By Guest Author Scott Scheper of http://scottdig.com (follow him at @venturedig).
When I think of Facebook and Twitter, I think of Preparation-H and toothpaste. Both are quality products. Both have their uses; but Preparation-H, like Twitter, is only needed at a certain point in life.
Do me a favor and take a look at your Twitter followers.
How many are under 24 years of age?
You’re more likely to find a shweaty Michael Arrington-like tech guy, than a cute young chic in her early twenties.
According to recent findings , “Twitter’s largest age demographic is 35-to-44-year-olds who make up 25.9% of its users.” This seems rather large, being that Facebook users between ages 35-54 amount to only 3.5% of users. Notice: the former metric is 10 years more than Twitter’s metric, and it’s still smaller!
Yes, Twitter is gaining popularity, and Twitter hit its “billionth tweet” last month. Yet the Facebook users that actually know about Twitter, don’t seem to care.
Sure, Facebook connect and Google’s friend connect has helped bridge the gap; however, they seem to be adding to the confusion.
What confusion am I talking about?
The need for Twitter.
If Facebook already has what Twitter proposes to do, plus an exorbitant amount more, why would anyone use Twitter?
Cool, you can communicate with people in short bursts of information on Twitter, but that’s what your “wall” is for on Facebook.
Is there anything Twitter can do but Facebook cannot do? Nope.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Twitter addict. I use Twitter daily; however, my uses aren’t to update friends. My sole purpose for using Twitter is to find others within my niche. I use it as a listening tool. I get a real-time pulse of the Tech sector, politics and any news via Twitter.
Bottom Line:
- Facebook’s main purpose centers on furthering and cultivating relationships with already established friends
- Twitter’s main purpose centers on social networking (meeting people across the world with similar interests)
Although subtle, the different uses of these to platforms may stem from the distinct terms each adopts: friends vs. followers.
With Facebook your goal is to find your “friends.”
With Twitter, you find people to “follow.”
With Twitter, at the immediate point of interaction, there’s not an intrinsic need to already be a “friend” with someone before adding them to your network.
If someone “friends” you (I never thought friend would become a verb…), and you don’t know the person that “friended” you, it’s kind of weird. You’re likely to block the person or unapprove their request (if you’re a nice guy).
However, the goal of Twitter focuses on the exact opposite. You want strangers to follow you. Your goal is to boast more followers than others. Your circle of influence builds as your followers grow, regardless of them being friends or not.
Whereas Facebook is a social tool, I liken Twitter to a lifestyle…much like a mullet (which isn’t a haircut, it’s a way of living).
Simply put, Twitter doesn’t position itself as a valuable use of time unless you’re a workin’ (wo)man. Twitter is a refreshing approach to social networking that benefits freelancers, designers, writers and people in the work-force.
Again, like Preparation-H and Toothpaste, both of have valuable uses, but people use them in a profoundly different manner…I hope.
What do you think?
@GirlfriendCeleb
Being smack in the middle of the twitter target range, I appreciate it much more than Facebook, which I still find odd and disconcerting. In just two months of twittering I have made loads of valuable contacts, and met like-minded people. To me twitter is nothing like facebook. Twitter is full of people trying to get things done; while facebook (to me) seems full of people sending silly requests just for fun. There’s a place for both, but twitter appeals to me much more. Perhaps it’s my advanced age
@fletchthemaven
I’m noticing an increasing number of Facebook friend requests coming through as a result of my involvement on Twitter. I don’t know these people from a bar of soap apart from maybe a quick @ tweet. I can see how adding friends like these might change the way I interact on Facebook. That’s something I don’t want to happen so I’ve ignored 1 friend request so far today. Thanks for all your tips Darren.
@askmarc
Very nicely put. This also leads to questions of Facebook (n)etiquette for example, using your FB status to “chat” with your mates or as an advert for your latest blog post.
Unfortunately while the distinction between Preparation H and toothpaste is more clear, Facebook and Twitter isn’t, particularly when Twitter itself has a FB application that integrates the two quite seemlessly.
@Heidi_Caswell
I think that is why I prefer twitter to facebook. The walls are down. Easier to make new friends.
Twitter also saves me time. No add this gift, join this group, add this app requests from friend, like facebook has. Just short and sweet and all kinds of tools to help you search, keep track of information.
@MatchesMalone
The first to comment, if my fingers will unfreeze….
I take the opposing view. Twitter is a party line. Think of it, like you’re a bird….
Flying around from tree to tree, until you settle on a branch or phone wire, etc. That you like, and maybe your flock stays with you….
Of course, if I’m not a leader in my field, however, Facebook is sticky, and the nature of the portal experience is that, we’re not supposed to stay in one place anymore….
So, to review, I’m going to stay 22 forever, and adapt and change to the new mediums that are out there. If you want to choose one over the other, which you seem to be implying for most of us plainwrap ‘net users, then I have to vote no….
