Cowritten by Chris Saad (@chrissaad), and Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang).
Situation: Twitter’s new redesign advances their user experience
Twitter has announced a new redesign today, yet by looking at the news, there hasn’t been a detailed breakdown of these two leading social networks. Overall, Twitters new features start to resemble some features of a traditional social network, beyond their simple messaging heritage. We took the key features from both social website and did a comparison and voted on the stronger player.
Above: Click image to see notes about the new Twitter features.
| Feature | Verdict | ||
| 1) Content Stream | Intelligent stream provides relevant content based on Facebook’s proprietary algorithm called “Edgerank” that surfaces more relevant information than a straight ‘stream of data’. Participating in a conversation, will propagate that conversation to friends of friends | Twitter does not provide any intelligent filtering or sorting in the default feed, instead it’s sorted by reverse chronological order. Although filters and lists are available, these require manual setup. | Our call? Facebook. Facebook’s content strategy and feed (the main attraction for a social utility, is far superior than Twitter’s rudimentaryam |
| 2) Discussion and Reaction Management | Facebook’s conversation features thread the discussion and comments inline in the stream, keeping conversations in context | Users have to click on a tweet to see the reactions to that tweet in the newly expanded right column. Includes retweets and @ replies. Other participants that are not following each other do not see each others’ comments before participating. | Our call? Facebook. FB’s sophisticated newsfeed model encourages peer to peer conversation, is different than Twitter’s broadcast model which encourages asynchronous responses. |
| 3) Profile Features | Facebook is slowly reducing the profiles features by removing heavyweight features like ‘boxes’ and ‘canvas apps’ streamlining the experience. | Is beefing up their profile pages with ‘follow recommendations’ and ‘you both follow’ features, in order to encourage more interaction. Their dead simple features make it easy to self express, and offer a limited profile | Our call? Twitter. While both these players are both meeting in the middle, with Facebook getting lighter, and Twitter is becoming more robust, Facebook’s features are excessive to most users, and simplicity trumps. |
| 4) Application Platform | Facebook has treated the platform as a proper product with developer relations (although often with challenges) viral distribution of the newsfeed, and developer ecosystem relationships. The application features are designed for third parties to quickly integrate using tabs. Over the past 12 months, Facebook has aggressively changed their strategy to encourage developers to spread the APIs to third party sites (vs only embedded on profile pages) , expanding Facebook’s colonies to the open web. | This loose strategy has been adhoc with simple APIs without formal development initiative with no hooks to integrate apps into Twitter.com. In fact, Twitter only recently hosted their own developer conference this year. The relationship between Twitter and the developer community remains torrid, as they buy or build features from the developer community. For example, the latest release today, threatens the functionality of many existing clients. | Our call? Facebook. FB is focused on a land grab for third party real estate, Twitter appears to be cannibalizing their own B2C developer ecosystem. |
| 5) Multi Media Integration | Media, such as video, is loaded and embedded right in the stream, as well as in stream playing. Third parties that inject media into the stream will embed into the service at will. | Twitter’s new media features requires users to click and open separate screen –although embedded media plays in panel. A business dev relationship must be established for media to be detected from target URLs. For example, only partners of Twitter that have approved media will be able to play embedded media in the Twitter stream. | Our call? Facebook. Facebook makes it easy for users to consume media, and for publishers to spread it. They make it easy. |
| 6) Location Platform | Facebook recently launched ‘Places’ feature and data, that allows for users to checkin upon arrival at a locale. This is manual and opt-in behavior for each checkin. | Twitter offers opted in users offers each Tweet a location payload. Each Tweet is an implicit checkin. | Our Call? Twitter. Twitter is more lightweight and could have more location data per opt-in user, hopefully increasing context in the future. |
| 7) User Experience Design | Facebook’s continues to streamline their formerly confusing experience, yet limits the amount of self-expression beyond text and media content. | Twitter remains simply, but allows personalization in the form of color palettes and BG images, yet lacks depth in profile descriptions (interests, networks, and other personal info). | Our call? Twitter. In the world of information overload, Twitter now has a nice balance between self-expression and simply to use and consume profile information |
| TALLY | Facebook: 4 wins. Twitter: 3 wins. |
Our Verdict: While Facebook Leads, Twitter’s Redesign Strengthens as a Challenger.
Facebook’s features offer a more robust user experience, and they have a longer history of developing the right relationships with media, developers, and their users. Twitter, a rapidly growing social network has launched a series of new features (described by the founder as “smooth like butter”) that provide users with a snappy experience and enhanced features.
