Recently I’ve been approached by some colleagues asking about the difference between Twitter and Facebook. In the end, you can post on both what you are doing. But that is almost about it.
Twitter is geared towards a public audience, whereas Facebook is meant to represent you circle of friends/ acquaintances.
The main difference lies in the audience. Twitter uses its microblogging function to make information available publicly available. The message is meant to reach as many people as possible. Basically everyone can follow you Twitter (if you allow it). On the other hand, in Facebook, the status updates are meant to reach your personal circle of friends / acquaintances.
Another difference lies in the type of status updates. On Twitter, it’s about the content, the information. On Facebook, it’s mainly about data – your personal data, in connection with information.
Twitter is an excellent tool for open communication. If you meet somebody at a trade fair and talk about interesting things, you might want to follow him or her on Twitter to see what professional news he or she brings out. You wouldn’t necessarily want this person in your Facebook circle, where it would be possible to see, what your mother posted on your wall. Just have a look at how Facebook can ruin your career: head of MI6 outed by his wife through pictures on Facebook.
Last but not least, it’s about integration. Since Twitter practices open communication, your Twitter feed (all your Twitter posts/updates) can be perfectly integrated in other web site/applications. Since Facebook is fairly restricted and gears towards another audience, you wouldn’t want to do that, even if possible.
Here a quick Q&A:
Q: “I post everything I have to say on Facebook, so my friends know about me. Why do I need Twitter?”
A: “You don’t.”
Q: “I’m bombarded by news from every direction. Why do I need yet another channel?”
A: “You don’t need it. Twitter is a good way to have selected source information reach you. If you follow somebody on Twitter, you’re genuinely interested in what this person has to say. If you’re not longer interested, quit following.”
Q: “Is it smart to have Twitter and Facebook messages linked, so that everthing you post on Twitter appears in your Facebook and vice versa?”
A: “Not really. Keep in mind that Facebook is a system that you can control more or less and keep private. It would be smarter to have your Twitter feed imported into Facebook, for business/professional might also me interesting for your private friends, whereas your private information might not be that appropriate in a business environment.”
Q: “How am I supposed to follow all these people on Twitter?”
A: “If you can’t keep up following everybody on Twitter, it’s a sign you need to be more selective with who you follow. Or you can just ignore the updates. Nobody will be angry with you, if you don’t read everything.”
Q: “Who is reading all the updates on Twitter?”
A: “If you don’t have the time to follow everybody on Twitter, it doesn’t mean other people feel alike. The degree of importance of Twitter varies from person to person. Even here we can find the Pareto (80/20) principle. Only about 20% actually do post on a regular basis and the other 80% follow. Personally, I also lack the time to follow everybody on Twitter, yet I do post and benefit from it.”
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