With 106 comments and counting, there is an ongoing discussion over on the Mr. Tweet blog (a service that enables one to find other people to interact with) where Ming Yeow Ng questions the usage patterns on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
It’s clear that everyone uses the three social networking sites differently, but the general tone involves Facebook for chit-chat, LinkedIn for networking, and Twitter for collaboration. These are along the lines of my usage, too.
In an effort to share a snapshot in time, here are three screen shots captured within moments of each other showing the status updates of my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances.
Beginning with Facebook, the most notable feature is the casual third-person style of updates. Also, if anyone opts to comment, there is an asynchronous elapse of time. I update my Facebook status several times a week, usually in the form of a gripe or asking a question.
LinkedIn also offers a status update feature, albeit underused. I update my LinkedIn status every few days, usually focusing on relevant blog posts I’m writing or the type of networking opportunities I’m seeking. 
Unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter enables synchronous updating. If you post an update on Facebook or LinkedIn, I’ll only see it when and if I’m logged onto the site at the same time or if I manually click into your “wall” of updates. More often than not, I don’t look at updates on the above.
I add updates on Twitter about 50 times a day (according to my FollowCost). You can see from the below that people tweet differently, and some also simultaneously publish their updates to Facebook and/or LinkedIn. I post on the three separately.
As reported by Mashable, recent statistics from the Pew Internet & American Life Project indicate 11 percent of adults are using status updates to broadcast to their friends (and the world) what they’re doing online.
We also have confirmation that the average ages of users on the three services are 27 on Facebook, 40 on LinkedIn, and 31 on Twitter.
Given this and my age of 33, is it any surprise I’m using Twitter and LinkedIn the most and Facebook the least?
How do you use the three social networking sites?
Photo credit: flowers & machinery
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Hey, I call foul. This is a blog post about Twitter described as one about status updates!
With that out of the way – nice post! I am interested to see how LinkedIn’s status updates evolve, now that they have added the ability to comment. This is LI’s first (possibly) effective move to compete with Fbook and Twitter, the way I see it. It has this huge user base, but it’s not nearly as engaged as on the other two services.
My use is similar to what you cite above. I also follow your lead in updating all three manually, since I feel each has it’s own distinct culture and language. I get more value by using them independently (except I do pipe my one or twice daily Fbook updates to Twitter). I do use Twitter for just about everything, while keeping LI more professional, Fbook more personal. I really like all three, but find myself using LI less and less, and Twitter more and more.
Adriel Hampton´s last blog post..A Simple Guide to Twenglish (Twittish, Twitterese?)
Twitter Comment
Leaving a long comment on “status updates” for @ariherzog (who is blogging about Twitter again): [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Facebook: catch up with the folks I know or lost track of over time
Twitter: learn from and share with folks that I had not “known” until joining twitter
LinkedIn: don’t use. Don’t know what value it would add for me at this point.
Soulpowr´s last blog post..Trades and a Gun
I am enjoying Twitter as a way to join conversations periodically and learn a lot of interesting stuff as I follow links that people post. I still feel very much like a newbie there!
Facebook is definitely the most social. It has been fun to reconnect with people I have not seen in a long time, and keep up with my friends lives.
I didn’t really know LI had updates, and consider it more a “professional” type of networking site. I do not use it as often, particularly as it appears to cater less to education professionals and more to business professionals.
Thanks for the interesting analysis, Ari.
This biggest difference for me is that facebook is for personal connections. So the difference is not in the types of updates (ie. “chit chat” on facebook) but rather the audience. Facebook connections are generally people I’ve met in person and would like to hang out with more. This is especially precious to me now I live overseas as a way of staying vaguely up-to-date with the happenings of my friends at home.
LinkedIn is professional contacts and Twitter is all comers, not necessarily reciprocated. People use twitter to chit chat as much as linkedin, and because of the transience of a tweet this can more often trend towards the banal than facebook, but it’s also got, as you point out, much greater conversational and collaborative potential than facebook, and it allows for more chance encounters and new network forming, which is why I love it.
So, to me, the difference is:
Facebook LinkedIn = bonding social capital.
Twitter = bridging social capital.
Being pedantic but facebook and linkedin both allow syncronous, ie. real-time, updating as well, there’s just not a culture of using them that way (I’d think you were pretty weird if you were updating your FB status 50 times/day).
Not a bad assessment. I am very careful with my LinkedIn account. It is professional without any of the games or goofiness of Facebook. Been blogging for about five years now, but just got into Twitter around a month ago.
I am still trying to figure out how I want to use it.
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I update all my statuses separately, as opposed to the Ping.fm over all networks simultaneously. My Facebook updates tend to be more personal than Twitter, which is a mix of personal and blog updates. I rarely do the LinkedIn updates, although when I do sign in, I’ll update it.
~ Kristi
I don’t use Facebook. It doesn’t fit my life.
I post to Twitter between 0 and half a dozen times a day, depending on the day. Twitter and my blog are where my status updates go.
I didn’t know LinkedIn has status updates. Thanks for the tip. I don’t know what I’d use them for but it’s handy information. (LinkedIn is my “business/professional network).
Twitter Comment
Your Status Updates on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter: A Snapshot in Time [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
I’ve been using Facebook until recently I really go the hang of Twitter. I have added a facebook application that will automatically update my facebook status with my twitter updates.
So now I twitter my status updates, and blog entries from my wordpress blog update my facebook notes.
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hey there,
I would suggest trying http://www.su.pr if you haven’t already come across it since your post .. this platform allows you to simultaneously update BOTH Twitter & Facebook status messages
AND it’s from Stumble-upon so you get more clicks on your links etc which can also drive traffic to your website or your blog
I have written about it on my blog as well if you want to check it out (http://dazedreflection.blogspot.com/2009/07/supr-no-more-multi-status-updates.html)
I use my LinkedIn profile purely for business networking and will update my status much less than I do on FB and Twitter. Although don’t mind finding something that updates all 3
Have a good day
New from Dazediva: The Type of Person You Are Attracted To …
I’m surprised no one mentioned cestagi.com , facebook for high school/college kids, linkedin for business, cestagi for higher education … and of course twitter all around
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