Facebook challenging Twitter?

Update: A better written article.

Update 2: Alternate POV.

Probably common knowledge at this stage, but Facebook has made a definite move towards taking over the “microblogosphere” of Twitter with the recent update to their newsfeed feature.

I’ve never directly compared Twitter to the Facebook newsfeed, because I don’t see their usage as overlapping. Twitter, for me, is for communicating with people who share the same interests as me, “networking” as it were, whereas Facebook is more of a noticeboard for all the people I’ve known from school, work, as well as friends and family.
If the distinction between the people I converse with on Twitter and the people I converse with on Facebook began to become hazy, then chances are I’d just end up drifting to the better platform.

Which brings me to comparisons.

Interesting differences

Facebook has threaded conversations – This is something that people have been asking for on Twitter for a while now. To be fair to Twitter, when you’ve got something that’s obviously popular, you’re reluctant to tamper with it too much (especially when you didn’t really realize what you were creating in the first place).

Facebook has grouping – Also something people have been asking for for some time (same list as above).

Facebook has embedded objects – Like video. This is an attractive use, but I’m not sure how portable a concept it is. I can’t see video on my low-tech phone, and even if it was high tech, the data fees in Ireland are astronomical.

In fact, Facebook appears to have picked up on some of the weaknesses of Twitter and tried to improve, but somehow – if you’ll allow the pun – have managed to completely rearrange their own face in the process. I don’t particularly want Facebook to be a replacement for Twitter, it has too much personal / irrelevant information, and I don’t want to micromanage who does and doesn’t see that information anymore than I already have to.

I don’t really care to bombard people on Twitter with photos of events / parties that just have no bearing to them. I like wandering through friends/family photos on Facebook, but if I was being bombarded with party photos from the CTO of xyz on Twitter I’d be unfollowing and would expect the same if the situation were reversed. I want information from Twitter and some updates that are perfectly ok to share with strangers / acquantiances that allow you a casual insight into their mindset. I don’t expect them to care any more about my family photos than I care about theirs, and it would be insulting and disingenuous to pretend otherwise.

There’s many subtle differences that seperate the two. In any case, I don’t see myself warming to the Facebook newsfeed option in the near future.