Of course, when you talk about search, two of the biggest names-- and --can lend a hand when it comes to Twitter. Both companies made agreements with Twitter to index tweets from a broader date range, but results can be hit and miss. The way you search Twitter also differs slightly between each service.

To search Twitter on Google, go to . This is Google's custom tool for searching social networks like Twitter, , , and more. Here you can enter any combination of keywords, hashtags, and usernames, and take advantage of other perks like the "nearby" option (to look for tweets made by people close to your location) or Google's timeline that lets you specify a period of time other than "right now." Alternatively, you can run a typical Google search and click the Realtime filter in the sidebar.

If you want to search for mentions of "iPhone" from a certain user, you can get even more specific by customizing your search string further to something like iphone site:twitter.com/macworld.

While the previously mentioned queries will work on Microsoft's Bing search engine, some users might prefer its dedicated section. Of course, you can search Twitter here, but Bing also provide a little more integration by adding things like Twitter's real-time Trending Topics list, as well as filters for Twitter, Facebook, trending topics, or just tweets that contain links.