@yourwebchick
A major thing lacking in Facebook is that you really can’t “FIND” anyone unless you know their name or their email address… I didn’t have a clue who Darren was 3 months ago and I’ve been on Facebook (socially) for 5+ years. With all of the folks who have created programs FOR Twitter you can search by location, key words, (SEO, Blogging, etc) I can explore their tweets without ever having to “friend” them or follow… so I find it infinitely more useful for connecting with the powerhouses in my industry than Facebook ever was. It does work great as an add on.. you can find the pro’s on Twitter, Friend them on Facebook and create a stronger relationship there if you choose.
I’m off to do some Christmas shopping with @FoodDudeJim now.
Happy Holidays!
@matthyatt
@MindofZ
I’m a writer so I enjoy Tweeter because I can meet other creative types. I don’t like Facebook but a lot of my friends use so I do to. With Facebook so often you can’t see anything about the person you want to meet unless you they accept you as friend. Whereas Twitter allows you to access their information and usually their website right away.
I actually prefer MySpace because the graphics are fantastic, music is easier to work with, and it is cool. Facebook is clean and businesslike but MySpace is rockin’ roll. I am going to re-vamp my MySpace page for music, reviews, club updates and such. So I can have one persona on Facebook (grown up) and another (still young and wild) on MySpace.
I am 35 with a BA in English.
@phx_m
its also more professional to have twitter open on your desktop when /if being monitored via the system logs/ viewed by others….than it is to have facebook. I also like that i can have twit’s pushed to my mobile device ….
@dsainsights
In my world, I see them differently as well. For Facebook, I have many old friends from school and college. In Twitter, it really is anything goes. I link to many more people than I would in Facebook.
In terms of business and blogging, most of my friends in Facebook don’t care about what’s going on with my latest blog post, whereas, in Twitter, most of my followers are specifically geared towards my blogs.
I think the value of Twitter is much different than Facebook. Both have their niches and I truly don’t post the same updates to both sites.
@missycaulk
I wish Twitter had an app to save the ones starting to follow you, so you could accept at a later time like FB, now you have to do asap or it gets buried in emails.
@TheSourceress
Twitter is like you have every room in the world bugged and can listen in, Facebook is a little members only club where you can meet up, pass around your photos and throw anything you like at each other (you have to be good friends to put up with all that!)
I agree with what you say about twitter being a listening tool. I feel like I need never compulsively check news websites, or wonder when the trailer for an eagerly awaited film will come out – I just pick interesting people to follow and the information pops up in tweetdeck ready to be digested. I even find out about things I would never have thought to look for on my own.
Facebook seems to lack the immediacy of Twitter.
@jrmorris
Nice post, Scott!
I share your perspective on this subject. Twitter is much more of a tool for me in some ways. I have a couple accounts setup for different purposes. The account listed here is solely for finding and connecting with new people in my niche. I have a couple other accounts that are more for broadcasting purposes. Those accounts help my visitors keep track of what’s going on with certain niche sites and related sites. It’s a service and one that has become popular among many of my visitors.
Facebook, on the other hand, is much less of a tool and more of a “water cooler” of sorts. I like to use it more for idle chatter and getting to know people better. It’s also how I wind down in the evening with the mindless quizzes and various oddities that can be found there. It still has its purpose in my marketing strategy, but much less so than tools like twitter.
Thanks for sharing your perspective on this subject.
@cameronolivier
…hmm I think I might have been brushing my teeth with some PrepH..
As Chris alluded to, I think twitter is a great introduction tool. You’re right, if someone I didn’t know was to friend me on Fb, I’d think ‘weirdo’ and decline. But if it was someone I knew from twitter, I’d be more inclined to add them. Which is strange in a way, because I don’t really know much more about them than their alias and whatever they choose to share with me whilst twittering.
But, you’re right – I’m a lot more candid about what I say, and who I follow or let follow on twitter. Facebook is still quite sacred to me in a way. It’s my “private” feed and convo’s between people I know. I’m not keen on letting just anyone see it.
Those are interesting stats you quoted.. I’ve just started twittering, after debating its value, as -like you say- FB can do pretty much everything Twitter can do, you can just do it with more than 140chars…
Even if at ‘face’ value, they seem similar, the type of experience that twitter offers is uniquely different to Facebook. With Fb traditionally, I’d leave my status up for sometimes days where twitter facilitates a real-time running commentary – and it’s allowed me to ‘meet’ +150 people in the short while I’m on, which is great, and I’m hoping it’ll grow to real connections with real people over time…
Thanks for the post – enjoyed your thoughts on this.
@swizec
As you said, twitter is a place to connect and find people, whereas facebook is a substitute for gossip since we’re all apparently too busy to gossip in real life anymore. And I would personally NEVER use facebook’s wall or whatnot for communication. That’s just a silly notion because it’s all too static. Like trying to communicate through post-its on somebody’s monitor.
Would you? Would you REALLY ask anyone anything semi important by putting a post-it on their desk?
Or would you use something like twitter where you shout at them to bloody answer your question?
