Has Twitter Pecked Facebook's Eyes Out?
Facebook, once a place for the privileged few (I mean, those still in college), soon opened its doors to high schoolers, then to the world. Now that everyone and their mother (literally) are on Facebook, is it doomed to the same fate that has affected sites like Friendster and MySpace? Are we done with Facebook?
The (not so) new wave in social networking is Twitter - a micro-blogging site that allows people to post what are, at their most basic level, Facebook status updates in 140 characters or less. Twitter has nothing to do with Facebook, but the analogy seems to fit. It's a place where anyone can sign up and "tweet" about whatever is going on in their lives: "I just ate a pancake," "Off to the bathroom - wish me luck," and other sophisticated offerings.
Twitter has been around since 2006, but didn't really catch on until news about politicians tweeting during a Presidential address took flight. Since then, everyone from celebrities (Greg Grunberg, Kevin Smith for example) to the average housewife has a Twitter account.
In its most useful form, Twitter has become a secondary RSS feed - another way to get important/interesting news. On the opposite side, Twitter is a way to feed the ego - a way for average people to feel like they have numerous friends because their followers range in the hundreds, sometimes thousands. In both instances, this is where Twitter "out-socials" Facebook.
Facebook is about "friends" - people you know who you can connect with as long as they confirm your friend request. Once the "Confirm" button is clicked, you are welcomed into their closed-off circle of acquaintances. Sometimes, you're one of 500 - other times, you're one of five. However, Facebook, even though it's open to the public, still seems closed off. It still fuels the clique mentality that permeated high school, college, work life, and beyond. If an invite to a party is sent on Facebook and you're not the sender's friend, you can pretty much guarantee you're not going. If a dozen people are tagged in a note and you're not, you're probably going to be upset and a little hurt. Twitter's not like that. Twitter eliminates the class system and puts regular citizens on the same level as politicians and Hollywood royalty. Where else would you be able to communicate with Oprah or Ashton directly? How great would it be if you posted a link and Shaq found it interesting enough to re-tweet and link to your profile? You don't get that type of interactivity with a Facebook or MySpace because that's not how they work. Twitter truly is about social networking - you can follow whomever you choose and they can follow you back. If they don't follow you, then at least you can see what they're talking about and comment on it.
Facebook has tried to mimic this with their news feed, but it's not the same. Since the news feed is updated any time someone makes a minor update to their profile, it's pretty easy to get lost in the fold. That awesome video you found on YouTube? - trapped between Person A's status update and Person C's addition of 11 favorite movies and 300 photographs from their trip to Cancun.
What does everyone else think? Are you done with Facebook? Do you love Twitter? Do you hate both and use something completely different? Leave a comment and let's start the discussion...
The (not so) new wave in social networking is Twitter - a micro-blogging site that allows people to post what are, at their most basic level, Facebook status updates in 140 characters or less. Twitter has nothing to do with Facebook, but the analogy seems to fit. It's a place where anyone can sign up and "tweet" about whatever is going on in their lives: "I just ate a pancake," "Off to the bathroom - wish me luck," and other sophisticated offerings.
Twitter has been around since 2006, but didn't really catch on until news about politicians tweeting during a Presidential address took flight. Since then, everyone from celebrities (Greg Grunberg, Kevin Smith for example) to the average housewife has a Twitter account.
In its most useful form, Twitter has become a secondary RSS feed - another way to get important/interesting news. On the opposite side, Twitter is a way to feed the ego - a way for average people to feel like they have numerous friends because their followers range in the hundreds, sometimes thousands. In both instances, this is where Twitter "out-socials" Facebook.
Facebook is about "friends" - people you know who you can connect with as long as they confirm your friend request. Once the "Confirm" button is clicked, you are welcomed into their closed-off circle of acquaintances. Sometimes, you're one of 500 - other times, you're one of five. However, Facebook, even though it's open to the public, still seems closed off. It still fuels the clique mentality that permeated high school, college, work life, and beyond. If an invite to a party is sent on Facebook and you're not the sender's friend, you can pretty much guarantee you're not going. If a dozen people are tagged in a note and you're not, you're probably going to be upset and a little hurt. Twitter's not like that. Twitter eliminates the class system and puts regular citizens on the same level as politicians and Hollywood royalty. Where else would you be able to communicate with Oprah or Ashton directly? How great would it be if you posted a link and Shaq found it interesting enough to re-tweet and link to your profile? You don't get that type of interactivity with a Facebook or MySpace because that's not how they work. Twitter truly is about social networking - you can follow whomever you choose and they can follow you back. If they don't follow you, then at least you can see what they're talking about and comment on it.
Facebook has tried to mimic this with their news feed, but it's not the same. Since the news feed is updated any time someone makes a minor update to their profile, it's pretty easy to get lost in the fold. That awesome video you found on YouTube? - trapped between Person A's status update and Person C's addition of 11 favorite movies and 300 photographs from their trip to Cancun.
What does everyone else think? Are you done with Facebook? Do you love Twitter? Do you hate both and use something completely different? Leave a comment and let's start the discussion...
Powered by ScribeFire.
0 comments:
Post a Comment