My social network is better than yours

Everyone and their brother is developing a hot new social media application. Everyone thinks that their favorite social network is the best. Honestly there is way too much chest pounding going on. Some tout raw numerical data and similar statistics in an attempt to drive their point home. However, nothing could be further from the truth and such vanity metrics are proof of only one thing their utter and complete ignorance to the meaning of social media.

My favorite statistic is the statement that even MySpace has more users than Twitter. How can I refute such raw numerical data? Ask yourself honestly when was the last time you heard MySpace mention and it wasn’t as the butt of a joke? Recall that at one time even MySpace had more users than Facebook but since the great migration how many have returned to the former and removed those accounts? Let’s face this statistic is not worth the type it was written in. In addition the number of twitter users has not been published since October 2010, therefore; all of these estimates are truly off balance.

Let’s continue with the notion that twitter is so tiny that you shouldn’t bother wasting your time on something you obviously have no comprehension of. Often times I am asked how much can one truly say in 140 characters? Perhaps it’s better to focus your effort on the reigning 800Lb gorilla known as Facebook. I mean even Google has taken second seat to their dominance. By Facebook’s own statistics users spend more time logged into the their network than any other. Of course we all know that this metric in nothing more than smoke and mirrors because of basic human laziness.

All of these foolish notions are hopelessly flawed. The truth behind influence is and has always been user engagement. It really doesn’t matter how large your network is if they are mostly passive about their involvement. I personally do not believe that one network is necessarily better than another. However, let me state that some are more effective depending on the situation. I wouldn’t try to leverage players of say Mafia Wars to help me expand my business network and I certainly wouldn’t invite my LinkedIn circle to play Cafe’ World.

We must use out networks smartly offering value to each groups members making the connections purposefully with meaning. Recently I reached out to my social media circle and posted a link using the shortening services of bit.ly. What is interesting is that 61% of the clicks on the URL in question were directly tracked back through Twitter where as only 5% of click were through Facebook. As you can see from my point of view twitter is by far the more interactive and effective social network. LinkedIn was tied with Facebook and Google Plus didn’t even make the scale but interestingly enough EmpireAvenue did squeak in with 4%.

The interesting part of all of this is that over the last year my experience has been time and again roughly the same. If you ask me I will answer based on my own experience. However, your decision to leverage one network over another must solely be based upon your experience. As with any effort you should remember that your mileage may vary and is dependent on your circle of friends and followers.

Related articles

• The reality of Facebook influence (jafdip.com)
• Giving some klout with +k (jafdip.com)
• Avatars what you should know part 2 (jafdip.com)
• Avatars what you should know part 1 (jafdip.com)
• LinkedIn Surpasses MySpace as 2nd Most Popular Online Social Network [Data] (hubspot.com)