@JanSimpson
I agree with Tony Rose -I am only on FB out of sheer need for my friends who can’t do Twitter or Ecademy or LI – otherwise I hate the site – it is unorganized and my biggest pet peeve – TOO MANY DAMN VIRUS’. and gotta tell you – I won’t go on it anylonger – my google account always and I mean always gets compromised when I show up on FB – so nothing seems to happen when I stay off of FB.
Twitter has a place and on another note – I would be hard pressed to spend all of my time on one site – each of the SNs I am on has different types of people, with different interests and different energies. I can’t get that on one SN – and it means everything to me to be able to understand the strategies I have on each and what I get out of that one site.
If you are spending all of your time on one site – you are one dimensional and you have just defined yourself as one dimensional. Even tweeting is the same – you can have multiple accounts on Twitter and have the same effect as being on different sites – Just my humble opinon.
@malbiniak
1. Facebook = walled.
Can’t get my data out, limited to the approved Facebook apps to manipulate in fun and entertaining ways. No, not super-poke fun. Fun with utility. Yeah, it’s a short list. Twitter = open. Cool services like MrTweet, compliment/supplement services like FriendFeed.
2. Facebook != LinkedIn != Twitter
In a totally illegimate and nonscientific survey, I’d guess there’s MAYBE 10% overlap between one social network and another, yet I’ve got between 150 and 600 connections (first degree) on the networks I heavily use. Each network has a different audience, still, and I’d like to connect with each.
3. There are kids under 25 on Twitter, you’re just old
So, is there anything Twitter can do that Facebook can’t? Appeal to users that don’t want to be on Facebook. Create social connections quicker (go go gadget #hashtags at summits, conferences, etc). Build networks around topics, not relationships.
Thought provoking post, but +1 me for agreeing to disagree.
-mla
@bretthusbands
This description is fantastic – and provides real clarity. I just wish I had read it sooner… I was starting to wonder if twitter was simply a narcissistic plaything.
So how does one get a following? Obviously one has to have something interesting to say, and be saying it. How do you move from talking to the void, to the next step? (I haven’t started talking to the void yet – that would be futile)
@mikenichols0
Twitter is organic, flowing, ever-changing. It is like a crowded party. Facebook is more static and more like a neighborhood, with each in their own little house.
And please try not to mix up the Preparation-H and the toothpaste. You might be whistling all day!
@newmediamike
Twitter is like a never ending networking event. You can either stand alone (watch the feeds) or walk up to a group of people and start talking (tweet), and you are right, they don’t have to be your friends and I like it that way. I follow a lot of “A” listers (Chris Brogan, Scobelizer, Loic Lemeur, etc) as well as other influencers, notably in either SEO or online video.
With Facebook on the other hand, I prefer real life relationships; in my case a majority of which are oddly enough mostly from my past. I have family I haven’t seen for a while, former college friends, former co-workers, roommates, even an ex-girlfriend as Facebook friends.
The two can easily blend though. In Toronto we have a monthly meetup called “Toronto Twitterbrunch” which is organized through Facebook . At my first Twitterbrunch I knew nobody, but when I left I had a dozen new Twitter followers and Facebook friends.
For me there is a “holy trinity” of Social Media sites – Twitter, Facebook and for business I prefer LinkedIn.
@filmtruth
I was just trying to explain this to my husband last night, who is a recent facebook convert. For weeks I’ve been extolling the virtues of reconnecting with real friends from high school, college and travels, while making fun of myspace, where all your friends are pretty much people you don’t know trying to spam you. But this week I’ve made some breakthroughs on understanding the value of Twitter, so now I’m extolling the virtues of how great it is to have conversations with people all around the world that I don’t know but who share my interests. I think I’m confusing him.
@djByron
Is there two way communication via SMS on Facebook that I’m unaware of?
I know you can post to FB via sms but to have near real-time two-way communication between friends and others via sms on Twitter is what keeps me there most of the time.
If I’ve missed this feature on FB let me know @djbyron
@twintoddlersdad
I haven’t really found Facebook to be very useful for me. But then, I have also not invested a lot of time and energy in it.
I am currently experimenting with Twitter. What you say makes sense, although your analogy of Preparation-H, although funny, doesn’t do it any justice.
I am beginning to see some results from twitter, mostly in terms of finding people interested in my blog’s niche. There is no way I could have found them from Facebook. So, you are right in that regard.
The risk with Twitter I see is that it could become a chat room with a lot of useless chatter. Also, there seems to be a “mad rush” to acquire followers. Like everything else, it has its pluses and minuses.
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I am new, and soaking it all up! Keep it coming!!
@modite
Interesting. Can you point me to the demographics of Twitter users? I’ve long thought that Twitter wouldn’t catch on with the young Gen Y crowd and this post clarifies why. Perhaps as Gen Y grows up and needs to network they will get involved. Great post!
@alisabow
I agree with you. Twitter vs. Facebook is not the same thing as Coke vs. Pepsi or Big Mac v s. Whopper. It’s not about brand allegiance or what technology each service offers. It’s about the community–the people who tend to party there, so to speak. Some of my friends on Facebook also follow me on Twitter, but the two places, for the most part, are completely separate communities. Same with Linked In, btw.
