We’ve been using Facebook and Twitter now for awhile.  Some prefer one over the other.  Some only use one tool.  Others are addicted to both. (Then there’s MySpace.  Remember that?  Facebook needs to take a hint.  But that’s another post…)

Twitter and Facebook.  They’re two completely different platforms.

Like oil and water, they both have their place.  We use both.  Yet they don’t always mix.  Likewise, Twitter and Facebook are two very different mediums with two very different niches.

Facebook.

When Mark Zuckerberg was at Harvard, he had an idea.

He and three classmates got together and developed their idea into a platform that connected them with their friends.  They kept it exclusive to begin with (you had to have a .edu email address).  This allowed them to test it out and have their ideal demographic figure out how they wanted to use it.  Once they were able to set the standards, they slowly started opening the gates to other people.  This exclusivity only helped to build anticipation (can we say Apple?) for the release of updates and the allowing of everyone to participate.

On Facebook you are able to post native pictures, embed links, write comments and replies, send personal messages, and more.  You can see full conversations at a glance.  Entire photo albums.  All within Facebook.  You aren’t limited too much in terms of content length, either.

An interesting thing has happend with Facebook.  The original users (mostly college students) set the standard methods of use.  After a few years, we’ve seen the way Facebook is used transform into something that it wasn’t originally.  This is most apparent with all of the Farmville and Chef’s World updates you probably see in your Live Feed.  The people that started out with Facebook in its early days are easily frustrated by this and many other little things that have popped up, such as privacy issues.  Yet the new Facebook users have no preexisting concept of how it is supposed to be used; to them, it’s a networking/gaming platform.  Others use it specifically to share photos from family trips.  Still others use it for the messaging and chat.  It’s quickly developing into a catch-all platform where you can do just about everything you need.

These things aren’t necessarily bad.  It’s to be expected with anything.  Facebook started with an idea.  Mark Zuckerberg had no idea what it would become. Evolution and growth.  Adaptation.  These all propel success.

Twitter.

If you can’t adapt to this format, it’s probably because you wish it were more like Facebook.  But it’s not, nor is it supposed to be.  Twitter is a different platform where a different language is spoken.  Hashtags (#), replies (@), and retweets (RT) are just a few items.  Then there’s Follow Friday (#followfriday or #ff) and Music Monday (#musicmonday or #mm).  And the ever popular Tweetups (#tweetup) in their various formats and locations.

Twitter was developed to allow people to communicate and update what was happening in their lives at that moment.  It was not designed as a sales tool for businesses. Too often I see companies just using it to throw out their sales pitch in hopes that people will respond to the call-to-action and buy the product or service. These companies spew out their content without adding value to anything other than their own messages.  It’s a shame to see this misuse of a wonderful communication medium.  To use it effectively, listen more than you speak.  Create relationships.  Build networks.  Engage in conversation. Neither was it designed so much as a communication tool where you see a back-and-forth conversation, though this does happen routinely.  It is more of a tool that helps you propagate your content, ideas, and thoughts to the masses.  Let people know what’s going on.  Quickly and efficiently.

We’ve seen Twitter expand and adapt as well.  From the news anchors using it to update the world to the bands keeping fans posted on show times.  Twitter has helped me gain new real life friends and freelance work.  I’ve been able to meet some really great and interesting people thanks to Twitter.  When I first started using Twitter, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had 13 followers while these other guys had 5,000 or more.  Then I realized that it’s not about how many followers you have, it’s about the relationships you build.  When people see that you’re using Twitter effictively and unselfishly, they will be more likely to follow you.  Then your numbers go up, and all without the help of a third-party app or bot.

If you’re looking to find ways to use Twitter more effectively and live in the Northern Indiana area, the #nwitweetup is a great place to meet people that are using social media in one way or another.  There are many, many more Tweetups around the country.  I encourage you to find one close to you and see what it’s all about.  It there isn’t one in your area, start one!

That’s about it for this post.  I’d love to hear your comments and experiences concerning Facebook and Twitter.  How do you use these tools?  And remember, it’s not that one is better than the other.  It’s not apples to apples here.  We need to learn how to maximize the effectiveness of each tool while realizing what works on one platform won’t always work on the other.  Now, go take a look at this video by @equalman that shows the magnitude of social media today.