socialmedian: Twitter And Facebook, Not two of the Same. So Stop Comparing them.

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Twitter And Facebook, Not two of the Same. So Stop Comparing them.

Submitted by Avi from Google Reader

Apr 23, 2009

Summary

I’ve been asked this time and time again; “Gordon, Twitter or Facebook, Which one’s better?” Even recently on Twitter by my friend and fellow blogger Ruthibelle. My Answer? Twitter is Facebook’s status updates on drugs, albeit you are limited to 140 Character on Twitter which you are not limited to on Facebook, but that’s twitter’s job…status updates and they do it well. Twitter does what it’s supposed to do great, which is “microblogging” and facebook does what it’s supposed to do well, which of course is a full blown “social network.” Of course twitter is social in a sense, but nowhere near to Facebook’s level of “socialness”

Twitter Vs. Facebook

When you add someone as a “friend” on facebook in contrast to you following them on twitter is two different things. Facebook offers you the ability to view picture of the person, they’re religious views, interests,video and a myriad of other things while twitter is much less formal, offering you only a short blurb about the person and a link to they’re blog/website with status updates. If you’ll notice when

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Comments (4)

Firqby,

Apr 24, 2009

They are different but the significant point is Facebook is more of a trusted and known group of friends and twitters is about followers who are known and unknown.

Information in Facebook is generally limited to friends and friends of friends where as twitter is like a giant social gathering where there are people you and your friends already know but there are also people you do not know.

The ability to join conversations of strangers and listen to the trends is the key to difference.

Twitter lets you engage and get to know people beyond your current circles while also allowing you to participate with your existing network of connections as well.

Ultimately I agree with this writer they are vastly different tools and people should be using both.

P0ps,

Apr 25, 2009

I agree. FB is best used for close communication, including scheduling activities with a group of trusted friends, twitter is best for engaging in an exchange of information and opinion that reaches beyond your trusted group.

Mark Carbone,

Apr 25, 2009

If you are going to compare you need to add Linkedin in the mix.

Facebook is flawed at it's core and that's why Twitter will surpass it within two years - Twitter is made for asymmetric relationships. Facebook was built for symmetric relationships. They both are social networks, as are most all new technologies

Facebook - Best for people under the age of 30
Trying to be like Twitter now
Below average to use for business
Good for young people who don't work yet
Not good for family
Trying to become everything to everyone
Not private enough, yet not easy enough to tell the world things

Twitter - Best for people who are givers, not takers
Only works if you first take time to learn who to follow
More relevant information
Only works if you have a servant heart
More timely
Not easy to understand why it's so much better than Facebook
Need to use 3rd party apps to make it effective

LinkedIn - Best for those growing their business and/or career 1 Link at a time
More powerful than Facebook for business by 10 fold
Must invest time in getting to know your connections and their connections
Must have the brain capacity to put the connections together - who can you help and who can help you
You must be strategic and spend time learning other people's profiles
Trying to bolt on too many applications to make it like Facebook

Annenwood,

Apr 25, 2009

I like this article and agree with the comments made. Twitter takes time to master and there's no point in being on it 'just for the sake of it'. I know many people who follow lots of people, want lots of followers but add nothing and gain nothing. Twitter is a great way of contacting like minded people who you'd never connect with via facebook or LinkedIn - both of which have their strengths.

For me:

Twitter - best for contacts with people who share common interests or who inspire you personally and professionally. How else would you connect with people in Sydney and Boston who think like you?
facebook - great for catching up and reconnecting, sharing personal stuff
LinkedIn - essential for networking and maintaining contact with colleagues and professional links. Also good for online reputation management

I use them all