Linked In = all business connections
Facebook = high school friends, college friends, former work friends, new friends, some virtual friends
Twitter = all virtual connections. I have not met a single Twitter follower or followee in real life, but I’ve met most of my Facebook friends in real life at one time or another. I post things to Twitter that would make my Facebook friends roll their eyes. For instance, my followers on Twitter love stuff about SEO, Twitter, Web 2.0 etc. Almost no one on Facebook cares about that stuff. Rather, they like the websites I post that have funny top 10 lists or quizzes. Two different communities.
Great article as always. It always amazes me that you find so many relevant things to say about Twitter. Perhaps you should start a Facebook tip blog too, though?
@tts28
I am a relatively new user to both Facebook and Twitter. When first on Facebook, I was embarrassed to see the inane updates from people (just walked the dog, flossing!, boy am I hungry). I thought, what a waste of energy! Still think that some days.
Twitter is something I can appreciate for the most part because I can share thoughts, ideas and content with people who have self-subscribed to hear more of what I have to say. I will not follow for follow-sake but am happy to have people do so.
My problems with Twitter are the people who fill up a whole page with suggested links (10-15 tweets in a row). How does one “follow” all of this? Really! And some of these people are famous bloggers. Are they really doing all this tweeting? Hope so . . .
@RealEstateFL
What about women in their mid 20’s??? I personally love Facebook for a business networking tool. I have two accounts, one for personal and one for business.
I like Twitter, I’m trying to get into it but I haven’t figured out how to make it grow my business or bring me clients for real estate.
@kpwerker
I disagree. Although each site certainly has its strong points, I think Facebook is so bloated with useless, annoying apps that it’s a time suck just to slog through it all, even if I don’t want to use those apps myself. In fact, the most joy I get out of Facebook is having comment conversations with my friends over things I’ve said in my status update via Twitter. I mostly initiate conversations with my friends from their status updates, too, which almost all come from FB directly as few of my friends use Twitter. Although I use FB primarily for personal communication, many of my colleagues use it for networking—so however much it’s not my preference to do so, I do chat about work on Facebook, though I try to keep it to a minimum.
Balancing my Twitter followers list with friends, business contacts, and news feeds of various sorts is immensely valuable to me. I do keep in touch with friends on Twitter, in a very personal, very *efficient* way — sans snowballs, free gifts, pokes, or “beer”.
The ability to integrate various social networking tools in a simple manner is extremely important. For me, Twitter is the best thing that ever happened to my Facebook experience — both for keeping up with colleagues and for staying in touch with friends.
@crystalla
I’m a bigger fan of Twitter than of Facebook. Facebook reminds me of MySpace, only less obnoxious. I have found so many useful links and articles through the twitterers I follow that I would have never found otherwise. I am more of a lurker than a conversationalist but I try to put a comment in every so often. However, the information I get from Twitter is invaluable to me. I still like Facebook much more than MySpace and do play around with it on occasion. With Twitter, I check it several times a day.
@hectorhenry17
That its something that a lot of people dont have clear the deference anditsgood to teach them abou it.
@1littlebirdy
In my line of business as a provider of small collectible vintage and mid century furnishings. Along with local antique shop located at the French Broad Antique Mall It was apparent to my FaceBook account those I would only attract would be direct family members. Please don’t misunderstand my family is very important and I love them dearly. However, the need to grow my business is the reasons for social blogging or networking. The comments condusive to family or friends would not draw business. Whereas on Twitter learning professional business app. is what I’m looking for. Writing personal notes to build Professional Relationships . Blogging is new for me and building firm foundation seems better than rebuilding one. That is when I discovered Twitter an moved over to using it to draw customers.
@vlb
>Is there anything Twitter can do but Facebook cannot do?
Yes, actually. Twitter offers simplicity. It does one thing and it doies that thing extremely well.
I tried Facebook. It’s not trying to be toothpaste. It’s trying to be the “drugstore” section of your local grocery. I hated Facebook. It’s got too much and, hence, no center. It’s trying to be too many things to too many people.
Facebook is the AOL of 2008. I signed off of Facebook and closed my account.
p.s. What makes you think I want to read what the “cute young chic in her early twenties” [sic] is saying? What makes you think that those “cute young” 20-somethings might not use Twitter in 3-5 years… when they grow up a little?
@molliemarti
I’m new to social media and expanding beyond my coaching, consulting & speaking into this big, bold world. Loving it! Find articles like this SO helpful in putting the pieces together.
Thanks for your help!
Mollie Marti
http://www.BestLifeDesign.com
@iconenterprises
Great content, wonderful writing style.
Thank you Scott.
@mcday
I’m usually wasting time while on Facebook – it is personal. Twitter is a mix of business and pleasure. Honestly, my Facebook friends could care less about most of my Twitter updates.
@kimwentz
Great article! I had no idea of the age bracket of Twitter users, but it certainly makes sense. I have three kids 24, 19 & 17. They think I’m ridiculous for using any social media. They think that I’m trying to “spy on them” or “be a teenager”.
