Face (Book) It, Twitter’s Here To Stay!

Don’t count Twitter out yet. Last week, Ashley Motter sounded the death knell for the microblogging juggernaut over on our Marketing blog, and I’m going to pick up the gauntlet she’s thrown.

According to Ashley’s post, the recent changes to Facebook (that mimic the functionality of Twitter) are going to make Twitter irrelevant. I don’t know about that, but it certainly explains Facebook’s recent failed attempt to buy Twitter. However, the Home of the Fail Whale is floating safely on a fresh bed of capital and is even making some rumbles on the subject of its revenue model (which seems like it may involve paid accounts with extra functionality for brands and businesses) so, from a purely fiscal standpoint, it’s not going anywhere.

Despite the format change that is being rolled out on Facebook as we speak, Twitter is still different. It is not just status messages, it’s a conversation between a group of disparate people. My followers include business contacts, friends, comic book industry contacts and fellow bloggers, and it’s not uncommon that I end up talking to a marketing guru about Spider-Man or getting marketing feedback from a friend that isn’t a marketer. That doesn’t really happen on Facebook, and the userbase is so conditioned to the site’s current culture that I don’t think it’s likely to change overnight. I don’t think my traditional “power of social media” proof that I give in talks - asking a question and then showing the answers I get and how quickly the replies come - would be as effective on Facebook. My last Facebook status message was about a McGriddle (much to the consternation of my girlfriend and another friend of mine).

One of my most recent Tweets, on the other hand?

Just got off the phone with a local photography studio that wants to know how/if they can leverage Twitter. What advice would YOU give them?

That update got 15 responses, 12 of which were thoughtful and useful. Now granted, sometimes I’m talking about who could beat Iron Fist in a fight, but that’s also something I’m not prone to discussing on Facebook.

The other advantage that Twitter has over Facebook is its portability. I can send and receive Twitter messages via SMS, which means that I don’t have to be in front of the Internet in order to solicit information and I don’t need a smartphone to keep up either. Even at my desk or working on my laptop, I can follow the stream of conversation via an iGoogle gadget, a Firefox Add-On or a desktop app like Tweetdeck or Twhirl. Facebook, on the other hand, encourages me to stay inside Facebook, where it can show me more ads.

The other limitation of Facebook is its forced mutuality. Nobody’s going to see what I do on Facebook unless we’re friends - which means (at least by my standards) that I’ve likely met you in person, that we’ve had a conversation, and that I like you - but anybody on Twitter can follow me and reply to my updates regardless of whether I make them my ‘friend’ or not - usually because I find you interesting and/or intelligent, whether I know you or not.

Though the new changes to Facebook make the two services more aesthetically similar, they allow for different types of communication. Twitter’s explosive growth isn’t leveling off, and a potential acquisisition by Google is grist for the rumor mill right now. Don’t count it out yet.

Ashley’s blog post: http://marketingblog.solidcactus.com/2009/03/tweet-tweet-tweeeeeeeeeeeeis-twitter-flatlining/