Feeding Facebook – About those bloody Twitter updates
Image Credit: MagerLeagues
Right. Time to get stuck in to a topic that hits a lot of nerves: Why some people import Tweets into Facebook. I’m not trying to start a debate here, rather to cast light on why some choose to do this.
Firstly, I’ll mention that due to Facebook changing the news feed, Twitter and Google getting friendly and Twitter introducing lists, both services are currently undergoing a bit of change. This means that users of both (especially those sending tweets through to Facebook) will be making adjustments. For starters, tweets get indexed by Google and Twitterers might have more luck keeping track of their real friends (thus also negating two of the main reasons for things like “Daily tweet” digests).
Anyway, there’s plenty of people wondering about the differences between the two services and what sort of status update goes to where. Danah Boyd also had a rant recently about the difference in status updates between Facebook and Twitter status updates. There are definitely differences between the two in regards to audience and conversation.
When I tweet it goes to thousands of people – some who are followers, some who see RTs and some who are searching hashtags or words. That audience is largely professional in nature. It’s public, immediate and it’s instantly part of a larger conversation. Twitter is about what’s happening throughout the world. It’s about news, thoughts, ideas, conversation and random funny things – but it’s also about everyone. You see humanising snippets of lives that remind you that you’re talking to real people. It’s the world talking to the world. People dip in and out as it suits them, talking to whoever is interesting or on-topic while they’re there. You miss some things and you catch others – It’s not important. When I’m online I see Twitter updates via Growl, constantly showing me interesting new stuff. Twitter is ubiquitous information gathering. Twitter is ephemeral. Twitter is about NOW.
Facebook is, due to the reciprocal friending practices, all about friends. Real friends. Yes, some people have also friended contacts and networkers as well as their friends. But largely, it’s about real friends. It’s like a one-stop shop for friend info. Facebook seems to be trying to branch into the worldwide-info market as well, but that’s not the point. For now, Facebook is the go-to place when you want to find out what your real friends have been up to.
I have no idea what you’re up to these days – you never post to Facebook.
I have to admit, when I first saw people bringing tweets into Facebook I was thinking “You’re doing it wrong!”. It still irks me that the Twitter app doesn’t work like it used to any more. The official Twitter app used to bring your tweets into your wall sweetly with a little Twitter logo. It was part of the news feed and if people didn’t want to see it they could just hide stuff from that app. But the app doesn’t work like that any more and none of the current working apps seem to do that – they all post as a status update. So, it was a big decision to cross the line and become an evil Twitter-Facebook crossposter.
Now, across many social networks I maintain separate information. Each network serves its purpose and has a different audience. I wanted to keep Facebook as a separate social network and not to replicate information – duplication is annoying! But the point is, Facebook is different for two very important reasons. Firstly, because information created in Facebook is largely stuck in Facebook (unless you can find the magic RSS feed) – it’s a walled garden. That doesn’t encourage people to create original content in Facebook. Secondly, because it really is the one-stop shop for friend info. Not many of my Facebook friends bother to follow RSS feeds – especially not now that Facebook is the place to go for friend info. And why would they go to Friendfeed and set up an account there, when they really want to see everything in Facebook with everything else? So, it’s up to me to make sure that all the stuff they might like to know about me is in Facebook where they’ll find it. In that respect, I’m treating Facebook as a lifestream. In goes a selected stream of stuff I do online, picked for relevance to my real-life friends. This is the general mentality of the people importing tweets and RSS feeds into Facebook. We have simply started to see Facebook as more of a lifestream for friends.
I’m actually quite glad that so many of my Twitter friends import their more interesting tweets into Facebook. If they didn’t I’d probably never see them. Even when I’m actively following Twitter I tend to miss things said by my own friends. This makes sure I don’t.
As for content, I guess it’s a constant adjustment to ensure just the right stuff is coming through. Twitter can get pretty chatty and it would be crazy to update your Facebook status that often. Some speak of Twitter as a mind-state versus Facebook as a life-state. That’s true for some. And for some, it’s only true sometimes. Humans are a pretty diverse mob. But for me, whether it’s something interesting I thought, saw, read or did, the final decision to send it to Facebook is largely about whether I think any of my friends will be interested. Also, since I don’t yet have an iPhone (or in fact a phone with internet or email access), I can’t update my Facebook status when I’m out and about. I can, however, send an SMS to Twitter and have it go through to Facebook if it’s relevant to my Facebook friends. So, Twitter is essentially the best path to get information from me to the internet at large. In that sense, things that I might have posted purely to Facebook are travelling through Twitter as well.
