by Jevon MacDonald
March 22, 2009 at 10:11 am
· Filed under FASTforward'09
One thing that I am noticing more lately is the the value a single feature or tool has in different contexts.
A successful social tool will have a community of some sort as its foundation. Flickr, Youtube, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter are all examples of social tools with community underpinnings.
When these sites were first successful, it was not obvious that their communities were especially divergent, but as time has gone on, each one has become more and more unique. Like tribes, the communities have learned to defend themselves, co-operate to accomplish goals and each has found implicit and explicit ways through which they welcome new people.
This trend might seem obvious in retrospect, and I am sure it has been talked about before, but I get the sense that it is something that is blindsiding most users. The most obvious example of this has emerged with Facebook’s new redesign. The interface update has put Status at the center of the experience, and it has put Facebook head to head with Twitter.
In the past, a lot of us had Facebook and Twitter connected, so that when we updated our status on Twitter, it would also update on Facebook. This worked out pretty well as long as the status update was not the center of the experience on Facebook, but now that it is, things are much more awkward. When I log in to Facebook now, I see primarily the Twitter updates of people who have connected their accounts. This might not seem like a big problem, but as the Facebook and Twitter tribes have diverged, the cross-posting has become noisy. My expectation of what I will see when I log in to Facebook is different than my expectation on Twitter.
With that in mind, here are my 5 reasons you should NOT link you Facebook and Twitter status
1- Facebook is for who you were, Twitter is for who you wish you were
Facebook is a yearbook, Twitter is a masquerade. Facebook cares about your past, Twitter is a clean slate.
The idea of “what are you doing” is different in these different contexts, it doesn’t make sense to cross post between them. Most of your facebook friends are interested in hearing about your kids, or perhaps your vacation, your twitter friends want to know about your new ideas.
2- Facebook is where your ex is
It’s true and you know it. You might want your ex to know you have a new car, lover or are on a wonderful vacation without them, but letting them in to the everyday life you lead on Twitter is probably stepping over the line. Sure they can always go to your Twitter page and get those updates, but then that is their problem.
3- Twitter is manic
If you post something on Twitter you can bank on getting a response most of the time, and it is usually useful. In the world of Facebook, you are more likely to get a comment along the lines of “cool!”. The use of a post on each service is different and it is perceived differently, which makes linking the two more difficult. When you cross-post, you fragment the conversation. That might be fine for you, because you can simple read the comments on each site, but you are doing a disservice to your friends/followers, because they cannot do the same context switching in order to follow the full conversation.
4- Your boss is on Facebook
Enough said, he (probably) isn’t on Twitter (yet)
5- Twitter doesn’t know you are a dog. Twitter is for personas
On Facebook you are you. Twitter doesn’t know or care who or what you are. You can be a brand, an idea, or just yourself, but it doesn’t matter on Twitter. This adds an extra level of complexity to interactions on Twitter that Facebook and many other sites simply are not equipped to handle, and while you may be yourself on both sites, you are going to be interacting with people and things on Twitter that Facebook simply does not have a model for.
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I agree with the idea but not the complete separation of the two. When I don’t want to update FB I just add @noFB at the start of my tweet. Simple control.
Totally agree with you… I can't say more…
I completely agree that the two shouldn't be linked. I think that Facebook and Twitter serve different roles.
That being said, I'm not sure your comparison is quite fair. There seems to be a perceptual distinction of Facebook between those who went through high school/college with Facebook and those who discovered it following high school/college. Being a relatively recent graduate of college, Facebook isn't just who I WAS, but also who I am.
While it might be an outdated yearbook for someone looking up person X and connecting five years after you were closest to X.. for me, Facebook was around during those close social interactions. Facebook isn't reaching out in the past for over-the-hill friendships, but preserving and pushing those friendships deeper into the future – allowing me to keep tabs on my friends, connect for lunch, and organize Super Bowl parties.
Maybe my thoughts will change five years down the line, but right now, Facebook is a more meaningful network to who I am than Twitter is. As much as I value Twitter, as of today: Facebook has my friends, Twitter has my acquaintances.
@EvanMPeck
Hey, nice write-up, and we two seem to converge. I had written a blog post few days back. Am keep here for follow up.
http://analyticsbhups.blogspot.com/2009/03/is-fac...
I am hoping Facebook listens to the voice; and also Facebook friends. It irritates to see too many updates in Facebook.
Bhupendra
A few weeks ago I stopped having my tweets sent to Facebook. I decided it was creating too much noise and was rude because I was focusing more on Twitter than on Facebook. Not that anybody really cared, but I felt like I was neglecting my Facebook community. I am now more engaging on Facebook as a result. Facebook and Twitter are different audiences to me and I treat them that way.
