in store for Hootsuite, it is evident the social firm needs to be a bit more social and interact with their user base. They are clearly not in step with their target market. I know this from extensive dreams that I have in the middle of the night, where I envision a Hootsuite that works the way I want it to work.

However, as they say. If this is the worst of your problems in life, then you have it pretty good. So, HootSuite take heart in the fact that you do have a number of cool features on your site. However, we need you to pick up the pace, so my dreams are no match for the extensive library of options you have available for your clients.