Besides being accessible to anyone, which one is better Twitter or Facebook? Do you like to Tweet about your company’s upcoming event or do you like to promote the upcoming event by using the calendar event option on Facebook? The usability of these two social networking sites varies. At first, Facebook is easier to navigate while Twitter can be hard to wrap your finger around. On the other hand, once you adapt to Twitter, it is easier to get your momentary thoughts instantaneously on the web.

Facebook was first created for college students, but now is used by everyone as a platform for social networking. There are currently over 200,000,000 active users distributed amongst 170 countries that Facebook is available to.  It was primarily created as a social networking site for users to keep in touch with family and friends. It soon turned into a huge source of networking for the purposes of business and personal use. Facebook allows uploading of pictures/albums, commenting on each others’ “wall”, updating your current status, creating an event, adding a music application, and etc. It is growing into an all purpose networking site which entails over 52,000applications you need plus 140 new applications being added per day (such as the quizzes that can predict when you will get married).

Twitter lets you update your status with a limitation of 140 characters via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. This can be a little tough, but have no fear you will get used to it quickly.  The upside of tweeting is that you don’t have to know the person to tweet with them. This eliminates the hassle of having to add someone, although you can and should “follow” people, so you can get updates on what’s new with them. For example, if a Tweeter (you don’t know) was looking for a fun Halloween party and you are promoting an event at a club, all you have to do is Tweet back with details on your event. It really is easy as that. Ranked at #1 for the fastest growing member community, in February 2009 there were 7,038,000 members, a 1,382% growth compared to the 475,000 members in February 2008. For businesses that are trying to promote a service or product, this is an excellent source of promotion, with so many people in the network, marketing to a specific target or expanding to different channels is easy.

Which one is better?

Twitter Pros:
·    Connect with anyone even beyond your friend circle
·    Easy to communicate simple thoughts or promote events
·    Anyone can follow anyone else – no acceptance required

Twitter Cons:
·    Character limitation to 140 per update
·    Tricky to navigate at first
·    Limitation on usage: sending private messages, finding people, and etc.

Facebook Pros:
·    Many usage functionalities: instant messaging, private messages, email, Multimedia sharing
·    Ability to privatize or publicize personal or business account
·    New applications added constantly

Facebook Cons:
·    Time consuming
·    Not immediate responses (have to add or accept to be friends)
·    Limitations on pages created (fan vs. group)

They both serve as good networking sites and both can be used through your mobile device (always an added bonus). Speaking of mobile devices, Facebook allows you to access all the functions used on the computer on your phone (Blackberry, iPhone, or any phone with an internet connection), which includes picture uploading, adding friends, changing your status, or taking a quiz. Twitter has many different mobile tools such as: UberTwitter used for uploading pictures, sending videos, and updating your Google Talk status with your last Tweet Tweelo which is the yellow pages for Twitter, and JustTweetit which is a user directory organized by genre that helps you connect with others easily. Why not have both for your business, the more you put your company out there the better. Use the Twitter account for daily updates and follow your clients as well as people you think might be interested in what your company offers. Use the Facebook account to create events and update the status of your company, at the same time use the fan or group page to broaden your client base.  It is a win-win situation that will help your company.