Guest Post: A Facebook Addict Gets Twitter Religion
This is a guest post by Eric Nam, of Boston College, who I met on the school's "TechTrek" to Silicon Valley a few weeks ago. We had a debate about Twitter just before Facebook changed their site to be more Twitter-like. I'd anticipated the changes would cause kids like Eric to find even less reason to start using Twitter. On the contrary, he's had quite a different experience. I found his thoughts interesting, and I thought you would too, so I asked him to write up a guest post for us. Enjoy!
Within the past two weeks, Twitter has successfully started a civil war of sorts within my closest group of friends. The argument: Twitter is pointless, a stalker’s paradise, and its services are already covered by Facebook. I completely understand this sentiment, as I was a cynic myself up until two weeks ago. However, within this short period of time, I have become a Twitter evangelist and a staunch believer in Twitter’s ability to fill a niche in the social networking world.
During a recent dinner with Sarah, my Boston College Tech Trek peers and I asked Sarah about her opinions on Twitter. Until this point, we were all skeptics, cynics and nonbelievers of the Twitter world. However, Ms. Lacy articulated the reasons as to why Twitter was so great, presented in her last Business Week column. Convinced, many of us joined the Twitter world as soon as we got back to our hotel.
Upon my entrance in to the Twitterverse, I was criticized by my friends who claimed that I had stalker tendencies by following @johncmayer, @gallaugher, @terrymoran @the_real_shaq and others, however I went ahead, unashamed and tweeted to my best ability. Since then, my number of “victims” has increased to 60 and includes a select group of friends that I care to keep up with, as well as my favorite websites and news sources such as @nprpolitics, @cnbctv, @theeconomist, @cnnbrk. What Twitter has done is capitalize on Facebook’s status update and transformed it into an incredible tool that keeps me connected with people and the stories that I am actually interested in.
As a deeply invested and long time Facebook user, I appreciate Facebook for providing me with embarrassing photos, easy ways to create events, and connections to my long lost friends. However, throughout my years of Facebook use, I have accumulated ‘friends’ who I am close with, but many more that I don’t care to keep up with, or are merely my acquaintances.
Though Facebook’s newest platform attempts to preemptively negate Twitter’s allure, the real-time updates on my Facebook friends doesn’t draw me in. Honestly, I don’t care to be updated on what Billy from the 3rd grade is doing or how Susie wrote on Kimberly’s wall. Some may argue that I should “de-friend” them, but really, let’s think about how that’s perceived. Either 1. Sorry I don’t like you anymore 2. I don’t care about you anymore or 3. Who are you? Yeah, it’s not the greatest of feelings.
Furthermore, Facebook’s design has gotten out of control.
Started as a simple profile page, the Book, as I like to call it, has become a clunky, in-your-face, and an aesthetically painful product. Colors flash from advertisements telling me how to get free MacBooks, and my friends profile pictures avalanche down my page, beckoning my eyes to pulse in pain and my brain to scream from sensory overload. Granted, people will eventually get used to the new Facebook, as they always have. Yet, I can’t help but believe that this change will only propel more users to Twitter who are in search of a simpler, cleaner, easy-to-use, and most importantly, more personal experience.
With Twitter, I don’t feel a pain-staking obligation to “approve” or follow anybody. If people want to follow me, great, I guess you find me interesting and by all means, Twitter me silly. Twitter’s colors are brighter, more attractive and it has yet to materialize into a cesspool of advertisements. Furthermore, though the sell has been difficult at times, when I get my closest friends to start using Twitter, it eliminates my need to go to Facebook for a wall post or message, which by the way, I get on my BlackBerry anyway.
Switching costs are the only reason I continue to utilize Facebook. Not all of my friends have transitioned to Twitter, I do enjoy the photos, and some of the event invitations. However, if Twitter’s user-base exponentially increases, as it seems to be doing, and Twitter decides to dive deep into features, there is no reason as to why I wouldn’t completely switch over to Twitter.
Facebook’s focus is now about connecting to the entire world. Gone are the “College-Student Only” days, (which I believe, if someone were to create now, students would flock to in order to move away from Aunt Jamie and Grandpa Joe.) But moreover, the Book has become overwhelming for users like me. Call me self-centered, but I would prefer to focus on my personal interests, may it be people that I’m most interested in, news, music, or celebrities.
In all honesty, if I can get a majority of my closest friends to start Twittering, I think I can make it in a Facebook-free world- GASP! So tweet on my Tweeters!
