Twitter vs. Facebook vs. LinkedIn

I love Twitter.

I only kind of like Facebook.

Why should I be using LinkedIn? I don’t get it.

That is my stance on the big three social networks.

I’ll be celebrating my three-year anniversary on Twitter next month and thought it would be a good idea to evaluate how I use these social sites and how I could possibly use them more effectively.

There are tons of people out there who can tell you how you should be using social networks. My opinion has always been that I’ll use them however I see fit, which never seems to fall in line with what the social media gurus are saying.

Twitter.

I use Twitter as my main social network. I have amassed a big enough following (over 3k is enough, in my opinion) to get a pretty wide range of news from nearly all perspectives. It’s fast and easy and there’s no fuss really (unless something drastically changes, then I get annoyed, but I adapt and move on). Twitter is also the site where I keep everything, and everyone, at arms length. Since there really isn’t a way to verify who is following you (I have social media trust issues) I tend to avoid putting a lot of personal details out there. People can be creepy.

But I put enough of me into it that I feel like the other stuff isn’t really relevant. People know I’m a woman from Minnesota with a large Mexican family and a suspected meth-using neighbor. I mean, there’s not much more you need to know.

When I first started using Twitter I used it to follow politics, then I got engulfed in the political hullabaloo and blogged about politics. Now I just bitch about politics and talk about how dumb, yet fascinating, the Kardashians are. I also use it to tweet about my favorite shows and sporting events.

Over the past three years I’ve developed some great friendships with people. I think that’s one of the best things about Twitter. Too many people use it to just shout into the black hole of social media. Never taking the time to interact with the people who take the time to read their tweets in the first place. I’ll admit I’m not the best at responding to every single reply I get, but I aim for a 95 percent reply rate. Sometimes you just can’t get them all (I say that as if my mentions feed is flooded with replies…). I get it. But it’s the interaction that makes Twitter Twitter. Unless we’re talking about spam bots. I don’t respond to those jackasses.

If there’s one way I would use Twitter differently it would be to initiate contact with more people. I have a tendency to not be the first to reach out. It’s not really a conscious decision, it’s just something I’ve noticed. Same with following people. A big chunk of the people I follow are people who followed me first. I need to get better at that.

Facebook.

Facebook was, and still is, my “friends and family” social network. I really just use it to keep up with all that stuff. I’m not, nor have I ever been, a hardcore Facebook user. I still haven’t been able to figure out how people can spend hours on Facebook. If someone can explain that to me, that would be fantastic.

I use Facebook to post the occasional funny news story or status update, but I mostly use it to connect with friends and plan stuff. That seems to be the main way the people in my life (or everyone, I don’t know) is planning events these days. The other day I received an event invite which was asking for my address so someone could send out wedding invitations. Pretty clever use if you ask me. Much better than calling around or trying to track down your mom’s handwritten address book.

About two-ish years ago I decided to cross-contaminate Facebook with Twitter and friended a few Twitter-only friends on Facebook. It was a big selection process and I think it was only about 10 people. I eventually decided I didn’t like that and unfriended people I didn’t know in real life. Will I ever cross-contaminate again? Probably not. Facebook is my inner-inner circle, if you’re not already in it, you probably won’t make it. (Semi-kidding.)

If there’s one thing to change about how I use Facebook it would be to have a little more patience with people. I tend to get annoyed very quickly with the whiny folk of Facebook (should be its own website). Maybe it’s my empathy that needs work. I don’t know, I’ll work on something.

LinkedIn.

I don’t get it. I have tried, really super-duper hard but I cannot seem to see the purpose of LinkedIn. I have a profile and all that jazz but I don’t spend enough time on to to try to make meaningful connections. Sure, I could use to increase my network to land another job, but in all reality, it’s like throwing a dart into a cave and hoping to hit the bulls eye. My current connections include a few friends and an aunt (but I already connect with them on Facebook) and one recruiter (with whom I connect with outside of LinkedIn). Aside from the limited contacts, I honestly don’t think to check LinkedIn for anything. Unless I get an email which entices me to actually login, if I can remember my password, I am never on LinkedIn.

Maybe that’s my first mistake. If I actually spent time on the site, maybe I’d get it. Unfortunately as it stands now, I see no reason to waste time on it.

Goal: figure out if or how LinkedIn could serve a purpose for me.