To Facebook or to Twitter? What's the difference, anyway?

The recent changes to Facebook have left many saying the service is now much more like Twitter .  While certain functions may act like Twitter, there are still major differences between the two websites.

Many differences between the two services are superficial.  Facebook is a large, robust social network that allows many types of interactions between users.  Twitter, however, is simply a status update.  These structural differences are responsible for cultural norms that require careful consideration.

In general, Facebook is a great way to strengthen your network with people you already know.  Twitter, on the other hand, is a great way to grow your network and meet people you wouldn’t have otherwise. For example - you can easily interact with elected officials on Twitter.  This is much harder to do on Facebook.

These differences are largely driven by the culture of each site.  Because Facebook involves a large amount of personal information, people prefer to only network with other people they know and are at least somewhat comfortable sharing personal information with.  Twitter, on the other hand, involves far fewer personal interactions.  This isn’t to say Twitter can’t be personal.  This is far from true.  In fact, we think the best people on Twitter are very personal with the information they share.  However, the level of personal interaction is far lower on Twitter than on Facebook due to the inability to clearly define social relationships.

The personal aspect of each site is even reflected in their key features.  To connect with someone on Facebook, you become their “friend.”  With Twitter, on the other hand, you simply “follow” another user.  Becoming a friend with someone is a commitment in real life. We associate that word with some a strong mutual connection between two people.  Following someone, on the other hand, is a far less personal one-way relationship.  It is much easier to stop following someone than to stop being someone’s friend.

These powerful cultural differences between Facebook and Twitter have made the services complements to each other rather than competitors.  We highly recommend using both services for your business, as long as you use them in different ways.  Remember: Twitter creates relationships; Facebook strengthens relationships.

We would love to get a tweet from you.  Follow us: Mike Sayenko at: http://twitter.com/Mike_Sayenko and Jon Hickey at: http://twitter.com/jonhickey84.