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Twitter is considered a social media platform, for some, but a lot of people disagree and say Twitter is considered a news site.
Social media is defined as websites and applications that allow users to create and share content, or to participate in social networking. Social networking is the use of dedicated websites and applications to interact with other users or to find people with similar interests. When people socially network, they interact with others virtually on a variety of topics, including weather, politics, global news, entertainment, sports, humor, and more.
Most traditional online media includes social components, such as comment fields for users. In business, social media is used to market products, promote brands, connect with current customers, and foster new business. In 2018, a majority of the people used social networking sites to see what was going on in the world day-by-day.
A few examples of social media would include Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn. According to Google, Twitter serves as both an online news and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as tweets. Even though it has social features that might be found on other networks, Twitter is not considered a social media site by many. Executive Kevin Thau believes that Twitter is not a social media site, because it is meant for news and content.
Although Facebook and Twitter have about the same amount of people reading news, there are significant differences in potential news distributing strength.
A new study, conducted by Pew Research Center in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, finds that the proportion of users who say they follow breaking news on Twitter, are nearly twice as likely as those on Facebook (59 percent versus 31 percent) to lend support. Perhaps, this is its great strength, providing “as it happens” coverage and commentary on live events.
As more social networking sites recognize and adapt to their role in the news environment, each will offer unique features for news users, and these features may foster shifts in the media. Different uses around news features have implications for how Americans learn about the world and their communities, and how they take part in the Democratic process. This examination of Facebook and Twitter sheds light on the similarities and differences between these two prominent social media platforms.
Written By Elise Vaughans
Edited by Jeanette Smith
Sources:
Tech Target: Margaret Rouse
News Use on Facebook and Twitter Is on the Rise: M.Barthel, E.Shearer, J. Gottfried, and A. Mitchell
Featured And Top Image Courtesy of Surian Soosay’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License