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Though I like the look of the new Facebook (and now its integration into Tweetdeck), I am noticing the de-emphasis of profile pages and Facebook apps. So I'm at the point where I might as well just do all my communication on Twitter or CitySpeek, instead of Facebook. It's cool and all, but the more it becomes another micro-blog, the more options I have.
Posted by: Jeff | March 17, 2009 at 11:48 AM
As a long-time Facebook user, since back in my college days, I tend to agree with you that the goal to "connect the world" is awkward at best, and useless at worst. I call it the mom-on-Facebook phenomenon.
Interestingly, even though I love using Twitter, I think Twitter faces its own battles in this arena as it increases in popularity, and more and more users focus on follower count, the percieved experience is changed from one of relative intimacy (when I first joined) to competition. I call this the celeb-on-Twitter phenomenon. 100,000 followers is the new 10,000 (and before that, 1,000).
So it's interesting and refreshing to get a perspective on joining Twitter where it stands now. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Tiffany Monhollon | March 17, 2009 at 11:51 AM
This has to be one of the best explanations of the differences between twitter & facebook I've seen since the recent design change. I hate the new look of it & am actually considering leaving facebook because it is no longer what I want.
I don't want to know these people's status updates - I have 'friends' on facebook who I'd like to see again, but I do not need to know their every thought & action! However, I don't want to delete them from my friends list because of what I love(d) about facebook. I love how easy it is to through a party & invite everyone from my old school, or create a new group for my friends & I to chat about our shared history.
I think facebook are definately making a mistake with this change in direction - it is harder to use & profile pages seem to have faded into the background, with the status updates taking over everywhere!
Thanks for this post - it's exactly what I've been trying to explain to my friends!
Posted by: Zoe | March 18, 2009 at 09:51 AM
"Granted, people will eventually get used to the new Facebook, as they always have. Yet, I can’t help but believe that this change will only propel more users to Twitter who are in search of a simpler, cleaner, easy-to-use, and most importantly, more personal experience."
Given a year or two, Twitter will probably adopt a more complex interface. Even Google eventually adopted a more complex interface, and no company was more dedicated to simplicity than Google.
In so far as the viability of a business goes, I don't trust arguments that are based on things that companies can easily change, such as interface elements. I hear this a lot from clients who are desperate to save their idea:
"Yes, we're going to build a social online network, a lot like Facebook, but we've got a huge advantage because our interface is simpler."
"Yes, we're going to build a social online network, a lot like Facebook, but we've got a huge advantage because our demographic is younger and therefore they will love all the features of our complex interface."
"Yes, we're going to build a social online network, a lot like Facebook, but we've got a huge advantage because our demographic is older and more affluent, they've more income to pay for things, so we won't need ads."
It's possible that I've become way too conservative about this stuff, but all of those arguments strike me as being... ah, a little too hopeful?
I also get these pitches from investors who want me to work for free (or rather, for equity). It's almost frightening how few original ideas there are. 99% of what I hear is derivative:
"We're going to be like Twitter, but with longer messages, so people can get a full idea across."
"We're going to be like Twitter, but with an easy 'Save' option, so people can make a scrapbook of ideas they really like - kind of a combination of Twitter and del.icio.us."
"We're going to be like Twitter, but with voting, so we'll be like a cross between Twitter and Digg."
Off topic:
I split my time between New York and Virginia. I've noticed the projects that I hear about in New York tend to be savvy about the importance of originality. The people in New York are used to criticism, and for the most part they take it well:
"I'm sorry to say, I think your idea is a little too common. There already too many dragon war games for the iPhone."
"Yes, we're aware of that. We're working hard to add in teams of unlimited size, as that is difficult to implement and not many games on the iPhone allow that yet."
My clients in Virginia tend to be... ah, more optimistic about things. One client in particular stays in memory due to his... uh, optimism. I recall after every setback, he'd regain his confidence, through various means, and then tell me "Dude, we're all going to own our own tropical islands."
Posted by: Lawrence Krubner | March 20, 2009 at 07:12 PM
Zoe, your comments remind me of the criticism that was directed at Facebook when they first introduced the Wall. I can't think of another redesign, at any website, that was initially greeted with more criticism then when Facebook first introduced the Wall. I'm confused by what you wrote, this in particular:
"I don't want to know these people's status updates - I have 'friends' on facebook who I'd like to see again, but I do not need to know their every thought & action!"
You are criticizing their new re-design, or the one they did in 2006?
Posted by: Lawrence Krubner | March 20, 2009 at 07:16 PM