My 24 year old’s Twitter friends are her actual friends. Yesterday, I was thinking .. it’s not really a place to keep up with close friends (IMO, anyway). That’s what phones, texting and getting together are for. Actually, in this case, I’m afraid young people don’t get it. (Unless, of course, they’re techies.)
Your post reminded me of Michael Wesch’s YouTube video: An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU.
It is amazing to connect with people from all over the world. I find it interesting that even from some of the most remote parts of the world, the websites people have are very similar.
Is there a translation application for Twitter, where posts are automatically translated to whatever language the user requires?
@fishdogs
Great post as usual. But I have to disagree a bit.
I think Twitter is a much better medium for positioning yourself as an expert in your field or area of interest. You wouldn’t go touting your business skills all the time to your Facebook friends. But on Twitter, if you choose to, you can post interesting links and suggestions about your specific niche and become more of a go-to person for that skill set.
You don’t want to directly sell anything on any social media. It’s all about indirect marketing. But since I have started with Twitter, the hits on my personal blog and my corporate web site have literally doubled. Facebook doesn’t give you the same niche recognition that Twitter does. And it doesn’t generate the same traffic either.
@WebOptimization
Hi,
I’m still young with Facebook. I’m now focusing on Twitter, LinkedIn and Stumbleupon. I know the power of Facebook and that they get about 600,000 new users every day and I’m planing very soon to get much more serious with it.
I would like to speak in the defense of Twitter.
The thing I like the most on Twitter is the ability to interact quickly with others. So lets remove all the commercial uses and marketing uses and the possibility to get new potential clients from Twitter. I often saw people asking something like “Is there someone out there that works with Amazon ?” and he received an answer. That person was able to get in touch with another person that probably helped him solved a problem. This entire community feels more alive although I’ve got much better results from LinkedIn(in terms of traffic and clients).
Another great example. Yesterday I’ve posted a comment on Mack Collier’s blog on an article about the business blog from Park City Mountain Resort. In an hour or so I’ve received two replies on Twitter from @krista_parry(Director of Marketing for Park City Mountain Resort) and from @eric_hoffman(Interactive Marketing Manager at Park City Mountain Resort) telling me that they appreciated my comment and will take it into consideration. I don’t think you can get this kind of interaction on any other social media website.
In the end I just want to say that every SM website or tool has it’s own advantages. It’s just a mtter of discovering what works best for you.
@BarbChamberlain
Like Alisa, Kim & others above, I have different quasi-policies for who I link to in FB and Twitter: people I really know in FB, interesting connections in Twitter, professional connections in LinkedIn, with almost no overlap among the 3 (more between FB/LinkedIn than the other 2 possible combos).
I ran a little experiment using trackable links to my blog in both spaces, which is just a little personal space with a fair amount of randomness, not a business. I’m not trying to build readership, particularly, but like any writer I hope my words can entertain, inform or enlighten in some small way.
Here’s the funny thing: My “friends” on Facebook–my real, honest to goodness, people who were a bridesmaid at my wedding or girlfriend or confidante or old boyfriend–don’t click through at nearly the rate that my followers on Twitter do.
Maybe it’s because there are so many bloggers on Twitter and there’s some hope or norm of reciprocity.
Or because it’s a medium that specifically requires you to leave to look at anything else, rather than the FB app trap (which I really loathe–if I want to tell my sweetheart he’s the most wonderful person on FB, I don’t want to have to invite 15 other people who simply aren’t as wonderful no matter how hard they try
).
Less stick=more click, to coin a phrase.
Oh, and BTW–my dad did once mistake the Preparation H tube for the toothpaste. He made a lot of bad jokes about it the rest of the day….
–barb
@dianatimmons
I keep trying to like Facebook.. I really do try. I completely understand and appreciate the differences between FB and Twitter — they are certainly not an either/or choice. I find myself back at twitter many times a day because of its simplicity, and the ability to connect with people in realtime. I’m learning more about FB, and how to make it work for me with Groups, etc. I think that FB can be useful for the friend-based or biz-based user, but the interface is not automatically appealing to me. Twitter is learning to ride a bike, Facebook is getting your motorcycle license.
My fear is having so many different social media accounts and “friends” that I’m spending eight hours every day hopping from site to site, but not spending enough time to make real connections. It’s just too easy to get caught up in promoting yourself, acting like a rock star on SM, and lose sight of what you’re actually offering to your new “friends” or “followers.” Substance first, promotion follows.
@WinVALiving
No one has quite articulated the purpose or use of Twitter and Facebook quite the same as you have, and I appreciate what you’ve written. I’m going to share this post with some folks in my RE Tech Committee and encourage them to read this.
While I do fit into the largest age demographic, the only thing I don’t do that many tend to on twitter – aggressively build my followers. I find it difficult to stay on top of things as it is following 297 people. I’m not a snob, but I do want to get that “real time pulse of the Tech sector,” along with the real time pulse of those in the real estate and local community. I’ve got open arms for many, but I can’t imagine ever getting up to the thousands of followers that some have!
