@abelchoy @com125_class

Twitter is a micro-blogging and social networking website. Although all my friends are avid users of it, I have never been drawn to the appeal of it. However, for the purposes of this entry, I have decided to sign up for a Twitter account and start tweeting! Initially, twitter seemed redundant as it was akin to Facebook status updates which I can also easily access through my smart phone. Most twitter updates from the people I follow, friends and acquaintances, are about tiny details of their day or opinions that they have. For instance,

Aside from Twitter being a centralized source of humorous updates, I realized that this micro-blogging website is actually very useful as I am able to receive news about recent events through re-tweets and trending topics. Also, I am able to catch up on snippets of the news every day by following twitter accounts such as stcom (The Straits Times) and BBCWorld. Twitter also allows me to post questions as my updates and receive responses from my followers almost instantly. In a way, it acts as a mass texting or instant messaging system.

As Twitter is gaining popularity, many have started to compare this micro-blogging website with Facebook, which is currently the most popular social networking website. However, we must note that both websites have their own advantages and disadvantages, and in my opinion, appeals to people for different reasons.

Facebook allows one to connect with one’s friends and family, and also make new friends online. Unlike Twitter, which is essentially a one-stop location where you go to for a quick read, Facebook encourages its users to stay on the website and communicate with other users on it by leaving messages on their walls or commenting on their pictures. Facebook is a social portal model where one is able to chat with friends, message friends (alike to e-mailing), view pictures, and view videos. It provides users with a single portal where they are able to manage all their social interaction needs. Twitter, on the other hand, is more alike to e-mailing, instant messaging, and blogging. Twitter enables you to get responses from others almost instantaneously, whereas for Facebook, there is a considerable amount of lag time in response.

A common analogy used to describe the differences of Twitter and Facebook is that of a social gathering. Facebook is described to be alike to a social gathering where lots of people know each other and are comfortable sharing conversations with each other. Twitter is described as a large social event where one does not know most of the people there and therefore, have to stand out from the crowd and make an impression by saying something that is useful and interesting.

Both social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook, are also useful for businesses primarily due to its large number of users. For instance, many companies and organizations have Twitter accounts that users can ‘follow’ to receive updates about promotions or changes in the company. Social networking websites are able to disseminate information to a large number of people at a low cost. Furthermore, sites like Facebook have marketing packages that allow companies to utilize their planned business model to promote their company. Most companies now have both Twitter and Facebook accounts, and new e-businesses are also utilizing such platforms to promote themselves. Excited to learn more about this? Stay tuned for the next entry! Haha.