@nancypricer
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jerderMarch 22nd, 2009 at 6:46 pm |
How do I find out if my twitter and face book is connected and do I disconnect it.
I'm not a big fan of Facebook, so I'm incline to think that status updates should go *to* Twitter, not from it. That said, I question all five of your supporting points:
1) Twitter is who I am. No masquerade: I use my real name, and so do all of the people I follow. Facebook is just a way for people to find me if they can't figure out how to find my email address.
2) If you're that concerned about your ex tracking what's going on in your life, then you shouldn't be posting about any of your life in public. If anything, Facebook is much more of a walled garden than Twitter, and its privacy controls are far more sophisticated than Twitter's–in my opinion too sophisticated for mere mortals.
3) Most posts on Twitter do not elicit a response–as with all social media, the majority of messages are ignored. Attention is scarce, and demand exceeds supply. I don't know how Twitter compares to Facebook in this respect.
4) My boss is on Twitter. Moreover, since Twitter isn't a walled garden like Facebook, my boss doesn't even have to be on Twitter to watch me there. I'm not sure where you get the idea that Twitter is more private than Facebook.
5) You can be a fake on Twitter, but the social norm is for users to be real people or real companies. And even corporate users often have real people representing them. I think you're confusing Twitter with Friendster.
In short, I agree with your conclusion that there's no need to update your Facebook status from Twitter, but not the steps that lead you to that conclusion. Are you just not into Twitter?
I would have to agree with the points made by Daniel on each item. I practice proper social media ettiquette on Twitter, so those updates are perfectly appropriate for my Facebook account. I realize that there are those who are juvenile, but that is true in either medium. I actually have 2 Twitter accounts, one for my professional updates and one for the personal stuff. It is the personal stuff that goes to my Facebook account. But, I try very hard not to be arrogant, ungracious or just plain stupid with either account. :'}
The integration with Twitter is one of the aspects that actually brought me "back" to Facebook. That and the iPhone application for Facebook.
I do find your points thought-provoking and a good topic for a post. Looking forward to more comments.
personally? Twitter’s more me than Facebook.
I provide content, links, chatter, updates on Twitter. I consume other people’s on Facebook.
I use http://apps.facebook.com/selectivetwitter/ to provide updates to Facebook from Twitter when I choose. Some Facebook friends had complained that social media tech drivel that I tweet was incomprehensible. So, they get the activity/location style drivel instead 
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JevonMarch 27th, 2009 at 12:28 pm |
Hey, Selectivetwitter looks cool. I like that app, it solves most of the problems with connecting the two.
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audreyMarch 28th, 2009 at 9:29 pm |
Thanks for this post. I have been wondering about linking the two, so I am thankful to have found this information.
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LibbApril 3rd, 2009 at 5:49 am |
I think of it this way: Facebook is for your buddies or classmates, 98% of whom either don't understand or really don't care about the tech/web/whatever-thing-you-do-for-a-living things you're doing, unless it involves pictures of fellow friends getting ess-faced. Twitter is, by its nature, for people who care enough about your main focus that they specifically sought you out to follow for the information you and only you can provide.
As a foil to these beliefs, my current Facebook status is a line from a song I was liking at the moment ("Lay, Lady, Lay" by the masterful Bob Dylan, for those who care). My last Twitter references the Apple App Store, and two days ago I did a long, slowly-spiraling into noone-cares-oblivion, chain of tweets about my sleep deprivation and its effects on my code design. (the Ballmer Effect lives! (http://xkcd.com/323/) ) Obviously, my high school and college friends would care more about the former and less about the latter.
I agree that the type of status updates are different for Twitter and Facebook. I recently discovered the "Selective Twitter status" app in Facebook (http://apps.facebook.com/selectivetwitter/ ), which allows you to choose which Twitter posts should be crossposted by tagging them with #fb.
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TylerApril 3rd, 2009 at 7:58 pm |
My boss is on Twitter, but he isn't on facebook (that I know of) I keep my facebook profile pretty locked down. Facebook is for friends and family. He follows me on Twitter too
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LesleyJuly 17th, 2009 at 12:39 pm |
I agree with a lot of your points. Thanks for the post, it’s very helpful.
However, your points seem fit for an individual. What do you think about updates on fan pages? I’m helping a congressional candidate wade into the social media waters. I’m trying to decide how his Facebook/Twitter updates should vary. I think there will be overlap at times, but I hope that Facebook is more of an informal medium. Do you have any thoughts?
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