@storyboardlife
@TheSourceress is right about the distinction. Facebook is about a family or friends. That was the original purpose when it first got started. It’s not suppose to be easy to find people you don’t know. However, twitter is finding like minded people that you value and are worth following. You follow people and if you comment enough the roles will be changed and you will now be a leader. Facebook beat out myspace because of the the safer place to communicate and twitter allows short conversations to get to know people.
@mlambert
In my experience, one thing that Twitter does better than facebook is connect you with people you don’t already know. I’ve found Twitter to be a great resource for meeting other web designers – whether they are from my city or not. On Facebook, I’d say I know 95% of my friends personally. Twitter is good because you don’t have to reveal very much personal info so you are more open to putting yourself out there.
@asktimdavis
I use facebook more for my freinds, and twitter more for business. Both have a very viral effect that is truly amazing. I use facebook to keep up to date with my local friends and a few select marketers that wont spam things out. I don’t want people advertising on my facebook where all my friends are. So I agree with what you said.
-Tim
Very good post. It’s in the way in how and when you use it. It’s not always a competition. Twitter and Facebook complement each other.
@mamasick
Facebook makes me feel guilty. I have all of these friends who have given me stuff that I have no time to reciprocate.
Twitter is fun, it’s quick and easy.
I do agree, Twitter is not catching on with the “young folks”, and it also seems to me like most of the people on Twitter are promoting something, be in their blog, product or whatever. That doesn’t mean I still don’t love it though and I can’t find friends there. I am just very choosy whom I follow.
@TiaSparkles
I used to be a facebook addict till I found twitter – now I’m a twitter addict!
The biggest difference for me has been in the information and knowledge that’s become available to me via twitter. I use facebook in a personal, connecting with real life friends kinda way catching up on their lives, families etc. whereas the people I have met on twitter have helped me learn about business, networking, online promotions etc.
Twitter gives easy access to ‘experts’ and people who have been there, done that . LOVE how it’s opened up my world! I know many of us ask a question on twitter rather than google it cos 1) get relevant answers quicker 2) personal recommendations make it easy to hire someone rather than via a search engine
I see twitter as having revolutionized the way we are doing business.
@ensenadajim
As others have pointed lout, you are confusing apples and oranges in the guise of toothpaste and Preparation H. Interesting that those were your two choices for comparison.
@tomchapman
I use Twitter to network and engage with other like minded individuals (people like me), whereas Facebook is used to drop my friends a quick message or see the latest photos I’m tagged in who would not want to listen to me chirping on about social media or what geek tools I’ve discovered. They are two totally different tools as your post describes well.
I also recently blogged about my use of Twitter and how my social graph has improved.
Tom.
@MIAMICRIMLAW
I disagree on the value of Twitter. I initially thought it was a waste of time, now I “get it.” Facebook is a “static” site good for pictures of vacations and kids, and for catching up with old friends and making some new ones. Twitter takes out all that crap and what you have left is an ongoing conversation. I am a lawyer, not a designer or other “typical” Twitter user, but I think typical Twitter users ARE lawyers. Many of us are on Twitter and generating conversations and referrals. I use Facebook much less now, check in once a day maybe twice. I think Twitter is the future.
@tech_digest
I totally agree. I really liked when you stated, “Twitter is a refreshing approach to social networking that benefits freelancers, designers, writers and people in the work-force.” This is so true because Twitter is not about who you know, it is about who you don’t know and trying to build a rapport in hopes that new clients may come your way. Also, it gives you a free marketing tool to reach more people that you would not be able to reach otherwise (globally). Furthermore, I quite enjoy Twitter.
@ruthe
I agree, use fbook, tweet and am 26 years old *but* I PREFER twitter! In fact, I was on twitter long before fbook. The only reason I joined fbook was to do some research for work. I stayed on because it connected me with friends and colleagues I’d otherwise have no connection with.
At one time, I had twitter updating my fbook status but then my friends NOT on twitter couldn’t understand why I updated my status so much! LOL Twitter, for me, has evolved for a quick way to update my friends/family from anywhere to an awesome networking tool. I love tweeting about something I like (usually revolving around tech, travel, and food), having people find/follow me because of it, and learning something new as a result.
@celticways
For some time the active niches on Twitter seem to be narrow, mainly folks in social media development, people who claim to be pro bloggers, video clip makers and businesses heavily linked to social network creation and distribution. In my niches of Celtic travel, mythology, shamansim, and ancient music hardly anybody related to my keywords are found in searches, though, strangely, that has been improving during just the past two or three weeks. However, there are a lot of people I have twittered who have side interests in my niches even if they d not keyword them. Twitter has been great as a conduit to introduce people to a greater market to my niches on Facebook and MeetUp. It seems on Twitter I find friends but on Facebook I party with them. With me, deals are done on Facebook and Meetup and none are done on Twitter, yet Twitter gives me wonderful introductions.
@WendyMerritt
I look at the entire “social network” thing like a funnel. In the outer larger rim of the funnel you have things that try and grab peoples attention with the aim at drawing them in closer. Closer for a sale. Closer for a friendship. Closer family relationships. Closer for whatever is your target.