Twitter is Evolving Beyond Just A Simple Messaging Systems Into a Full Fledged Social Network. We tallied the important features of this launch and to their overall expansion strategy and have concluded that Facebook’s features continue to hold dominance over Twitter, despite the noticeable improvements. While we don’t expect that Twitter wants to become ‘another Facebook’ they should play to their strengths and remaining nimble and lightweight yet allowing for developers and content producer to better integrate into their system. One thing is clear, Twitter is enhancing their simple service with more features, which moves towards the feature rich experience Facebook offers.
Exactly what I was thinking…twitter trying to go the general social media way or maintaining its brevity status…
I dont think this compaison wud hv even come up without the new twitter.com, the only useful feature is i wud know which reply has been to which tweet and can read a conversation.
Exactly what I was thinking…twitter trying to go the general social media way or maintaining its brevity status…
I dont think this compaison wud hv even come up without the new twitter.com, the only useful feature is i wud know which reply has been to which tweet and can read a conversation.
Well done, Jeremiah and Chris. I appreciate the thoughtful overview and side-by-side comparison of features. One thing I like very much about Twitter is the ability to easily connect with anyone through a lightweight follow. The barrier to connecting with someone new is incredibly low. This has allowed me to discover and develop relationships with people I may not have known otherwise.
You are right on target regarding the App platform. Twitter needs to provide a way for apps to integrate in a “light” way to Twitter.com. The Twitter developer community should also mature and move away from building more clients…after all you don’t see too many Facebook clients. There are many interesting application possibilities with the Twitter platform.
Actually Twitter.com is the most popular way to use twitter and will probably be for a long time – Check out the Graph on Brian Solis’ post from this morning. There is a graph showing how popular each client is.
http://www.briansolis.com/2010/09/the-new-and-improved-twitter/
I think very nice work of overview the comparison of both face book and twitter. AS i think face book is better than twitter in every work .but let see the comments depend upon the comments. Thanks for sharing..
Thank you for taking the time to put the features side-by-side. Very useful to those of us who utilize the technology vs. spend our time watching and analyzing it. May not agree with all “your calls” but I appreciated the organization of the information very much.
Jeremiah and Chris,
Kudos! As usual, your abilities to distill and clearly articulate are spot on. The matrix really helps put the features into a context that a client can understand. I appreciate your pov.
While the comparison brings out some excellent observations, the conclusive decision feels inappropriate. I can't help but think we're comparing Apples to Oranges here; Kevin Thau also said that Twitter is not a social network, while it's clear that Facebook is. Yes the lines between them continue to blur and there is clearly room for competition, I don't think though one replaces the other, at least not yet.
Twitter is the future of the newspaper.
They are both social networks. The features I look for are 1) Profile features 2) Social graph 3) ability to do something interesting with both that you couldn't do before.
Bhavishya Don't listen to vendor positioning as defacto, please. Imagine if we took face value for all marketing speak from companies.
They are both social networks. The features I look for are 1) Profile features 2) Social graph 3) ability to do something interesting with both that you couldn't do before.
Bhavishya Don't listen to vendor positioning as defacto, please. Imagine if we took face value for all marketing speak from companies.
They are both social networks. The features I look for are 1) Profile features 2) Social graph 3) ability to do something interesting with both that you couldn't do before.
Bhavishya Don't listen to vendor positioning as defacto, please. Imagine if we took face value for all marketing speak from companies.
Thanks for this breakdown but who actually uses the Twitter site? I haven't been there in years. I just use a client because it's easier than going to a browser.
Thanks for this breakdown but who actually uses the Twitter site? I haven't been there in years. I just use a client because it's easier than going to a browser.
Thanks for this breakdown but who actually uses the Twitter site? I haven't been there in years. I just use a client because it's easier than going to a browser.
Jim
Would love to hear your take! This is just from two folks who collaborated, feel free to share your verdicts.
First of all this is a great article, well done. I would say that in most cases, the non-geek people gravitate towards Facebook….and the rest of us use both. Not sure if this is an “apples to apples” matrix because they do different things, for different reasons. I do, however, appreciate the comparison. THANKS!!!
Great to hear from you again Pete, and thanks for lunch the other day.
I think the interesting finding is, while these tools may have different uses now, Twitter's redesign brings it a bit closer.
This is a great comparison, guys, and an enlightening one.
