Techcrunch is reporting on Facebook’s new “opener” API. Facebook is trying to encourage outside developers to create tools and applications that play off of the status update on Facebook, similar to how developers have embraced Twitter and created many useful tools like TwitterBerry and Twhirl.
I can remember how, about a year ago, a typical venture capitalist question to web startups was “what is your Facebook strategy?” That irrational Facebook exuberance has been replaced by an understanding that FB and Twitter are more of marketing tools than anything else for most web companies.
I feel that Twitter’s status updates are evolving into more of a useful marketing channel than Facebook. I’m not personally sure if it is because of the differences between the two services’ APIs… My theory would be that Twitter is benefiting by the different type of relationship that the service fosters. While Twitter encourages simple, very public interactions between people with little to no off-line (dare I say “real?”) relationships, Facebook is based on dialogs between more deeply connected individuals. Thus, I follow people on Twitter I would not have a relationship with on FB (such as IBM’s Center for Social Software, ctr4socialsoft – sorry IBM, you can’t be my Facebook friend).
Would love to get other people’s opinions!
February 8th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Interesting stuff. I actually think that FB is far more of a threat in this domain that TC, or many others, give it credit for. As you point out, FB is based on real, connected relationships – this makes is a far more high impact marketing channel (or general information stream). Even if this reduces the reach of the message it gives it far more credibility. I too follow people I have no connection with in real life on Twitter – and for the most part even if they are recognized or respected tech personalities I don't take their recommendations all that seriously. I'm far more moved by the opinions of those I really know. I've been hoping for awhile now that FB would get their act together in this domain and start more aggressively competing with Twitter and getting FB users to be more aggressive users of status updates (I don't find much of a crossover at all with my friends on FB and following/ers on Twitter).
February 9th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Greg, good point about FB not taking advantage of the power of its users' credibility/connections to deliver messages. I guess I was more considering a company's ability to deliver its message to a wide audience, and less considering friends making recommendations etc.
Incidentally, I did recently try to use FB's status update to get a recommendation on a hotel in Paris… that is a venue that has not been tapped, except unofficially by FB users, to generate leads/messages.