Twitter+vs+Facebook

Key Elements of Twitter and Facebook
 Twitter on the other hand, encourages you grab ideals in byte-size chunks and use your updates as jumping off points to other places or just let others know what you’re up to at any given moment.  Facebook appeals to people looking to reconnect with old friends and family members or find new friends online; the mashup of features like email, instant messaging, image and video sharing, etc. feels familiar, while Twitter is a bit harder to get your arms around at first.  Most people can very quickly grasp how to use Facebook to connect to friends and family, using it to share thoughts, images, etc. Like MySpace but more geared to adults than teens, Facebook is a social networking Portal; beckoning you not to leave but rather to stick around and communicate within the network.

Why People Love Twitter
The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook; although it may be more addictive once you get the hang of Tweeting; you get more immediate responses and it seems to live somewhere between the worlds of email, instant messaging and blogging. Twitter encourages constant “linking out” to anywhere and, in that respect, is more analogous to a pure search engine; another way to find people and content all over the Net. Twitter has quickly built brand awareness and a loyal following, especially among the technically adept; bloggers, online marketers, evangelists, basically anyone with something to promote seem to find Twitter extremely valuable. When asked why they love Twitter, users say like “I can ask a question and get an instantaneous response”. They crave the ability to “tap into the collective consciousness” of others on the network, bouncing ideas off others with whom they would otherwise have no means of connecting. Twitter addicts claim it’s like the old fashioned water cooler, where people can gather to shoot the breeze on whatever topic is on their minds. Twitter is like a communications stream you dive into for an invigorating swim.

Why People Love Facebook
Facebook appeals to social animals and can be very addicting to people who have an insatiable appetite to stay connected with friends and make new acquaintances. In fact, some people report they rarely use email or IM tools anymore in their online social communications anymore, relying almost entirely on Facebook for email, chat, image and video sharing. Facebook addicts prefer the social portal model versus having to log into AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Gmail, Hotmail, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, etc. Instead, Facebook gives them a single alternative to all these applications, with one login and interface to manage their online social interaction needs. This largely explains the explosive growth Facebook continues to experience and why the company reportedly invested $200 million in data center upgrades last year to keep up with demand!

So Which Social Network is the Best?
While zealots will immediately point to either Twitter or Facebook as being superior, the truth is that each has its advantages and disadvantages and will tend to appeal more to different types of people and for different reasons. Each can have great or little value to anyone; it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish in a given situation. Consider some of the pros and cons of each network:

Twitter Pros

 * Easy to navigate and update, link to and promote anything
 * Reach far beyond your inner circle of friends
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">One feed pools all users; anyone can follow anyone else unless blocked
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Pure communication tool, rapid responsiveness
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">You don’t have to be logged in to get updates; you can just use an RSS reader
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Very interactive, extensible messaging platform with open APIs
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Many other applications being developed (Twitterific, Summize, Twhirl, etc.)
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Potential SMS text messaging revenue from wireless networks (although Twitter states they are not currently getting any cut)
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Potential future advertising and/or enterprise subscription-based revenue streams
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">With its “thin” overhead, Twitter is probably more scalable than Facebook, giving it a cost advantage

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Twitter Cons

 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Limited functionality; find people, send brief messages, direct replies
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Limited to 140 characters per update
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Not all people find it immediately useful
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Over-emphasis on follower counts
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Easily abused for spam and increasing the noise level
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Relatively smaller installed user base
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">As yet no readily apparent monetization strategy

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Facebook Pros

 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Application mashup; find people, make connections, email, instant messaging, image/video sharing, etc.
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Most people can quickly grasp the value of connecting with friends, family and established contacts; some people report they use Facebook instead of email and IM
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">More emphasis on deep connections with others vs. who has the most connections
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">“True Friends” feature increases your transparency to selected connections; almost like having private and public profiles
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Huge, rapidly growing installed user base
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Inherit stickiness, third party applications, “gift giving” and personal data collection make Facebook a powerful advertising platform

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Facebook Cons

 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">More difficult to navigate and update
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Requires investment of time to realize sustained benefit
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Opt in model requires a user to allow others to connect
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Less immediate responses; unless you stay logged on continually
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Overhead of mashup and “thick” applications could limit scalability, bloat cost structure