One thing that I think you missed that (to me, at least) is a win in Twitter's favor is the asymmetric follow/friending mechanism. This makes the conversations in Twitter far more dynamic and potentially far-reaching.
i like the way you have provided a side-by-side comparison of features, with both the networks battling out for the top spot, only time will tell who wins this social media internet war.
although tweeter provides less features than Face Book today, it is much more easier to follow up with people with just one click on follow button.
from my perspective this means Twitter has identified that the most valuable usage has been to share links/media – ie, the core definition of social media (or socializing media as our good friend Ian Kennedy so eloquently said several years ago)
It also means they are serious about getting people back on the platform directly (web) so they can set up for a stronger revenue model (whats percentage of on-site vs. off-site consumption and creation? (I think I saw a much lower percentage then in Brian's post not too long ago). Of course, multimedia has higher revenue value then links too, so it gives them a richer product to sell, and given the rates I have heard they are asking right now for being featured on the site as an advertiser (with one of the highest clickthroughs and engagement rates of anything in digital marketing in years) its a smart move for the marketing product and their future
RE: competition, Twitter and Facebook are directly competitive within their sharing function which I suppose you cover in discussion, but I call it out specifically and distinctly. And now the are more competitive in their consumption function which it wasnt before, which is the number one reason people cite (to me anecdotally at least) for using Twitter, sharing media links and connecting with others – social discovery, promoting, sharing.
Of course, Twitter is competitive to its users too, when people are spending their most valuable asset (time) reading through and interacting with others (real engagement), they aren't reading Web-Strategist… now of course this is nuanced, and it is in my book at least, more of a value creator then a detractor, but in the absolute sense, Twitter is competing for ATTENTION with everyone, all of our companies and even with this comment right now (YES, I WIN! … for the moment 😉
a good move for twitter.
gr8 analysis Chris & Jeremiah .. 🙂
Everyone is competing for attention Chris. I appreciate you coming by, agreed sharing is happening, and they are now aggregating it back on site.
Agreed on all fronts Chris. What's interesting to me is that Ev and Biz and Dick promised something 'much more interesting than ads' and end up basically moving back to a place where borings ads seem to be the next logical step.
In the end, though, I don't think that's a problem. Ads work. Selling public data doesn't.
This review seems weighted to B2C. I would like to see a similar set of criteria the B2B use of Facebook & Twitter.
Very nice comparison, but I think that you've left out two key comparisons: privacy/security and mobile access. In my opinion, Twitter is a clear winner in both categories.
With Twitter's inherently simpler interactions and the wealth of sites and apps available for Twitter, mobile access is easy and often better than the main web interface. facebook's mobile interface, in contrast, sports a significantly reduced feature set, including lacking the ability to assign contacts to lists and the ability to see a message when replying to it.
On security or privacy, it's arguable that most users are not sufficiently sophisticated to make effective choices, so your position as industry experts provides you with the opportunity to cultivate more knowledgeable users–and ultimately products that better serve those users. Here, again, I think that Twitter comes out on top, though by a slim margin. Factors include Twitter's more limited functionality, ease of working with multiple accounts (thanks largely to the many third-party apps) and facebook's history of altering user's settings in favor of a larger public sphere.
I am new to the twitter revolution. I am using facebook and have a friendship basis on facebook. Why would one want to jump horses, and how would one compare who is on your facebook versus twitter contact data base? As facebook user, I am confused how one would gain by using both Twitter and Facebook.
I use Hootsuite and this is the first I've read about the new Twitter. Have seen many tweets saying how wonderful it is, but never “tried” the new Twitter which I'm encouraged to do when I log on. Love the simplicity of Twitter. I've met some cool people, helped many and learned a lot.
On Facebook, I get lost among the conversations I don't want to read. Too much noise on Facebook.
I've never been a huge twitter fan so I cant really tell the difference. I like Facebook better.
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after going
through many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely
pleased I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking
back frequently!
It’s difficult to find well-informed people about this subject, but
you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
My brother recommended I may like this blog. He used to be entirely right.
This post truly made my day. You can not consider simply how
much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
%%
Look into my website :: ??? Xo ???????
X-ray ?r CT Scan- These pictures how much are dental implants required ?efore
positioning thee dental implant.
Hello there! This article couldn’t be written much better! Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I’ll send this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. I appreciate you for sharing!
Visit my blog: animal shelters in Montpelier Vermont (https://www.destinyxur.com/User:ChaseQqe06238386)
Definitely believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the web the
simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get
annoyed while people consider worries that they plainly do not know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without
having side-effects , people could take a signal. Will likely be back to
get more. Thanks
Feel free to visit my blog: animal shelters
Right now it appears like Movable Type is
the top blogging platform available right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you
are using on ykur blog?
