The Battle Between Facebook and Twitter is ON
I realized today why Twitter bothers me so much.
It’s not just that I think it’s a royal waste of time, or that it’s heaven for Narcissists. And, I don’t believe that I avoid Twitter because I’m too old to understand its value.
I simply get all my social connection needs met by Facebook, and in a much friendlier and less intrusive way.
Now, as far as my business goes, I haven’t seen any reason at all to use Twitter. I recently launched my Facebook business page and set it up so that my blog posts automatically post to my Wall (on the business page).
I bring this up because Twitter recently announced a brand new interface. Their big AH-HA idea is that we’ll want to read through all the threads for any given Tweet. That is, I can see an interesting Tweet, click on it, and up pops a window with all ReTweets and responses to the original Tweet.
How clever!
So, I can follow the thread of a conversation.
Wow!
Oh, wait… I can do that easily on my iPhone with the Facebook App. If I see a message that’s particularly interesting, and I also see that there are responses (messages) from others, I can read them all with one click.
The Real Reason I Don’t Use Twitter
I don’t tend to use technology just because it’s there. I also have an active and full life. Thus, I carefully select which business pages I follow on Facebook. I’ll also subscribe to their RSS feeds and browse the latest entries with Google Reader.
It takes me just minutes every day to see what’s new from the friends and businesses I care about. I don’t have to apply filters, or waste my time seeing hundreds of “ReTweets” of the same message.
It’s all right there… inside of Facebook, and ready for me to read when or if I have the time. As far as I can see, Facebook does everything Twitter does and does it in a far superior way. And, since I’m not the kind of guy who has two toaster, two dishwashers, or two lawn mowers (I don’t even have one), it makes no sense for me to use both Facebook and Twitter.
And How This Applies to Being in Business
Twitter and Facebook are appliances — tools that we use to enhance or further communication with a targeted audience (our friends, businesses we like, and colleagues).
As a business person, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend the time and money it takes to operate two appliances that essentially do the same thing. You wouldn’t equip every desk with two computers, two chairs, or two identical sets of file drawers. Why use two software tools that do the same thing?
Now, some may argue that you’ll reach a wider audience by using both, and that may be true (although I doubt it). The real question as a business person is whether or not your target customer is actively using Twitter. I’d venture a guess that it is far more likely your customers and the major influencers in your industry are using Facebook than using Twitter.
Think about it. Let me know if you agree or disagree.
Until someone proves unequivocally that there is a real financial benefit to spending time on Twitter, I’m going to remain a naysayer.
Convince me I’m wrong.
