I have been using LinkedIn for a while now and added Twitter to my list of social networking services a few months ago. My preference at the moment is LinkedIn as it seems to provide me with much more interesting online relationships that Twitter. For example, if I have a problem at work or need some information to post on the Rant, the LinkedIn community never fails to provide excellent advice and/or material. Twitter on the other hand just seems to provide me with the odd snippet from people I follow; Frank Roche and Chris Morgan being great examples.I recently asked the question why LinkedIn seems to win hands down and why is also attracts more comments than even the most popular HR blogs.
Andy Foote suggests that the reason is...
Audience segmentation....blogs typically have a very wide and broad-based audience in terms of interests, backgrounds. LI on the other hand is brimming with professionals who not only pride themselves on being knowledge workers but also are used to answering 200+ emails a day. So think of them as a willing, capable & informed audience. I might also mention that LI answers could potentially lead to kudos & recognition (i.e best answer awards)! Responses in the blogosphere (depending of course on the blog) just don't have that kind of weight.
Whilst Pierre DeBois suggests that you...
...have a large number of various viewpoints on Linked In. A blog -- a really good one -- deals with some specifics subjects and attracts people to that subject. If I did a blog on BMW vehicle owners, you won't see too many Harley Davidson owners (a small few who own both vehicles maybe) and not any walking enthusiast. Linked In allows for both groups and the subsets to speak on a given question in a way that may not translate on a blog.
These comments make sense and the evidence is, at least for me, that LinkedIn trumps Twitter every time.
What do you think and are their potential opportunities for Twitter to come into its own out there?
P.S. Please feel free to join me on LinkedIn and/or Twitter
4 comments:
Hi Scott. I have come recently to both LinkedIn and Twitter. I was working with a group of young people social networking ( I learned so much!) and was pointed to LinkedIn. I have found it a very interesting place to be , built up a wee community of my own and I am letting it grow on me.
I am not sure about Twitter. I feel I should give it a go and have been Twittering ( is that the right term) for a couple of days - too soon to tell.
So if you don't mind I will join you on both and see where it takes each of us!
I think they are so completely different that they shouldn't really be compared.
LinkedIn is aimed at professionals, mostly knowledge workers who are keen to share their knowledge. (Mind you, some people also do it to purely sell themselves, which gets a bit naff sometimes). So you are bound to ask work related questions. Of course work is a big field!
Twitter is more social. You follow people because you are interested in what they do. You would probably want them to follow you back so that you can start a two way conversation. Yes you can ask questions and the response you get largely depends on who is following you.
People use Twitter to keep up to date with what other people are doing or talking about. I particularly like it for the social aspect. For example, a friend might say - "I fancy lunch, anyone in central Brighton to join me?" You wouldn't be able to post that to Twitter.
There have also been cases when someone has been late for something. I can then check Twitter to see if they have updated their 'current status' and quite often they are stuck on a late train/bus!
I use both LinkedIn and Twitter, but both for very different reasons.
Thanks for your comments Jackie and Rosie.
I think we agree that LinkedIn is "cool" as my son would say.
Twitter is on my list of things to get better at. Funny thing this am - I twittered that I was off for a short holiday next wee this morning. I have had 2 responses - one wishing me a happy time and the other reminding me to thank folk for their help before I go!
I'm keeping twittering for now!
PS Jackie - I'm off to Anstruther with my kids -do you know it?
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