FacebookFacebook is currently the world’s largest social network with over 400 million active users spending over 500 billion minutes each month according to the platform’s latest statistics*. So what is it all about?
Facebook allows users to communicate directly, share information, pictures and video content, engage in interactive games and use a host of interactive applications. In order to talk to one another users must first become ‘friends’ on the platform. This needs to be confirmed by both parties through a simple online ‘friendship invitation’ by one user and ‘confirmation of friendship’ by the other.
The average Facebook user shares up to 70 pieces of content with their network of friends each month and spends a considerable amount of time on the platform each month
*Statistics taken from http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics as of 23.06.2010
TwitterThe main difference between Twitter and Facebook is that Twitter users don’t have to be friends in order to view each other’s posts. Additionally the amount of information users can share via Twitter is limited to 140 characters per message or ‘tweet’ as they are known in the twitter community.
Twitter works on the basis of followers. Users follow others in order to be able to view their tweets. In fact as many as 1 in 5 users tend not to post messages themselves but to simply follow other people. Research* has shown that the top 10 per cent of twitter users account for 90 per cent of tweets on the network.
In essence Twitter is less reliant on actual relationships than Facebook and is therefore somewhat less interactive. It does however give users instant access to every post which provides a database of information from across the globe and a perfect opportunity to ‘listen in’.
* Research by Mikolaj Piskorsk and Bill Heil, see http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2009/06/new_twitter_research_men_follo.html
LinkedInLinkedIn has established itself as the site for professional networking. Its positioning in the social media market place has a much more serious note and much less focus on the fun elements of networks like Twitter and Facebook such as games.
On registering users create their profile which outlines their career achievements and current position. It is then up to the user to connect with people they trust and to extend their network by connecting with other’s trusted contacts. The idea is to provide an opportunity for individuals to share information, collaborate, find potential clients and to be found for business and job opportunities.
The network has over 70 million users in over 200 countries and boasts members from each and every one of the Fortune 500 companies at executive level.*
*Statistics taken from http://press.linkedin.com/about as of 23.06.2010