General question related to twitter and facebook.

Started by Richard Smith, 05-28-2011, 07:58:23

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Richard SmithTopic starter

Hello,
I want to know the difference between twitter and facebook status updates. Can anyone help me in this regard??

Thanks
Richard Smith
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Hogward

Twitter and Facebook are both social media platforms, but there are some key differences between their status updates.

1. Length: Twitter allows for short, succinct updates with a maximum of 280 characters (previously 140 characters), whereas Facebook has a higher character limit, allowing for longer and more detailed posts.

2. Public vs. Friends: By default, Twitter updates are public and can be seen by anyone who follows your account, even if they don't follow you back. In contrast, Facebook status updates are usually only visible to your friends, unless you have adjusted your privacy settings.

3. Engagement: Twitter focuses on quick and real-time conversations. Users can easily "retweet" or reply to others' tweets, fostering discussion. On Facebook, engagement is usually through comments or likes on your friends' posts.

4. Multimedia: Both platforms support multimedia content, but Facebook tends to prioritize visual content like photos and videos in its news feed. Twitter, on the other hand, places more emphasis on concise text-based updates, but also supports images, videos, and GIFs.

5. Hashtags and Tagging: Twitter encourages the use of hashtags to categorize and search for specific topics or trends. Hashtags are less commonly used on Facebook. However, Facebook does allow you to tag other users in your posts, while Twitter handles mentions using the "@" symbol.

6. Algorithmic Feed vs. Chronological Feed: Facebook uses an algorithm to determine which posts appear on a user's news feed, prioritizing content based on engagement, relevance, and user preferences. Twitter, on the other hand, shows updates in chronological order, with the most recent tweets at the top of the timeline.

7. Retweets vs. Sharing: On Twitter, you can retweet other users' tweets, which allows their tweet to be shared with your followers without any modifications. Facebook, however, has a "share" feature that lets you repost a friend's status update, but it also allows you to add your own commentary or edit the original post before sharing.

8. Verified Accounts: Twitter has a verification system where public figures, brands, and other notable accounts can verify their identity and authenticity with a blue checkmark badge. Facebook has a similar system, but it is primarily focused on verifying pages rather than individual profiles.

9. Trending Topics: Twitter prominently features trending topics, which are popular and widely discussed subjects or hashtags at a given time. Facebook, while it does have trending topics in its search feature, doesn't give them as much visibility on its main platform.

10. Personalization: Facebook allows you to customize your profile in more detail, including adding a cover photo, sharing personal information, and creating different sections on your profile. Twitter is more streamlined and focused on the simplicity of expressing thoughts and sharing content through short updates.

11. Privacy Settings: Facebook offers more granular control over privacy settings, allowing users to customize who can see their status updates, including specific friends, groups, or even custom lists. Twitter, on the other hand, has a simpler privacy setting - your tweets are either public (visible to all) or protected (only visible to approved followers).

12. Community and Networking: While both platforms allow you to connect with others, Twitter is often seen as more open and conducive to building connections with people outside of your immediate network. It's common for users to follow and engage with strangers who share similar interests. Facebook, on the other hand, is usually more centered around existing connections, like friends and family.

13. Emphasis on News and Updates: Twitter is known for its quick updates and real-time news sharing. Many news outlets, journalists, and public figures use Twitter to share breaking news and engage in discussions. Facebook also supports news sharing, but it tends to have a more personal and social-oriented emphasis.

14. Ads and Promotions: Facebook offers a robust advertising platform where businesses can promote their products and services directly to a targeted audience based on demographics and interests. Twitter also has advertising options, but it's generally considered less intrusive and more focused on organic engagement.

15. User Demographics: While both platforms have diverse user bases, there are some demographic differences. Twitter tends to attract a younger audience, with a higher percentage of users in their 20s and 30s. Facebook has a broader age range, appealing to a wider demographic, including older users.

16. News Feed Customization: On Facebook, users have more control over their news feed through options like prioritizing content from specific friends or pages, snoozing certain types of content, or unfollowing accounts while still remaining friends. Twitter, on the other hand, provides a more straightforward chronological timeline without extensive customization options.

17. Formatting Options: Facebook offers a range of formatting options for status updates, including the ability to create bullet lists, add line breaks, change font styles, and use emojis. Twitter, on the other hand, has limited formatting options with the focus on concise text-based updates.

