Facebook vs. Twitter Cagematch
Facebook’s redesign, which launched 2 weeks ago, demonstrated they were moving to stave off challenges from today’s social media darling, Twitter. Like many others, I don’t like the changes, but it has made me think more critically about the Facebook vs. Twitter phenomenon (not to forget LinkedIn.) This trio seems to have cornered the marketshare, but in vastly different ways which can be reflected in a)the speed (and therefore quality) of network growth and b)makeup of that network.
LinkedIn
I’ve been a LinkedIn zealot for over five years and have carefully (cautiously?) built up a network of 494 people who I have actually done business with (or went to business school with). I’m proud of my 11 recommendations. I reject about 2 requests for every 1 accepted.
Facebook
I joined Facebook a year and a half ago and my network quickly grew to 376 users with very little effort. I accept (almost) every friend request. Among those “friends” are the younger sister of the ex-girlfriend of the guy who was my pole vaulting teammate on my high school track team, friends from business school, random SEO consultants and of course, attorneys I’ve never even met.
Twitter
I started tweeting just over three months ago, on December 23rd. I now have 457 followers most of whom I’ve never met in person. They include a saucy PR vixen, Barack Obama, and lots of self-anointed “gurus”, “mavens” “experts” and “visionaries”. I take a few of these people seriously. I pay very little attention to who my followers are (doesn’t this sound creepy, paging Warren Jeffs) and follow and unfollow people at whim.
The Quality vs. Quantity Theory of Social Networking
So I’ve been developing this theory that the quality (and therefore value) of a social media platform is negatively correlated with the speed in which it grows. Thus, in the long run, LinkedIn will dominate, unless Facebook can improve the quality of the connections of their massive installed base. Twitter will join the dodo bird. (Notwithstanding Facebook’s competitive advantage of appealing to the younger generation – I don’t know of any high school kids on LinkedIn.) This was confirmed when I was guest lecturing at the U of Washington business school MBA program – half of the students had a Facebook account, all of them had a LinkedIn profile. (I didn’t even bother to ask about Twitter.)
My Theory Falls on It’s Face
And yet it seems I’m entirely wrong: I recently asked (on Twitter) if I should include my twitter address on my business card. Would I do that for Facebook? no way, for LinkedIn? maybe. Look at the response almost unanimously endorsing twitter on business cards (granted from a self-selected group who has already imbibed of the Twitter Kool Aide.) Most importantly, from Kevin Prentiss, one of the smartest web guys I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.
So, I am back to square one on trying to figure out who is going to win this social networking game – if not all three. And, my twitter address is going on the bottom of my printed business cards. Ironic no?
March 31st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Conrad -
For you, put the twitter address on your business card. You are in the social media business.
For most lawyers, the answer is no. For most lawyers few of their clients will be on Twitter. Most lawyers’ clients will think they are little crazy if they have a twitter address on their business card.
As for the longevity, I am less concerned with the rapid growth of twitter than the lack of a revenue model. Something will change when they start trying to make money. That is more likely to kill Twitter.