Feel free to surf to my blog post; Things to do in Egypt
I think other web site proprietors should
take this site as an model, very clean aand magnificent user genial style and
design, as well as the content. You are an expert in this topic!
my page … things to do in seoul South korea
Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the internet the
easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while
people think about worries that they just don’t know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having
side effect , people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
Thanks
My webpage … animal shelters in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Hi there exceptional blog! Does running a blog such as this take a large amount of work?
I’ve virtually no expertise in coding however I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near
future. Anyways, if you have any suggestions or techniques for new blog owners please
share. I understand this is off subject nevertheless I just needed to ask.
Thanks!
Check out my web site :: Things to do in Palestine
Saved as a favorite, I like your website!
Also visit my blog Things To Do In Bucharest Romania
Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your website
is so cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this site.
It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this website page,
will come back for extra articles. You, my friend,
ROCK! I found simply the information I already searched all over the place and just couldn’t
come across. What an ideal web site.
Review my blog post: Dogtoberfest tucson
I love the efforts you have put in this,
appreciate it for all the great posts.
Feel free to surf to my blog: animal shelters
Hi, all the time i used to check weblog posts here early
in the break of day, because i love to find out more and more.
my web-site animal shelters in Ann Arbor Michigan
Hi, I do believe this is a great blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will return yet again since I book marked it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you
be rich and continue to help others.
My homepage: animal shelters
I was very pleased to discover this web site.
I need to to thank you for ones time for this wonderful read!!
I definitely loved every bit of it and i also have you book
marked to check out new stuff on your site.
Feel free to visit my web site chad tourist attractions
Wh?t’s uup friends, how ?s ?ll, and what you
desire t? say oon the topic of thhis post, ?n my vi?w its in f?ct awesome in support ?f m?.
Feel free t? surf to my web-site … laundry hanger (Jesenia)
I actually wante? tto develop ? simple ?omment in order to
express gratitude to ?ou fo? a?l the nice suggestions y?u a?e posting aat th?s website.
My considerable internet investigation ?as finlly been recognized wit? reputable concept to
talk ?bout with my companions. ? ‘? ?elieve that ?e site visitors are ?ery much endowed t? dwell in a decent place with
m?ny wonderful people ?ith good techniques. ? feel very privileged t? have discovered you? web p?ges and look forward t? some mo?e fabulous moments reading ?ere.
Th?nks once m?r? for ?ll the details.
my webpage … brownie corporate gifts singapore
?h?s web sikte is my intake, ver? wonderful
design and Perfect subject matter.
Review m? ?age … corporate gift singapore water bottle
I gotta bookmark th?s website ?t s?ems handy handy.
?y site :: century square mall directory
? carry on listening to t?e news update lecture ?bout receiving blundless onkine grant applications ?? I ha?e been looking around forr the finest sitee t? get ?ne.
Coulld ?ou tell me plea?e, ?he?e could i ?et some?
Feel free t? surf to my blog steam mop singapore – Lucia –
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
Scream VI movie
This text is worth everyone’s attention. When can I find out more?
Here is my web page; Animal Shelters In Lewiston Maine
I definitely wanted to construct a small note so as
to say thanks to you for some of the stunning
concepts you are showing here. My particularly long internet research has at the end of the day been honored with reliable facts and techniques tto share with my contacts.
I ‘d assert that many of us visitors are unquestionably blessed to dwell in a perfect place with very many special individuals with insightful tips and hints.
I feel rather fortunate to have discovered your entire web pages and look
forward to many more awesome minutes reading here.
Thanks a lot once again for a lot of things.
Also visit my web site … animal shelters in Dayton Ohio
Outstanding story indeed. My teacher has been searching for this
content.
My site – Things to do in Biel-Bienne Switzerland
Magnificent beazt ! I would like to apprentice while you amend
your site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site? The account helped me a
appropriate deal. I were tiny bit acquainted of this
your broadcast offered vibrant transparent idea
Here is my blog – animal shelters
Right now it looks like WordPress is the best
blogging platform available right now. (from what
I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
Feel free to surf to my website: fun places to ggo in mississippi (https://www.usedairsoft.co.uk/)
Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your site is very cool.
I’m impressed by the details that you have on this site.
It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject.
Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles.
You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the info
I already searched everywhere and simply could not come across.
What an ideal web site.
Also visit my web-site :: animal shelters
You could certainly see your expertise within the work
you write. The world hopes for even more passionate
writers such as you who are not afrraid to say how they believe.
Always follow youhr heart.
