Jackie: How come I'm not surprised you are the first to respond? :)

If you're still up for it, would love to have you teach me the virtues of Facebook.

And speaking of community, I will need spend some time the Society for Word of Mouth (http://www.theswom.org/ for those who are wondering).

@Lionel: Glad our conversation got you to look again at Facebook. You convinced me to give Twitter another try. As for wall posts, I think of them as a way to send someone a txt for all to see. Yet, maintaining updates for both Facebook and Twitter is a bit of a challenge, especially since the app for it is having some issues.

Lionel you sound like an IdeaStorm member with this post.   :)

 Many of us who use the Dell community sites have suggested Dell should create its own application.  Perhaps they could combine all the good aspects you suggest and cut out some of the bad stuff.  It would be a great way for Dell customers, employees and enthusiasts to interact.  I can see the Dell communty sites being combined into just such an application.  

jervis961: Thanks for the comment.

Love the idea. Lots of things being discussed here at this point. We'll have to focus on some of the challenges ahead of us (like better integrating content across our own properties), but we'll see where we can take things moving forward.

Thanks @LionelatDell!  Interesting observations.  ; ) 

The Facebook Twitter app does work for me, & it's a convenient way to keep my status up-to-date on both platforms!  (Apparently for some who are having issues with the Facebook Twitter app, there's another called Twittersync.)  In fact, I posted something yesterday on Twitter about a change in my job & a friend Direct Messaged me 'good luck in your new role' via Twitter while another sent me a message in Facebook.  Very cool!

What I find is that more of my work network is on Twitter, as well as folks I've met at conferences (admittedly, some of them "social media" confs), while most of my Facebook contacts are from my other non-work life, including some family members.  None of my family or closest friends are on Twitter, though.

Still, I tend to learn a lot from the folks I follow on Twitter or else I strengthen my connection with them much more than the folks I'm connected with on Facebook.  As a consequence, I check in on Facebook periodically, but I check Twitter more frequently & do tweet somewhat regularly.  Otherwise, I hardly ever do much in Facebook, though I did organize a group there - & not sure I could have done that in Twitter alone.  Use the tool for what's it's best suited.  =D

BTW- I did end up creating Twitter feeds of the Direct2Dell blogs in Chinese (@Direct2Dell_CN) & Spanish (@DellenDirecto).  Also in the process of trying to ensure that every Dell Twitter follows the individual responsible for that Twitter.  That way, there's a person to talk to when someone has a comment, question, or suggestion about that particular Twitter!  Happy to hear from you on Twitter if you have something to say.

@ggroovin

 @ggroovin: Thanks for reminding me about the Twitter feeds. Will blog about that soon to clarify.

Lionel,

You should give those rock hard abs ads a chance.  I was skeptical at first too, but look at me now!  BEHOLD!

I'm pretty new to Twitter, and don't really "get it."  I'm going to give it a chance and see if it doesn't grow on me.  Seems like a modified chat application or something.  What am I missing?  Sometimes I don't want to know what you thought of the Pad Thai you ate an hour ago.

 I like Facebook because of all the apps.  I have Scrabulous games going with friends from high school.  I can draw a funny picture with Graffiti and send it to a friend (OK, maybe I can't technically draw something funny, but I could...if I could....).  With all the apps, there's really not much I can't do there that available somewhere else. 

 I think I need to familiarize myself with Twitter.

 Todd 

Todd: Twitter is like group chat on the web. Take a look at the Twitter in Plain English video on YouTube for a quick overview.

I'd recommend that you start by searching for individuals who blog about environmental topics. Start with your favorite personalities on Eco blogs. Then, you can easily see who they follow. Spend a few minutes reading profiles, and follow the folks you think have the same interests as you.

Before long, you'll build an environment-focused network (or whatever other topics interest you). Then, you will see related discussions, breaking news, blog post updates, links to reports, etc., where you can jump into discussions whenever you have a few minutes to log on.

You may still get some pad-Thai updates here and there, but they won't be the norm. :)

Great post, Lionel.  When I first started getting into social networking, I was all in facebook all the time.  Since about October I have been trending more and more toward Twitter.  I check Twitter first and always, then if there's time gmail, then facebook, then other social media apps.  Twitter to me is a good pulse check, quick and simple - in and out or browse for a bit if you have the time.

I think of these things simply. I "go to" certain things for certain reasons, sort of like reaching for the remote or the fridge. Most broadly are general purpose social networks like Facebook. I only go to those because someone or some event has called me back.

Fine, I'll poke you. Ok, I'll check out the upcoming Lunch 2.0. Someone who doesn't really know me, might send me an email on it.

Then there's vendor "I want."  I want to learn about computers and see what real people think. I want help. I want to be heard. I want to contact someone directly.

Then there's my portable network of connections. That's Twitter. It doesn't have a location. It's on the web, in my phone, my instant messanger. It doesn't care what my vehicle is, it justs cares about the conversation.

There are probably way more examples but I find the real problem is that people focus on the brand name "Facebook" or "Twitter" and forget about the motivation behind the action or behavior.

I wonder what the next advancement in social networking sites will bring us. 

For me the strength of Facebook is mainly it's popularity. A social networking site is about just that and where Facebook scores over all the others I've tried is that so many people are signed up to it.

I've found so many old pals that I'd lost track of and have already had two reunions. I don't know, I tried Myspace but despite it apparently having a larger user base it seems most of those are bands and advertisers rather than real people. I didn't find many real people I knew.

So while the features and interfaces on many of the other networking sites are often a lot better I'll stick with Facebook because that's where everyone is. If I want to meet like minded strangers then message boards are probably more useful. 

I still don't get Twitter. My friends would never go for this, they'd just say "text me" or "call me." It's silly. Won't catch on. The next big thing is going to be my new movie this summer: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Own it today on DVD! 

I think a lot of us are just following the crowd, social-media speaking. It's like, here's where the party is...for the moment. Until another party that promises to be more fun starts up elsewhere. Then, we're there.

And we have our pied pipers. For me, it's Scoble.

As to usefulness, agreed that FB's interface is bloated. However, regarding the wall...I see that as a similar app as Twitter. Facebook's version of it.

Twitter's flexibility is the key to its success long-term. Twhirl's improvement of the interface is exquisite. I hardly ever go to www.twitter.com any longer.

Excellent article Lionel!

I started twittering right before SXSW this year and I've been addicted ever since.  It's a great way to keep a running conversation going, especially after meeting new friends and associates in real life or through social media circles online.

Like Zena.. I hit Twitter first thing in the morning and then check Facebook when I have time later in the day.  As I've synced Facebook and Twitter now, I can keep friends and family up to date without having to bounce back and forth between the two as much as before. 

On Twitter: ChrisBatDell

Am tired of receiving new apps request on Facebook everyday especially in those am not interested.And secondly its way too open...does not keeps one's privacy

Hey Lionel,

Love the post.  Have you checked out Utterz?  www.utterz.com It allows you to post from your cell or computer to utterz.com and then syndicate out to your blogs, facebook, myspace and twitter.  You can create a multi-media post (pix, text, voice and video) and have it on whichever site you choose.  Obviously if you're using Twitter it comes out in only text but it gives your followers a link to www.utterz.com so that they can go see your post. 

I'm also on facebook and barely on twitter but everyone sees my utterz updates on facebook and I never have to go to the site to get bombarded with apps requests.  Drop the widget and done!