If you’re reading this and still all riled up that your friends are posting things to Facebook and it’s all just getting too much, I have an idea for you. Create a Facebook friends lists for “People I don’t follow elsewhere” and filter out the noise. Or just follow them via Facebook.
The point of all this is that there are many people out there who have realised that Facebook is where people go to find out about friends and that if we’re to supply these friends with the information they’re looking for then it’s best put on Facebook by us. There’s no point expecting people try to keep track of their own friends – we just have to take the information to where they’ll read it.
Image Credit: MagerLeagues
Obituary for Pownce
- Image via Wikipedia
A celebration of the life of Pownce, the niche social network which has now lost its battle for survival.
With Pownce officially leaving us for good on the 15th December, I thought it was time to share my thoughts on the life of Pownce.
Pownce was a quirky, geek-oriented social network. We loved it for its concentric circle theme and elegant simplicity. With privacy options that really worked, we adored that network with all our hearts.
We all believed that with Kevin Rose (of DIGG) at the helm it was destined for great things. But, alas, its life was cut short by a convenient sell-out.
Life really got exciting for Pownce in the middle of 2007, when Mashable ran a glowing feature article about the network. With further exposure, this period of time was the highlight of Pownce’s brief, glorious life.
The fans will certainly mourn the loss of such talent for years to come.
Pownce is survived by Vox, the preferred social network of Pownce’s parent Six Apart.
In lieu of flowers, please take the time to visit Vox and nurture the surviving sibling.
What trends can we see developing online?
Today we’re going to get a little more serious about analysing current online trends. This should give you something to chat about with the lawyers at that dinner party this weekend, k? Right, let’s get into it…
Social
There has been a huge uptake of people using social networks in the past few years. Facebook may not be perfect, but it has certainly made a difference to the way many people use the internet. Despite calls that Facebook is merely a directory it still proves popular and there are still a lot of people who haven’t joined the social networking revolution, so we’re likely to see even greater expansion in Facebook and other networks in the future. I think this is great as network size really matters. Social networks are also great for teens “trying on” identities for size. However, this might not be such great news for those wanting privacy, or wanting to avert social or social networking disasters, but that’s life.
- Image by via CrunchBase
The divides are building between the various networks and the haves and have-nots (not to be confused with rich and poor), with significant evidence to prove that one is better off when utilising social networking habitually compared to those who don’t use online social networks. Use of social networks also seem to be teaching poorer kids essential web-based skills, such as basic html and graphic manipulation, thus helping them gain basic skills for future employment. Other studies are merely keen to note the changes in writing as a person realises they are in the public eye.
Web 2.0 Networking
We will see further interoperability between websites as there is currently a movement away from the “walled garden” syndrome. No-one wants to be seen as the only site that won’t share. That is, of course, except Facebook which is the reason the term “walled garden” was brought into web 2.0 usage.
Twitter hashtags are a great user innovation, co-ordinating disasters with ease. I’m sure we’ll see far more of this as time goes on.
Entertainment
The recent popularity of social bookmarking has paved the way for entertainment via RSS feed. And while more everyday people realise why the geeks have relied on RSS feed readers for so long, there is a sudden explosion in RSS aggregators, such as Popurls.com, which take popular feeds and show you what’s interesting on the net today.
Easy to find MP3s online – Still Alive by Jonathan Coulton
Even more exciting is the developments in internet radio, TV and movies on demand. With Last.fm working to create a personalised radio for each user, plus social network video such as Youtube, Vimeo, Hulu and Blink.tv.
Access
Cloud computing is becoming the norm, as people want access to their email, files, bookmarks from wherever they are. Combined with this, there is a massive increase in people using mobile phones, iPhones, PDAs and wirelessly connected laptops to access the internet. This convergence and subsequent increased mobility drastically increases the connectivity of the average person. It will lead to demand in web apps specifically designed for the mobile-connected person, which will ultimately be a whole lot of fun.
