In recent years, the growth in popularity of social media has enabled millions of us to record our deepest thoughts, our depressing lows and our exhilarating highs for hundreds and even thousands to see. At one time we were generally rather reluctant to embrace social media and to expose too much of ourselves, but that’s no longer the case. If you are planning to jump on the bandwagon, here are five good reasons why Twitter should be your platform of choice.
Security
There have been many occasions when Facebook users have regretted the things they’ve posted on their timelines, yet people still continue to say too much. In general, tweets are far less personal, partly because we tend to include complete strangers among our followers, whereas Facebook friends are usually known to us.
Follow more people
You have to get Facebook users to agree to be your friends, yet you can follow just about anyone on Twitter as long as you don’t do or say the wrong things. The average number of Facebook friends for users is around 150 per person, but a significant number of Twitter users follow several thousand people. This gives the user a wider spectrum of information and opinions.
The celebrity factor
Unless you’re in the know, the only Facebook connection you are likely to have with celebrities is via their official pages, which tend to be used as virtual advertisements by the stars and their representatives. On Twitter, however, it’s possible to follow some of the most famous names on the planet, many of whom are well-known for making the most of the directness of tweets.
Keeping it simple
Every Facebook user knows there are some people who, to put it simply, talk too much. They will often create a status that waffles on for several sentences, and in the end many people will just ignore them because they can’t be bothered to keep reading them. Twitter’s 140-character limit means it’s not possible to drone on for too long, so it pays to keep things simple and to the point.
Too much information!
While many of us like to see photos posted by friends, we don’t always want to deal with hundreds of holiday snaps, or dozens of images of new-born babies. Because photos on Twitter can usually only be accessed by clicking on a link, it’s easy to be more selective about the things you look at. As always, Twitter is more direct and more immediate.
Hashtags (#)
The simple use of this additional symbol enables Twitter users to participate in discussions, search a great amount of information in a matter of seconds and draw references to and from other tagged tweets. Hashtags also help you find people with similar interests.
No Farmville
To be frank, most of the items in my facebook notifications are app requests of type “alpha wants to be your neighbor”, “see what she said about you”, “beta wants to play GTA multi-player with you”, “feed his chicken”, “build his city”, bla, bla.
In contrast, Twitter is more inclined towards a professional experience…something that can be actually used to share and get ideas. Almost all of the apps in the the overly spammed and scammed facebook application directory are useless, filled with loads of advertisements.
About the Guest Author
David Showell lives in the UK and is a big fan of Twitter. He stayed in touch with his followers recently when he was in Lanzarote on holiday.