By Carly
The other day, the difference between Twitter and Facebook came up in a meeting – and with good reason. Facebook asking “What’s on your mind?” sounds very similar to Twitter’s “What’s happening?” But Facebook and Twitter are two very different animals, for very different reasons. I explain my perspective on the two after the jump:
Think back to your high school cafeteria. When you first walked in, the dozens (or hundreds or thousands, depending) of voices suddenly hit you like a wave. That’s Twitter.
The teachers and nerds may be discussing the latest news at their tables – stuff you need to know. The cheerleaders and jocks are probably gossiping at their tables – stuff you don’t need to know, but what you probably care about (even if secretly). And the emo kids are off at their own table, talking about some weird things you wouldn’t really care about. Then you have your own table with the people you communicate with the most. Now, from time to time you probably go over to where the drama kids sit because of that cute guy and sometimes you hang with the cheerleaders because your friend Becky is trying out for the squad this year. You join in the overall conversation.
Twitter = high school cafeteria. You only have a limited amount of time (140-characters exactly) to converse and get your point across.
So, you’re done with lunch and now you have to go to your locker. This is Facebook. Your locker is connected to those directly next to and above/below it. Those are your friends. On the outside you have a dry erase board where you put messages, like “2Good2B4Gotten” and your friends write messages to you like “I Wuz Here.” That’s your status update and wall. Inside your locker, you have your books, class notes, lip gloss and a pin-up of Justin Timberlake. Those are your apps and personal information. (You may even have a moldy sandwich … that’s like Farmville.)
You following me? Twitter is the cafeteria – everyone is in there, communicating, eating, sharing. While everyone is technically on Facebook, your own Facebook world is limited. Now, you could certainly open up your locker to everyone – but chances are you would only give out your locker location to certain people. Facebook is about building a community and having a conversation within that community. Twitter is a global conversation, open to all. (If you’re not down with the high school analogy, think of Twitter as a buffet in Vegas.)
Do you dig, or am I completely off the mark on this one? What are the differences between Twitter and Facebook in your opinion?
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Tags: Facebook, high school, Twitter
About the Author
Carly no longer works for O'Neill Communications and we wish her the best in her new endeavors!
Carly, I really like this analogy! One of the main differences I’ve found between the two is that Facebook seems to be more personal. People post and edit their relationship status, share photos of their new baby, and watch those people that secretly wanted to be friends with in high school. Twitter is more about sparking an interest in something or sharing a specific piece of information.