Business
Finally, we are seeing businesses and politicians getting involved with social networking. It is giving them the eyes and ears they have sorely needed for decades, however there are a few bumps and wrinkles still to iron out. All the really fun developments are in looking for work, virtual job interviews and online freelance jobs.
Facebook Fallout
Two teenage girls fought bitterly over their reputations in the Adelaide Magistrates’ Court today, serving as a reminder to choose your friends wisely before friending them on Facebook.
The court heard that Ms Michelle Jenson, claimed that Ms Heidi Roberts owed Ms Jenson $1000 in damages after Ms Roberts damaged her reputation on the online social network, Facebook.
A detailed report supplied by Ms Jenson showed that Ms Roberts had repeatedly and routinely embarrassed her via the social networking site.
Ms Jenson claimed Ms Roberts had deliberately mis-tagged photos of her, by tagging photos of Ms Jenson’s cleavage with comments such as “Look at this enormous slut!”.
Further questioning of Ms Roberts revealed that the dispute occurred after Ms Jenson had failed to invite her to a party she was hosting, just after she had been the victim of profile pic cropping.
Magistrate Mitchell questioned Ms Roberts further about the cropping.
“There was a fantastic pic of the two of us and she just cropped me out. I was heaps offended”, says Ms Roberts.
Magistrate Mitchell pressed Ms Jenson for further details surrounding the resulting feud.
“After I cropped that photo Heidi just went off. She stopped inviting me to stuff, spread all of my secrets and started mis-tagging me in photos”, says Ms Jenson.
Ms Roberts confirmed that her photos had been mis-tagged, but denied any wrongdoing.
“That wasn’t me. The girl must have a collection of enemies”, says Ms Roberts.
Magistrate Mitchell reasoned that without proof of who mis-tagged the photos that the girls were recommended to settle the dispute in a recess.
After a brief adjournment, Ms Jenson and Ms Roberts returned to the court and agreed to settle the dispute themselves.
Notes:
This is a satirical piece designed to mock the latest trends in social networking. Written in the style of a court report, the piece shows the feud between two ex-friends as detailed on Facebook. All characters are completely fictional and any resemblance to real persons is unintentional.
.. And the magic 8-ball says
Will iPhones take over the world?
.. And the magic 8-ball says: Hmmmmm… Outlook good.
Well, iPhones and millions of similar phones trying to achieve the exact same thing will take over the world.
It seems only yesterday I began to wonder how I would live without a mobile phone. Now it seems I’m handicapped by not having an iPhone or similar, with me wherever I go.
- Image by via CrunchBase
Internet and phone technology is converging so rapidly that they’ve nearly swapped places. I use my phone to update Twitter and my computer to make VOIP phone calls.
It’s all to do with timeliness and price. There’s no point telling twitter “Hey, I went to a great place this afternoon.” Twitter is about NOW. You want to be saying “Oh wow. I”m at this huge castle and it’s fantastic!”. You’ve got to stay current. Plus, you’ve got to give those cubicle-dwellers something to be jealous about.
As for phones, who would pay commercial rates when you can pay AU$15/month to call anywhere in the world via Skype? That’s cheaper than the line rental on most landline phones. As long as you can get your internet access without needing a landline, you’re pretty much set*.
But it’s even more involved than just this. People are posting audio blog posts via mobile phone, iPhones and Blackberrys let people easily** check email, bank accounts, social networks and just about any other website. So, the conversation is not just one-sided anymore. People stuck in bars can conveniently talk to their real life friends online while they wait for douchebag real-life friends to turn up late. All this rather than talking to the hottie at the bar. It makes so much sense now that I put it that way.
Pointlessness aside, this really means that people can stay somewhat mentally connected while physically roaming the world. No more Saturday nights staying at home waiting for the phone to ring – oh wait, that’s the 80′s. No more Saturday nights at home messing around on Facebook! Time to get out there and live a little!
* Although Skype do state that they are not a replacement for a real phone and should not be relied upon for emergency calls. So, keep a mobile handy.
** It’s true that you can do this on old clunkers too, but it’s just EFFORT.
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