Toronto Mike

The Facebook Fiends vs. the Twitter Followers

Twitter

In the beginning, there was MySpace.  Back in 2005, I created a MySpace page for my buddy Custom because they had a music player and all the bands had pages.  MySpace was (and is) a cesspool of poor design, trolls and annoying teens.  I never created a MySpace account for myself.

Then, after a great deal of resistance, I succumbed and got myself a Facebook account in the summer of 2007.  I was in a running group that started scheduling runs via a Facebook group, so I really had to play the game or step aside.

Facebook was kind of neat for a week or so, but quickly became stale.  I figured my lack of passion for Facebook had something to do with the fact I already had a web presence where I could share notes, pictures and links.  Still, Facebook was a great deal more pleasurable than MySpace, and many of my friends were passionate users.

Just last year, I started to tweet via Twitter.  It's been about five months, and I'm enjoying this social networking tool more today than ever.  It's micro-blogging with a mobile slant, an ideal complement to my blog.  The real-time buzz detection via those select few I follow enriches the content over here, and keeps my ear to the ground.  I enjoy Twitter about ten times as much as I enjoyed Facebook.  I now find myself recruiting Facebook friends to the Twitter fold.

I find there are three types of people in the Social Networking kingdom.  The Facebook Fiends, the Twitter Followers and the Twitbook Teeter-Totters.

Facebook Fiends - You know these guys... They embraced Facebook in 2006 or 2007 and haven't looked back.  As die-hard Facebook fiends, this community hogs the bulk of their online life and they wouldn't consider leaving.  They're too invested in Facebook to switch to Twitter.

Twitter Followers - These are people like me, who tried Facebook but prefer Twitter.  The promotional potential of Twitter brought us over, but the value-add of those we follow keep us there.  We've essentially said goodbye to Facebook and are now loyal Tweeters in the Twitter kingdom.

Twitbook Teeter-Totters - These are Facebook fans who get the attraction of Twitter.  Twitbook Teeter-Totters haven't switched but maintain both.  How many people do you know that dupe their Tweets as Facebook status messages?  That's who I'm referring to here.  They couldn't pick a community, so they manage both.

Which one are you?

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About Toronto Mike
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