My sophomore year of high school, at a Mr. Movies video store with my younger sister, I realized it was a Saturday night and I had nothing better to do than rent a video. To make matters, worse a hot guy from the track team behind the register.
Heat leapt up the back of my neck and spread rapidly through my brain, resulting in a dizzy, merry-go-round feeling. More accurately, it felt like a carnival ride called “The Gravitron”. (For those of you who have never had the pleasure, The Gravitron is an enclosed ride that spins in a circle so fast your body gets sucked to the padded walls.)
“Hot Mitch is thinking I’m a total loser!” my mind screamed.
“I got to get outta here,” I told my sis, making a break for the door. In a blind panic, my stomach hit the turnstile hard. Luckily, though I wasn’t as good-looking as Hot Mitch, I was in good shape.  I took a deep breath and squeezed out of there.
Maybe I over-reacted…who can tell?
This story came to mind this morning while I read up on both Twitter and Facebook to see what others feel are the pros and cons of each.  If I were a teen these days, I wondered, would my sister have scooped the entire event, meticulously reporting every detail in a bid for hipster of the minute?  Maybe, but social media has its benefits, the perils of teen angst notwithstanding.  This article by Colette Martin stated that, “in the U.S. we spend 906 million hours a month on social networks.” Martin defines Facebook as “the place to grow and nurture communities,” while describing Twitter as “all about messaging.” Looking at social media from a business standpoint, Colette advises that companies, “can benefit from  “listening” to what their customers are saying about  them.” Sounds logical.  Though social media is a new way to interact with customers, listening to what the customer wants is hardly a new piece in the puzzle that is entrepreneurship.
Personally, I find Facebook a bit overwhelming – mainly in the family and friends department. It’s flat-out weird showing up to a family reunion, coming face to face with your 19 year-old cousin and knowing far, far more than you wish you did about her first year of college. Facebooking with family and close friends takes away my sense of wonder. I savor the surprise of running into someone or getting a phone call, sharing the news of a baby on the way or an engagement, rather than reading about it at home or on my phone.
Twitter, for me anyway, is a different flavor – and one I quite like. The people I meet and interact with through Twitter are usually new acquaintances. Learning about companies and people from a more personal angle makes Twitter fun, like walking the aisles in a candy store of information. Â Seeing what my favorite authors are doing is icing on the cake. I mean, it’s unlikely I’ll ever see Malcolm Gladwell at a family event but I get to read his thoughts and opinions on Twitter!
Like others who have asked the question as to which is a more useful tool, I have to conclude that Facebook and Twitter are both great for communicating personally and for developing professional contacts. Which is “better”? That’s a matter of preference :).