Twitter is about in the middle of my funnel. I use it to gather information, stay informed, see how other professionals operate (so I can duplicate or avoid), make friends and update my various status messages on other networks using super simple aps. This is called leveraging my time wisely.
Facebook is nearest the bottom of the funnel. When you get to my personal profile you are just one step closer to actually being “a friend.” Meaning, that if you get approval to my facebook account I hope to meet you one day. The wheels in my head are turning for meetin you in “real life”.
The piece de resistance of my funnel, the goal of my funnel, the reason my funnel exists is for a real face-to-face human connections. Social networking is great but NOTHING seals the deal like a one-on-one. Don’t believe me? Why do people do Twitter meetups? Because we all need human interaction. Why do you see quarterly, semi-annually or annual internet marketing trainings? There is just no comparing the power of seeing, feeling, smelling, hearing and knowing someone in person. That is what it is all about.
Great article Scott. I am going to follow you on Twitter…right now.
blessings,
Wendy
Twitter: WendyMerritt
@BriefEpisode
I love FaceBook. I love Twitter.
They do different things.
FaceBook is where I know everyone well face to face, and I like to look at their photos and status updates. A large part of the FaceBook appeal is these friends of mine don’t have personal blogs, they use FaceBook for that purpose to share links, photos and short meanderings.
Twitter, on the other hand, I signed up for because of its micro-blogging and streamability. I tried it and thought it was OK, but that it plugged right into my blog’s side-bar live and also could generate digest posts for days I wasn’t posting suckered me in.
Twitter has grown in this respect. About a month or two ago, I added the Twitter application to FaceBook. I worried my friends would see too many updates.
Happily, I get a lot more play on FaceBook. The Twitter constraints force me to write status update haiku and many of my friends love it. A few have now joined Twitter because they’ve followed the link from my Twitter app on FaceBook.
Also, as Dan mentioned, Twitter has two-way SMS. Sometimes it’s great to send updates from my BlackBerry when the GSM network is available and the EDGE is not.
@WaltRibeiro
Excellent post. I agree with what you mention here. I use Twitter to tell people about my status, blog posts etc. But I also use it to keep in touch with my community. As an online music teacher, I like the idea of having an ‘open’ forum where we can talk to each other. I feel it’s more fun than a forum.
@bestgreenblogs
While I do find Twitter to be useful to keep track of what my fellow green & sustainable bloggers are up to, at times it does seem to be populated by SEO marketing and “social media” “experts” who offer alot of marketing jibber jabber that isn’t of use. It’s easy to filter out the noise using various Twitter Tools and keyword searches and it’s a good way to keep my followers posted about new blogs I add to my directory.
As far as Facebook goes, I use it more to keep in touch with my friends and less for business purposes. It has it’s usefulness too..
@MatchesMalone
Ok, after thinking further, and seeing some of the replies, I’ve come to the conclusion, that Twitter is a global chatroom.
Adjust your expectations accordingly.
@CoryOBrien
The benefit Twitter has over Facebook is that it’s focused on one goal: Connecting to other people through conversation. While Facebook has photos and videos and apps and groups and pages that add to the experience, they also make it a far more time intensive process to dig into Facebook and get value out of. You need to be committed to larger amounts of time spent on Facebook, and you can’t dive in and out when convenient like you can do with the Twitter stream. They both have their own uses, but differentiation is definitely a hurdle that Twitter is going to have to face as it continues to grow and expand into new communities.
@stephaniefoster
That pretty much describes how I use Twitter and Facebook. I started out on Facebook when I heard of people using it for business, but it never felt comfortable for me that way. Now I’ve found a lot of old friends there.
Twitter, on the other hand, I’ve met a lot of people who are more interesting as business contacts with something of a personal touch. Lots of really interesting bloggers, fellow parents in business and so forth. Easy to follow or unfollow as I choose.
@Dawn_Abraham
I really liked this blog and you got almost everything right except Twitter does do something that face book doesn’t do and that is, allow you to have a unlimited amount of followers.
Where as facebook your tapped out at 5,000. For me that happened months ago. They do allow you to have a fan page but that is a one way street. It certainly isn’t the same thing. I still don’t understand why put a limit on it.
Twitter also encourages talking to people and getting to know people where facebook is set up more for people you already know. But you did mention that.
I love twitter and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get the word out about what they do and offer.
Happy Twittering!
@jesseliebman
I am the demographic that Facebook was created for. The high school class of 2004 becoming a freshman. I’ve been using Facebook since its inception and enjoyed it more when it was an exclusive ‘must have a college e-mail only’ service. While the perception is that you wouldn’t friend people you don’t know Facebook has always been about how many friends you have. If you passed someone in the hall at school you tried to get them to be a friend for you. I, until recently, only friended people I physically talked to on a regualar basis. Since Facebook has blown up I friend any and everyone because of the viral nature of my status updates.
