Kurt's Thoughts

A very interesting article appeared on the VisitMix web site the other day that I thought was quite insightful.

• Facebook Love, Twitter Hate
  http://www.visitmix.com/Opinions/Facebook-Love-Twitter-Hate

The quote that got me was this:

Facebook had much more positive items like “I love…” and “I like x too…” vs. Twitter’s “They left the pickles off the sandwich, EPIC FAIL!”

I’ve noticed this same phenomenon:  Twitter is… cathartic.  It seems to give people an outlet to bitch to millions of people – people you might not even care about, whereas Facebook seems to be the place where people share things they think are awesome and want to connect with others that also think it’s awesome – people that are likely closer friends than those they might be twittering to.

There’s simply nothing better than finding that CollegeHumor video and posting it to Facebook where everyone else can revel in the same sophomoric humor that I enjoy.  In that same vein, when I’m pissed, I want an outlet to vent to and the Internet is the greatest way to not only express one’s anger but also attack the reason you’re angry at the same time through negative advertising if it’s a store that’s done you wrong.

MARKETING IN REAL-TIME
Incidentally, there’s another perspective on all of this and that’s how marketers loooooooove Twitter.  It gives marketing types the ability to listen to the pulse of trendiness.  Knowing the sum total of people getting excited over a single event or activity or person can be more valuable to trend sales than understanding the customer themselves.  It’s a very good metric of “whats hot”, which is how folks determine what the next “sales boom” is going to be.

Meanwhile Facebook has immense stickiness.  If someone has joined a group or participated in a Facebook activity, it’s a darned good metric of loyalty.  Once someone has linked into Facebook for a particular activity or topic, you can really see what the strength of a brand is or the staying power of a product.  It might not mean massive immediate sales but it does mean a good platform to sell to.