What's the difference between "Tweeter" and "myspace" and "facebook"?

[Samana Cay]

Twitter.com is very basic. You can "follow" people (like friends, celebrities, and organizations) to read their updates. People can follow you to read what you say. Every person has a profile, which is also very simple. Updates are limited to 140 characters. So they're short and urls are often simplified. Beyond that, Twitter can get complicated with extra software and websites that enable things like picture updates (TwitPic.com is what I use.) Each update is called a tweet.

Myspace is more popular with the younger crowd. I'd say junior high age, but I haven't checked statistics. You have a profile that you can customize - everything from the background to hiding friends and blogs to music that plays when your profile is opened. Myspace is the most customizable, and that's why it appeals to the younger crowd. Comments can be left on your profile and you have a mail inbox (now they've added an email address as well!) Myspace allows you to create a Top Friends list, which creates easy access to your closest friends or favorite profiles if you so choose. I have fourteen top friends that are all bands except for an actor because I no longer talk to the friends I have on Myspace.

Facebook is my personal favorite. It has a basic feel to it aesthetically, which turns some people off, but there are applications (which Myspace has also added, but to a lesser degree) and groups for just about anything. You know the commercial for the iPhone that says "There's an app for that!" Well that's what Facebook is like. An example of an application on both Facebook and Myspace would be Pieces of Flair. They're little pictures that look like 3D buttons (like a pin) with sayings or pictures. You can upload your own or browse and add from the application. From there, you can add it to your Flair Board and post it to your profile. Facebook appeals mostly to college age students, well... Because that's who it was made for. It was created as a social networking site specifically for universities. But now high school students are enjoying keeping in touch with long lost friends and far away family. You don't need to go to school or be an alumnus of anywhere to join, but that is the primary reason for Facebook. Facebook has the most older population, I would think. It caters to finding people you may know and things you may like.

You can use your phone for any of them if you have an internet browser. You can send updates to Twitter and statuses to Facebook via text.