Friend? Follow? Connect? Which One to Choose?
Posted July 2nd, 2009 by Dan Ronken
A majority of my social media time is spent on twitter, facebook, and (slowly building a LinkedIn profile). I just ran into a situation (not the first time) where I have to choose which medium to use when I meet someone interesting. I know the traditional answer is facebook for closer friends, linkedin for business contacts and, twitter--well, that's another story.
What are my fellow peeps doing?
Do you initially connect using just one network? Or do you act in a manner that kind of feels like stalking and send a request to connect on all three? Interested to hear your thoughts!
User Login
it's the first time to be
mackliy 1 year 8 weeks 5 hours 25 min ago
it's the first time to be here.Very happy to come here. juicy couture outlet
The Scripts usage
Luiz Carlos Conte 2 years 36 weeks 6 days 12 hours ago
Well good friends, i have a important question: There are many Script Tools for free to improve the twitter account. Some automatize the following ones, others unfollow those who you follow, but doesn't foloow you, and so.... My question is : Are realy useful, secure and etic to use3 those tools?????Thanks
My Advice: Stay Away From Them...
RickBurnes 2 years 36 weeks 5 days 1 hour ago
At the end of the day, Twitter works only if you build authentic relationships.
These kinds of tools don't encourage authentic relationships.
Good one!
Aditi Sawhney 2 years 45 weeks 5 days 7 hours ago
I'll say for meeting someone "interesting" you can start with twitter, and once you are comfortable you can share your other social networks.
Well, personally i am not very comfortable in sharing my personal / professional info or profiles with someone whom i dont know personally or if i am not sure of the reliability issues relating to him/her
Hit and Try and see what works best for you .
Cheers
Start with Twitter for newest connections
Magdalena Georgieva 2 years 45 weeks 6 days 16 hours ago
Hi Dan,
I don't think there is only one network that people should start with. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are complementing one another.
Twitter is more casual and useful for making new connections. LinkedIn seems to be limited to professional networks and industry-specific groups. Facebook remains a network for people you have met in person and you are more actively interested in.
If you are afraid to be seen as too forward, start with Twitter.
Role Reversal
Dan Ronken 2 years 45 weeks 5 days 2 hours ago
Hi Aditia and Magdalena,
Yes, I've been living the Twitter-first and Facebook-later paradigm for quite some time. It' been a couple of months now since I've started to re-think this strategy. I've become quite open on my personal profiles on the web (nothing inappropriate of course) and don't put a lot of energy into trying to protect the information which I 'voluntarily' uploaded.
With the growing popularity of Facebook business pages, and the increased functionality of facebook, e.g., opening up beyond regional networks, etc. I'm feeling compelled to spend more time on facebook and less on twitter. I'm also seeing some of the more influential bloggers / social media personalities increase their presence on facebook as well. Last week I was on a plane and I actually purchased a real live 3rd dimensional magazine (you know the ones with glossy paper and they take up space in your bag :)). I read an interesting article pertaining the future of search and the battle between Facebook and Google wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-07/ff_facebookwall .
It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out in the next couple of years. Especially with the big Google wave coming. :)
Dan
Appreciation
smALLFLAGs 2 years 45 weeks 2 days 20 hours ago
Thanks for the posting, Dan, and also for the link to the Wired article. (In the nearby city of Portland OR, a common bumper sticker reads: KEEP PORTLAND WIERD. Recently, wags promoting Clear are posting: KEEP PORTLAND WIRED.) Back to topic. Here at smALL FLAGs, we're just getting our toes into Twitter and Facebook. The former I set up only as smALL FLAGs. However, the Facebook account was created from my own year-old personal account, William Gifford. In retrospect, I would have set up the business account seperately. Now, however, we seem to be stuck. There seems no way of shutting down the business Facebook page and resurrecting it with a different administrator using the same Facebook name. Bummer. Any ideas out there?
William Gifford
smALL FLAGs
Do you Want the Good News or the Good News?
Dan Ronken 2 years 45 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago
Yes, you can have both!
Facebook 'profiles' (like the one you set up for William Gifford) are for 'friends.'
Facebook 'pages' are for business and you build 'fans' Here is a link
http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?src=pf#/advertising/?pages
Also, you can create a vanity URL once you reach a certain number of fans. I think it's either 25 or 100. Maybe someone else could chime in on this one?
Here is a article on Facebook vanity URL's http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/06/12/facebook-vanity-urls-will-be-av...
Dan
Both Austin and Portland 'Keepin it Weird.' I love both those towns. :)
Enter Facebook's New Privacy Settings
A.M. McReynolds 2 years 45 weeks 19 hours 1 min ago
If "social media is the new cocktail party," then Twitter's the equivalent of evesdropping on a conversation to find an in.
Facebook's News Feed, on the other hand, challenges my ability to separate my public and private lives online. For this reason, I only accept invitations from offline friends.
LinkedIn serves as the appropriate forum for industry chatter. Plus, I'm not accused of Facebragging when angling too heavily professionally.
New privacy settings may relieve my discomfort -- and make Facebook more networking friendly. "In most cases, Facebook is adding to the site - tools to determine who can see your posts, notes, links, photos and so on," says Sam Diaz of ZDNet. "Here’s one better: users can create custom settings so that pictures, for example, can be shared only with certain Facebook friends, maybe family members but not co-workers."
Regardless, I'm into developing authentic online connections that can yield offline relationships with ROI (and it's below Dunbar's Number).
Thanks for reading,
A.M. McReynolds