Facebook is the Gateway Drug of Social Media [link to post] http://friendfeed.com/e/1857d358-d65f-47ed-bde7-18cc1cddd9bf

– Posted using Chat Catcher

Facebook is the Gateway Drug of Social Media [link to post] http://friendfeed.com/e/1857d358-d65f-47ed-bde7-18cc1cddd9bf – Posted using Chat Catcher

I think twitter is interesting because it will never be nearly as popular as FB IMO. What would be interesting data to see is what % of FB users update their status. Could serve as a proxy for how big twitter market might be.

I think twitter is interesting because it will never be nearly as popular as FB IMO. What would be interesting data to see is what % of FB users update their status. Could serve as a proxy for how big twitter market might be.

Much like AOL was, for years, how people thought of the Internet, and was a gateway drug to IM, I’m inclined to think the same between Facebook (AOL with an API) and Twitter. Facebook gives a highly structured experience to people, putting Twitter’s ecosystem of API-based sites and applications into a common architecture.

For most, the way Twitter works best still seems too abstract for people on the Facebook platform. Using Twitter from the Web is a completely different experience (and less fulfilling for the current FB user) than it is from a desktop application or even browser plugin.

What fascinates me most is that Facebook’s growth in the past six months has not come at the cost of the MySpace or Twitter audiences, where there seemed to be an ebb and flow between the platforms just a year ago. Rather, Flixster and Tagged appear to be drawing on the MySpace numbers for older users by offering a slightly more structured path towards self-expression that is still not as locked-down as Facebook.

But I think the question still remains: now that everyone and their mother is on Facebook, where will the teens go next? With Twitter’s median age as high as it is, it seems unlikely as a next step. Maybe a platform that pivots from FB connect or the Twitter API in its own, “more private” context?

Much like AOL was, for years, how people thought of the Internet, and was a gateway drug to IM, I’m inclined to think the same between Facebook (AOL with an API) and Twitter. Facebook gives a highly structured experience to people, putting Twitter’s ecosystem of API-based sites and applications into a common architecture.

For most, the way Twitter works best still seems too abstract for people on the Facebook platform. Using Twitter from the Web is a completely different experience (and less fulfilling for the current FB user) than it is from a desktop application or even browser plugin.

What fascinates me most is that Facebook’s growth in the past six months has not come at the cost of the MySpace or Twitter audiences, where there seemed to be an ebb and flow between the platforms just a year ago. Rather, Flixster and Tagged appear to be drawing on the MySpace numbers for older users by offering a slightly more structured path towards self-expression that is still not as locked-down as Facebook.

But I think the question still remains: now that everyone and their mother is on Facebook, where will the teens go next? With Twitter’s median age as high as it is, it seems unlikely as a next step. Maybe a platform that pivots from FB connect or the Twitter API in its own, “more private” context?