18. Adherence to Character Limit: While Twitter enforces a strict character limit for tweets, Facebook allows for longer posts and does not impose a specific character limit. This gives users more flexibility in expressing their thoughts or sharing detailed information on Facebook.

19. Profile Layout: Facebook provides a more comprehensive profile layout where users can showcase various details about themselves, share photos in albums, and create customizable sections. Twitter profiles are simpler, focusing primarily on the user's bio, profile picture, and header image.

20. Direct Messaging: Both Facebook and Twitter have direct messaging capabilities. However, Twitter's direct messaging feature is more limited, allowing messages only between users who follow each other. Facebook Messenger, on the other hand, offers a broader messaging platform that includes features like group chats, voice and video calls, and integration with other Facebook-owned platforms.

21. Verified Accounts: Twitter has a verification system where public figures, celebrities, and high-profile individuals can get their accounts verified with a blue checkmark badge. This helps users identify genuine accounts. Facebook does not have a similar verification system.

22. Reactions: Facebook offers a range of reactions (like, love, haha, wow, sad, and angry) that users can use to express their emotions towards a post. Twitter, on the other hand, only has a like option (heart symbol) for tweets.

23. Targeted Advertising: Facebook's advertising platform allows businesses to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors for their ads to reach a highly targeted audience. Twitter also offers targeted advertising options but may be considered less thorough compared to Facebook's ad targeting capabilities.

24. Discoverability: On Twitter, hashtags play a significant role in discovering content related to specific topics or events. Users can search for hashtags or follow them to see related tweets. Facebook has hashtags too, but they are less prominent and not as widely used for content discovery.

25. News Curation: Twitter has a dedicated "Moments" section where curated news stories and trending topics from around the world are showcased. Facebook offers a similar feature called "News Feed" which displays personalized news articles based on user preferences and activity.

26. Data and Analytics: Facebook provides detailed insights and analytics for business pages, allowing businesses to track engagement, reach, and other metrics related to their status updates. Twitter also offers analytics features, but they might not be as comprehensive as Facebook's.

27. Interactions with Celebrities and Public Figures: Twitter is known for its direct and open interactions between users and celebrities/public figures. It is common to see famous personalities responding to tweets or engaging in conversations with their followers. While Facebook offers similar opportunities, the interactions may be more limited due to privacy settings and the platform's focus on personal connections.


28. Retweeting vs. Sharing: On Twitter, users can easily retweet others' tweets, which means sharing the tweet with their own followers. This helps to amplify the content and spread it to a wider audience. On Facebook, users can share posts from others on their own timeline, but the sharing feature is generally less emphasized and less commonly used compared to retweeting on Twitter.

29. Privacy Control: Facebook provides more granular control over privacy settings for individual posts, allowing users to customize who can see each specific post (public, friends, friends except acquaintances, specific friend lists, etc.). Twitter has a simpler approach to privacy control, where your tweets are either public or protected (only visible to approved followers).

30. Threaded Conversations: Twitter allows for threaded conversations, where replies to a tweet are organized in a hierarchical manner. This makes it easier to follow and participate in discussions. Facebook also has threaded comments, but the format is typically used for longer comment threads rather than as a primary method of conversation.

31. Trending Topics vs. News Feed: Twitter prominently displays trending topics, making it easy to discover what people are talking about at any given moment. On the other hand, Facebook's news feed algorithm prioritizes content based on users' interests and interactions, showcasing posts from friends, pages, and groups they engage with the most.

32. User Mentions: Twitter uses the "@" symbol to directly mention and tag other users in a tweet. This notifies them and makes it easier for them to engage in the conversation. Facebook also allows user mentions using the "@" symbol but tends to prioritize tagging users in comments rather than in the actual status updates.

33. Geolocation: Twitter allows users to add a geolocation tag to their tweets, indicating their current location. This feature can be useful in sharing real-time updates from specific places or events. Facebook also supports geolocation tags but they are less commonly used and not as prominent.

34. Content Discoverability: Twitter is often seen as a platform for discovering real-time news, trending topics, and discussions. Its hashtag system and search functionality make it easy to find and engage with content related to specific topics. While Facebook does have a search feature and displays popular topics in its trending section, it is generally less focused on content discovery compared to Twitter.


Twitter will give text oriented updates but in Facebook we can share link, photos, videos, etc., and also it is a visually updated one..
Character limitation is low in twitter while compared to facebook.. :)
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