Facebook Lite vs Twitter
Facebook Lite versus Twitter
Facebook Lite is a very smart move by Facebook to consolidate an ever-growing social networking captive audience to a single platform, i.e. why use 2 platforms when one can do it all and do it quickly? Facebook Lite is definitely a threat to Twitter, no doubt about it. Most folks who have Twitter accounts also have Facebook accounts. What if Facebook Lite provides users with a tool very similar/better than Twitter? What if their service is far superior in dealing with things like spam (a serious problem twitter continues to struggle with and always have)? What if the service as a whole is superior? They have a MASSIVE platform to work from – these guys are not starting from scratch, they already have a much more popular service than twitter and are not little-leaguers when it comes to social networking.
I’d say Facebook Lite has a high chance of winning greater market share from Twitter, but only after a 12 months at the very least. Why? Twitter has a massive following in the West, where most tech and social media opinion leaders reside. Twitter gives those who don’t want a MySpace or a Facebook a way to still keep in touch with people. It’s easier than instant messaging and less costly than text messaging. It’s a great tool to get one message out to everyone quick and allows people to check on other people when those people want. That’s what the main feature of Facebook Lite needs to be about – giving people a quick and easy way to keep in touch with people and broadcast messages.
Twitter should be very concerned, especially in Asia where Facebook has a much larger following than Twitter. I suspect Twitter will try to expand its offering to compete head on with Facebook, at least in the United States.
The use of mobile devices with social media is a huge growth area. Why? Smartphones manufacturers like Apple, RIM and Nokia have immensely improved the processing speed and browsing experience of their devices. Bandwidth is increasing by the day. People are more mobile and want to express their thoughts and opinions real-time. The trends are obvious.
P.S. Facebook recently acquired a start-up company from Silicon Valley called FriendFeed, which allows members to see what their friends are doing online and share content. It has been described as a potential “rival to Twitter in its ability to conduct real-time search.
