Where should Authors be at?

FACEBOOK OR TWITTER

At press time, there were 250 million people on Facebook and 22.5 million people on Twitter. Based on the numbers alone, Facebook should trump Twitter. It’s interesting to note that Twitter has grown a staggering 1,382 percent since 2008. However, at least in the media, Twitter appears to be the winning social networking medium. MSNBC, CNN and Fox constantly reference their tweets from followers. Twitter account holders Oprah (@Oprah), M.C. Hammer (@McHammer), P. Diddy (@iamdiddy) and Shaquille O’Neal (@The_Real_Shaq) each have over one million followers on Twitter.

When I posed the question “Why do you love Twitter or Facebook?” to my followers, 70 percent of the respondents indicated a preference for Facebook.

Here are two of the Twitter responses:

1. @Free2Bee: “I enjoy both. It’s just that FB feels more personal, I only associate with those I know. Twitter allows me 2 follow people.”

2. @KayfromNJ: “Facebook is preferred by most of my friends. They love to post photos and update their wall. I love Twitter because you can receive quick updates of the people you follow, celebrities, new organizations, etc. It is short and quick. You can respond and sometimes get a response.”

When I posed the question to Dee Stewart (@deegospel) of DeeGospelPR.com, publicist and social media adviser, “Facebook vs. Twitter?” she responded, “Do not ignore either one. Wherever the people are you need to go there and engage them.”

It’s fairly easy to assume that Facebook is for people looking to reconnect with old friends and family members or find new friends online. Twitter helps you create conversations and grab ideas in 140 characters or less. Also, it allows you to update others, letting them know what you’re doing at any given moment.

So who wins the social networking battle royale?

It remains to be seen if Facebook or Twitter will be crowned king of social networking. But with the tools and applications being developed for both social networks, the real winner is US.  Because we can reach our audience using either.  My suggestion is use both Twitter and Facebook..L martin johnson pratt, martin@rollingout.com, twitter.com/iluvblackwomen, facebook.com/iluvblackwomen