Don’t sync updates: different networks, different audiences (lessons from a 13-year old)

I got an ear bashing from my 13 year old goddaughter this weekend. Why, she asked, do you keep posting nonsense on your Facebook news feed. It’s because I’ve synced my Twitter feed with my Facebook feed I explained. “Twitter?” she said.

My Twitter network is made up of a different group of people from my Twitter network. Facebook is family, friends, mates from school, university and stalkers. Twitter is mainly people from my professional life.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s some crossover between the different networks. Life isn’t perfectly ordered. But inevitably when I push a message automatically from one network to another some folk get confused.

It could be about to get a lot worst. Thanks to a deal between LinkedIn (exclusively professional contacts in my network) and Twitter last week I can sync my LinkedIn feed with my Twitter feed, either automatically, or selectively by adding a hashtag #in to my tweets.

By syncing updates between various networks I’m not sharing a message with a network but have reverted to an aged-old broadcast model. Each network has a different audience and I should tailor my content appropriately.

Stephen Davis has made this case to me on numerous occasions. Have a read of this aptly titled blog post – Tweeters: Stop spamming my Facebook! I’m starting to see his point.

3 Other Comments

7 Responses to “Don’t sync updates: different networks, different audiences (lessons from a 13-year old)”

1. Becks says:

   November 17, 2009 at 11:02 am

   Agree 100%…have hidden most people who do this in my fb feed as I end up reading updates twice or missing updates from friends due to work related Twitter statuses. I find it a bit like email / press release blasts…irritating at best!
2. Danny Whatmough says:

   November 17, 2009 at 9:02 pm

   I think the key tip here is ‘be selective’.

   There are some things that I post on Twitter that are both relevant and interesting for my Facebook friends (most things aren’t however). The same is true of LinkedIn.

   There is nifty functionality built into both integrations that allows you to tag tweets with either #fb or #in – this allows you to be selective about what you say to which group, without even having to leave the comfort of your own Twittersphere…

   A win-win situation – your goddaughter will be relieved!
3. Jon Silk says:

   November 18, 2009 at 9:31 am

   I have made my feelings clear via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and my blog.
4. Jo Jamieson says:

   November 18, 2009 at 9:41 am

   I’m with you Stephen – I can’t imagine the majority of my Facebook friends being in the slightest bit interested by most of my tweets.

   Anyway, call me old fashioned, but I update Facebook in the third person and Twitter in the first, and just can’t bring myself to combine the two. Apparently I’m not the only one… http://twitter.com/michaelcross/statuses/5707940267
5. Anonymous says:

   November 18, 2009 at 10:57 am

   Brilliant.

   I’ve had my Twitter and Facebook statuses linked for quite some time, although tend to tweet more work-friendly links etc. I’ve had complaints about my FB status, and as such modified my tweeting habits.

   According to the above, I’m on the cusp of borderline/do not sync, so I’ll have to go make some changes

   This comment was originally posted on Jon Silk | pr geek
6. John Pollock says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:14 pm

   But what if you score neither "less than 12", "13-15" or "more than 15". That’s right: you scored twelve. This is clearly such a special case I expect the advice to be revealed in some interesting covert ceremony.

   This comment was originally posted on Jon Silk | pr geek
7. Jon says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:25 pm

   Hi John – arrrgh. I hate it when surveys do that. I hate myself.

   Have fixed it now. Thanks for spotting.

   This comment was originally posted on Jon Silk | pr geek

Additional comments powered by BackType