This is where Twitter comes in. I feel that Twitter is like a nice red wine, sophisticated and aged, while Facebook is like PBR where everyone does it. Twitter has become my source for what I read during the day and connecting with experts in the field I normally would never have known or heard of. Then with Facebook’s ability to show my tweets it enables me to share with the network I’ve built up there. Assisting me with my overall exposure and increasing the traffic to my personal blog.
Twitter is on the cusp of becoming mainstream and those who are not web-savvy will soon see the power of its services as I’ve found from expereince.
@BJMendelson
This was great, but I think it’s worth noting that Facebook’s users are trending older every day. It won’t be long, if this has not occurred already, that most of their users will be over thirty years of age.
If I can make one suggestion: Name your sources. “Recent findings” immediately sets alarms off in a reader’s mind that the data may be suspect.
@SisterDiane
I love Twitter because it’s a simple, manageable way to connect with people, and I have absolutely built friendships through it. There are lots of bells and whistles available, but since they come primarily from third-party apps, I can choose which tools are most useful to me.
Facebook, on the other hand, has a rather bewildering UI, overcrowded with silly apps and no clear road-map. I’m there, but mostly to feed in my Twitter updates and blog posts. I agree FB has great potential, but it needs serious editing.
@bwoodsdesign
I really hate Assbook. I mean…Facebook.
I use it because people insist on connecting with me that way. But I really don’t care much for it.
Now, Twitter, THERE’S something I like. With the right client, I can listen to what’s important to me and get updates too while muting out the rest of the noise (spam).
I have had more success connecting with and getting to know folks via Twitter in a span of 5 months, than I have on Facebook in 2 years. Go figure.
I use both services for reasons that are different from those of the author, and also use software that makes my experience of these services very different from each other (and apparently from the author’s as well).
I use Twhirl on my Mac and Twittelator on my iPod Touch to access Twitter- I practically never use the web. These interfaces give me a dynamic experience of constantly-updating microblog streams by people I’ve purposely “befriended” based on common interests. I did not grow up, go to school, or work with the majority of these people, therefore I feel a greater sense of freedom in tweeting about my feelings, political leanings and activities. If I do not want to be followed by – or follow- someone, I stop following them or block them without worrying about repercussions based on past history. I have two Twitter accounts: one that focuses on a certain topic of interest for a group of about 30 people, and one that is about “anything else.” Although I’m not fully hiding my identity behind either account, I do feel more freedom to express myself on Twitter than I do on Facebook, where people know me more intimately (and where you are assumed to have one account only, using your real name and photo).
I access Facebook through its web interface 99% of the time. The other times, I’ll use my iPod Touch’s Facebook app. I prefer these uses to the uglier and less-convenient cell phone SMS service, as my LG phone’s design doesn’t make quick text responses easy. Neither the iPhone App nor the web interface provides me with the same dynamic experience of Twitter- I have to update the Facebook screen and look at all sorts of pages to see what is happening with my contacts – comments, messages, walls, etc. This is confusing, and is an inefficient use of my time.
Another issue: Facebook contacts consist of friends, coworkers, and school mates from my past and present. I don’t necessarily want all my thoughts known to people I physically interact with every day or week. What if I need to call in sick from work or want to play hooky from classes? I then have to be careful about what I put on Facebook that day (even my professors are on my account!). On my Twitter account I am more free to post comments at any time about anything because I don’t physically interact with any of them.
Facebook and Twitter serve completely different purposes, represent two very different audiences, and offer two very different experiences. I’ll take Twitter over Facebook any time.
@zaknicola
I’d have to say that Twitter and Facebook are more useful than anything that comes in a tube. Saying Twitter “is only needed at a certain point in life.” would be like saying the same thing about cell phones vs home phones in that they only serve their purpose when your mobile.
Twitter can be what ever you can think up to do with it. Raise stock, sell a book, or calm an upset client. Its the best tool for staying on top of the news that matters to me, as well as an immediate line to my social network.
@johnaberle
Scott -
I really like your analysis and conclusions. I’ve been studying social networking for much of the past 20 months and have noticed a similar pattern. I just hadn’t identified the distinctions as clearly.
I do know that on Facebook, I don’t automatically approve friends. Like in the non-virtual world, I want some areas of common interest with my friends. Your point is well taken that I don’t concern myself with who follows me on Twitter. On the other hand, I do select the people I follow based on common interests.
By the way, I’ve heard some Internet Marketers with a much higher age demographic for Facebook than I’ve seen mentioned here. Most of my friends on Facebook are over 40, some like me over 60. I use it to keep in touch with family, friends, and business associates as well as to develop business relationships.
One other point made in the Comments above is now out of date with the advent of TwitPic to share photos on Twitter, http://twitpic.com/.
@algates
With the exception of a business focus, which is addressed to a small degree, it’s all been said.
@abutterflyloves
I love the fact I can watch a program on television, and find thousands of people watching with me. Twitter is almost like chat rooms of the early 90s.
@samantha_piers
well i guess with twitter you can always protect your tweets so when someone wants to follow you, you can always decline or accept. I don’t know and don’t care that much anymore. Hahahaha