A few weeks ago I had heated debate friendly discussion with Nathan about whether Twitter is a social network or a social media platform. You can hear the discussion here. He said it’s a social network. I said it’s social media. As I have thought more about it since then I think we were both wrong. Twitter is both.

It would be limiting to Twitter to say it is JUST one or the other because it has so many aspects that are distinct to social media and social networking alike. For instance, social media is about user generated content, conversation, and sharing information. Twitter does that. Social networking, however is about connecting people together through shared interests, interacting,  and facilitating relationships. Twitter does that too. What I have realized is that Twitter as a tool/platform is distinct in that it covers both the social media and social networking.

I think Nathan and I were debating the wrong question. The better question is this: Do you use Twitter as just a social network or social media or do you use (and utilize) it as both simultaneously? The basis for my original perspective of Twitter as a social medium was because I only used it as a social medium. I hadn’t really been looking at it for social networking opportunities. Likewise, I suspect Nathan was using Twitter more from a social networking side and not as much for the social media opportunities.

So now the challenge is this: if we find ourselves on one side or the other, how do we incorporate the other side into our Twitter use? For me, I know I can use it better to interact with people who I don’t know (or don’t know well.) That’s not something I’ve done much, but I think I’m going to start…after all, that’s part of the social network aspect of Twitter that I’ve been missing out on.

Bonus Twitter related info: USA Today wrote an article about Twitter. Plan on some extra downtime over the next few days as more people (who hadn’t heard of Twitter until now) join and give it a shot.

Last week I conducted a social networking experiment. I had been asked to recommend someone in LinkedIn and as I was doing it I got to thinking about how I’ve never been big on writing recommendations for LinkedIn. In fact, I’ve struggled with LinkedIn’s true usefulness for most professional unless they’re in the market for a new job (and therefore need the networking components LinkedIn provides.)  It’s great to make connections but I don’t get the sense of community and activity there like I do in Facebook or something more local for me like Digital Nashville. It’s not that I’m against LinkedIn, it’s just that it felt like something I should do but didn’t really see a direct benefit.

The Experiment

A funny thing happened while I was writing the requested recommendation. I started thinking about how bloggers strategically spread “link love” by linking to fellow bloggers to promote both blogs, so could two people benefit from some LinkedIn love in the form of recommendations? I think so…and my little experiment has proven so.

I spent about a half hour recommending people I know from various work experiences. Some are former coworkers. Some are current clients. Some are vendors I work with. I wrote short, genuine, personal recommendations for several people. And then I waited.

What happened in the 48 hours that followed was wonderful. I heard back from almost every single person. Some simply thanked me for the kind words. Others said they would return the favor and write a recommendation for me on LinkedIn. In one case, I found out the recommendation even made it to the “What Others Are Saying About Me” page on one guy’s business blog.

The bottom line was it bolstered my own LinkedIn recommendations a bit (with some others still coming I understand) and it earned me some relational equity from the rest of the people. It was a win for them (they received an unsolicited recommendation) and it was a win for me because I was able to do something nice for them and get a little LinkedIn recommendation love myself.

My Hesitation For This Post

One final thing…I should note that I was hesitant to post about this experiment because the last thing I want to do is misrepresent my motives in this experiment as self serving or that I only wrote recommendations for the favor that might be returned to me. That wasn’t the case because I actually didn’t know what kind of reaction I would receive. I suspected that some people would be happy with the recommendation, but I was equally braced for the fact that some people could be highly suspicious of an unwarranted recommendation so I only wrote recommendations for people I know personally and I didn’t ask anyone to recommend me back.

The way I see it is that the gift of unsolicited recommendations is the cake. If recommendations or relational favor are a result, that’s icing. The experiment was really just that: if I serve cake, does icing exist? I found that the answer is YES…as long my cake is authentic. Maybe you can serve some authentic cake today too.

The next episode of The New Mediology is now online (or in iTunes if that’s how you like to listen to it).

In this episode, Nathan and I discuss social networking and how (and even if) new media marketers can use it well. This was a different sort of podcast for us because we’re usually on the same page but we have some different views when it comes to social networking. Personally, I struggle with social networking platforms as a helpful means of promotion. I think they’re great to connect people together but most people don’t want to be sold or promoted to in the same space. I know I don’t. I think a better thing to do is create a more focused social network in Ning, though Nathan made a great point that you don’t want to miss an easy opportunity to gain awareness through the use of a Facebook group. I think I’ve just seen a lot of Facebook and MySpace groups that were started because it was easy to do but then there’s virtually no upkeep to it. It’s easy to create one but should you do it just because you can? I question whether that’s a good enough reason to do so. Without a plan and intention to maintain it I don’t think it’s the right move.

Ok, quick tip if this applies to you…if you use Twitter, be a person. Don’t be a nameless, faceless brand. I’m seeing more of these lately and I’ve determined I’m not following them back. I know there’s someone behind the scenes, but why not introduce yourself? I can’t have a relationship with a brand. I can have a relationship with a person.

The same thing goes for social networking sites. Don’t created a Facebook profile for your organization or product without making it clear to everyone that there’s a person behind it. We know he or she is there…so why hide behind the logo?

Social media and social networking tools rely on personal interaction. This may be hard for some companies or counterintuitive to others, but at some point you’re going to have to get out from behind the brand to actually say, “Hi, I’m Jim. I’m the guy who handles this for the company.” If you’re not willing to do that, you can’t play in the sandbox…and not because I say so…but because you’re the one who put the bucket over your head. How’s anyone supposed to talk to you with that bucket on your head? Take it off and start talking.