I’m convinced that there are two types of people in this world, Facebook people and Twitter people. The two mediums of communication speak to people’s personality types.
On both “microblogging” sites you can share pictures, but it is certainly done more frequently on Facebook. Different people use each site as their way to interact socially with the world. On Facebook you can write lengthy posts while on Twitter you’re limited to 140 or, coming soon, 280 characters.
A word of advice for all you Facebookers who write posts so long that there has to be a “Preview” pane that ends with More… , if I have to turn the page to read the rest of your thoughts, I’m probably not going to. You know what it’s called when you write that much? It’s called blogging. Get a blog. Facebook is considered a microblogging site. If you write six paragraphs you’ve taken the micro out of it. And for the love of all that is holy, if you want us to read on you’ve got to make those first two or three sentences we see pretty damn snappy. It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just that all those words can’t compete with the next post of Aunt Tilda’s kitten wearing a tiny hat.
That brings me to the length of Facebook and Twitter posts. If you prefer Facebook or blogging, you might be an oversharer. We accepted your friend request, so you know we like you. But just because you can share things about yourself doesn’t mean that you should. I think this next picture speaks to that quite well:
On Twitter, when we’re limited in what we say, people seem to gravitate towards finding their tribe of like thinkers. I follow sports people and funny people. For me, there is an elegance in Twitter that Facebook lacks. With a limit on characters, you’re challenged to communicate efficiently. It’s impressive how brilliant some are at communicating complex ideas or feelings in 140 characters.
Right now Twitter is beta testing, allowing some users to use 280 characters. For cripes sakes I hope Donald Trump isn’t one of them.
On Facebook you typically interact with family and friends from the “real world” in a comfortable fashion, often talking as you would in “normal” conversation. On Twitter you tend to have a much larger following of people who don’t know you IRL (in real life). Often on Twitter people take on anonymous identities with catchy names and mysterious avatars. That fact makes some Twitter people more brave than they would be on Facebook. Some are more brave about sharing personal info and others are more brazen in their opinions and interactions. Twitter is like a nightclub where under the guise of a fake identity you interact with strangers.
One medium is no better than the other. Each speaks to certain personality types. I wonder if future psychological diagnostic manuals will include the personality types of Facebook people and Twitter people. Or, in the future will people who walk around talking to people in person be considered the oddballs? Which type are you, Facebook or Twitter, and why?
Speaking of oddballs, why don’t you follow me on Facebook and Twitter!
Have a great Saturday! ~Phil