My web blog – animal shelters in Virginia Beach Virginia
Howdy, i read your blog occasionally and i own a
similar one and i was just wondering if
you get a lot of spam remarks? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can recommend?
I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any help is very much appreciated.
My page :: animal shelters in North Platte Nebraska, https://www.marlowwhite.com/,
Unquestionably believe tbat which you said. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the web thhe simplest thing
to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries
that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit
the nail upon the top and defined out the whole
thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal.
Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
My homepage animal shelters in Ogden Utah (https://www.echopedia.org/index.php?title=Before_Adopting_A_Fighter_Dog)
Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get
a lot of spam feedback? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can advise?
I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any
assistance is very much appreciated.
Check out my page :: animal shelters
Awesome information it is actually. My teacher has been searching for this content.
Here is my website – best places to visit north dakota
Excellent write-up. I absolutely love this website.
Keep it up!
My web blog :: Things to do in Osaka Japan
I was excited to find this web site. I wanted to thank you
for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely savored every little bit of it and I
have you saved to fav to check out new stuff
in your site.
Here is my web site: what movies were filmed in kauai
If some one desires expert view concerning running a blog afterward i suggest
him/her to visit this blog, Keep up the good job.
Also visit my blog post … animal shelters in McAllen Texas
Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to be aware of.
I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries
that they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the
top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects ,
people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
Thanks
Here is my site –animal shelters in Jersey City New Jersey
Hi there to all, how is all, I think every one is getting more from this web site, and
your views are pleasant for new visitors.
Also visit my site; animal shelters
Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice at the same time as you amend your web site, how could i subscribe for
a blog website? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted
of this your broadcast offered brilliant clear concept
Here is my homepage :: Things to do in Ukraine
Aw, th?s was a ve?y goo? post. Taking a few minutes annd actual efffort to create a great article?
but ?hat can ? say? I procrastinate ? ?hole ?ot and d?n’t manage to get nea?ly ?nything d?ne.
A?s? visit myy site … wooden plates
Ve?y soon th?s wweb site woll be famolus amiid all
blogging and site-building people, ?ue to it’? go?d
posts
Heere ?s my website; baking shop singapore
Link exchange is nothing else however it is just placing the other
person’s webpage link on your page at proper place and other person will also do same in favor
of you.
The post provides a detailed comparison between the key features of the new Twitter redesign and Facebook, and concludes that Facebook still has a more robust user experience, despite Twitter’s noticeable improvements. However, the post also acknowledges Twitter’s strength in being nimble and lightweight, while allowing for developers and content producers to better integrate into their system.
I agree with the post’s analysis that while Facebook still leads in terms of user experience, Twitter’s redesign strengthens its position as a challenger. Twitter has always been known for its simplicity and real-time updates, which is what sets it apart from other social networks. However, as the post highlights, Twitter is now evolving into a full-fledged social network with more features.
In my opinion, the new redesign has indeed advanced Twitter’s user experience. The new homepage with its prominent navigation bar and Explore section makes it easier to discover and follow new topics and accounts. The expanded right column for tweets now includes all the relevant information in one place, including retweets and @ replies. The beefed-up profile pages with ‘follow recommendations’ and ‘you both follow’ features make it easier to find and interact with like-minded users. The addition of new media features and improved multi-media integration is a big plus for Twitter.
Overall, I believe that Twitter’s redesign is a step in the right direction, as it balances its simplicity with new features and enhancements. While Facebook may still have an edge in terms of a more robust user experience, Twitter’s nimble and lightweight approach is what sets it apart and appeals to its users.
I hav? been exploring for a bit for any high-q?ality articles or blog posts
on this sort of space . Explo??ng in Yahoo I finally stumbled up?n this we?site.
?tudying this info So i ?m ?atisfied to express that ? have an incredibly good uncanny feeling I found out just what I needed.
I such a lot no dou?t will m?ke sure to do not forget
this we? site ?nd provi?es it a glance on a relentless basis.
Feel free to s?rf to my web?ite; things to do in huntsville alabama tonight
That is a great tip especial?y to tho?e fresh to the blogosphere.
Sh?rt but very precise ?nfo? Appreciate your sharing this one.
A must read post!
my page fun things to do in moore ?klahoma, Karl,
Great post. I was c?ecking continuously this blo? and I’m inspired!
Very helpful info specifically the final phase 🙂 I care for su?h inf? much.
I us?d to be seeking this certain info for a ?ong time.
Thanks and best of luck.
?eview my web page: t?ings to do in illinois this weekend (Cornell)
Hello, after reading this awesome piece of writing i am as well happy
to share my experience here with mates.