Twitter vs. Facebook

I've heard this argument so much lately!  I have a lot of friends who just don't get the purpose of Twitter.  "Isn't that just like Facebook?"  they always say.  So I thought I'd write a post on my personal feelings about each social network and why I use them.

Facebook
I've been on Facebook since 2005, I believe.  Back when only college kids could use it.  It has become the site that I go to everyday.  Even if I don't get to another site, I always check Facebook.  Why?  It has enabled me to keep track of my friends.  There are a lot of friends that I just don't see very often that I keep up with on Facebook.  And I've gotten closer with people from high school that I never talked to much then.

Also, I've used Facebook on several occasions as a problem-solver.  If I have a problem, whether it be a tech problem or parenting, sometimes I'll post it on Facebook and I generally get a lot of responses.  Sometimes I don't get an answer that I need, but often I do!

One of my favorite Facebook activities is Mafia Wars.  I know, a lot of my real life friends laugh, but I love this game!  Check it out and ask me to be in your Mafia!  ;)

Twitter
Why do I use Twitter?  Yes, it's just a bunch of status updates that I can just put on Facebook.  Or can I?  Status updates are only one part of Facebook.  Status updates ARE Twitter.  There are things that I say on Twitter that I don't say on Facebook.

My favorite thing about Twitter is "following people".  You can follow anyone from friends to celebrities.  And yes, I do both!  My husband laughs at me because I follow my fair share of celebs, but I like getting that glimpse into their culture.  I don't follow just *any* celeb.  I pick those that are on my favorite shows or movies, usually.  And I followed Ashton Kutcher because of his Twitter contest with Cnn.

I also follow a good many Christian singers, bands, and preachers.  I love getting words of wisdom every day from Max Lucado, Rick Warren, Tony Nolan, and others.  I love hearing how awesome MercyMe's last concert was...or better yet Bart's (Millard of MercyMe) latest rant against AT&T!  I love getting a sneak peek into Mark Hall's (of Casting Crowns) journal via twitpic.

I've also found a couple of new people to follow.  Terrace Crawford followed me one day, trying to get more followers, I guess.  Usually I don't follow too many back, but I checked out who he was and checked out his blog.  He seemed like a neat person to follow so I did.  He's a pretty funny guy!

Something else I've discovered about Twitter is that it almost makes my bloglines obsolete.  Most everyone that has a blog I read will post on Twitter that they have a new blog post up.  So I'll end up following the link from there, instead of waiting to look at bloglines.

So who's the winner in the Twitter vs. Facebook debate?  Neither!  I love them both!  So, if you find yourself wondering if you should get a Twitter, then yes, do so!  Just don't use it like you do Facebook.

Follow me on Twitter.