The Timeless Question - Facebook or LinkedIn?
December 13th, 2007
This is a great blog post I came across.
Facebook or LinkedIn: Which one should you join? posted on SocialMediaToday by Krishna De.
More and more social networking sites sites continue to pop up each week, the question truly becomes how many can one person handle? I know I am already starting to get overwhelmed and I primarily use Facebook, LinkedIn, blog (in several places, including here) and Twitter. The questions becomes what is right for you? This blog posting does a good job of explaining the main differences between Facebook and LinkedIn in a simple way, while pointing out that like snowflakes, no two social networking communities are the same. You need to undersand what you hope to gain from a social network before you join. That will help you know if you are joining the right one.
5 Responses to “The Timeless Question - Facebook or LinkedIn?”
By Dave Langley on Dec 13, 2007 | Reply
I think it is funny that people compare Facebook and LinkedIn. To me, it is a bit like comparing a good fiction novel (Facebook) to a medical journal (LinkedIn). Maybe saying people that read the Wall Street Journal would be a better example but I am going to stick with the medical journal. They are both books that have covers and an index and words and both are read by people. The difference is that the novel is read for enjoyment and has a larger audience. The medical journal is read for a purpose and has a smaller more targeted audience.
Today, Facebook users are more of a social network for enjoyment. LinkedIn users are part of a professional network that has a more specific purpose. What is that purpose? The obvious is a place to get access to updated information on the business professional we know and have likely worked with in some capacity. Why do we need this? Well I am sure some use it as a tool to try and gain business in some way. That should be the purpose but I really believe most use it as a fall back list as it relates to employment. Just in case I need a job or I need to hire someone.
So why compare them? Well, it is not about what the applications are today. It is about what they will become to meet user demand. Professionals are starting to use Facebook more and more because of the volume of users. Crowds attract a crowd. But these professional users need Facebook to be more than a social site. Infact, they need to be able to segment social from professional. LinkedIn is actively trying making changes to their environment to attract more users. They still want a targeted audience. Meaning they probably are not looking for college students that want to post their beer party pictures or write on someone’s wall or rate the hotness of other people.
This will be an interesting battle to watch. Not specifically Facebook and LinkedIn but all the social networking platforms. The down side is that we, the users, will likely have to maintain accounts on multiple sites until these applications come more towards center and offer more similar functionality and a winner is declared and/or these platforms offer easy ways to synchronize and segment users between platforms.
By Dave on Dec 13, 2007 | Reply
In one sentence or less…LinkedIn gets you hired and Facebook gets you fired.
What’s with all the poking on Facebook anyhow? I don’t get that. Seriously.
By Tom Whittaker on Dec 14, 2007 | Reply
David Herrold - Very true statement. I am hoping to be fired some day based on my facebook profile.
By Dave Langley on Dec 14, 2007 | Reply
I agree. Why poke someone when you can give them a friendly hug. I don’t get it either but it is one of the most successful Facebook apps. Or I guess I should be more specific. SuperPoke! was #4 based on active users from 9/4/2007 to 10/28/2007.
By rushit shah on May 18, 2008 | Reply
Though Facebook is increasing awesomely Linkedin is quit good for professional networking. Sales and recruitment can be reached its best with linkedin.
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