Comments on: How networks work: FaceBook vs. LinkedIn

By: Gargoyle

Gargoyle — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:05:07 +0000

As Charu said, don’t you think the difference between Facebook and Linked In is the difference between home and work? At least that’s how I’ve seen it and I must say that they’ve both worked for me in their respective spheres. Office party’s one thing, “let’s party” is quite another. Mixing the two is not always wise

But yes LinkedIn should add some “reminder modules” – you tend to forget who’s on your list. They’ve started now. There’s a status option of sorts and a home page that tells you what other people are doing. I assume they’ll be adding more stuff soon.

By: pnautilus

pnautilus — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:53:31 +0000

So how do I juggle my FACEBOOK vs. LinkedIn persona. LinkedIn is my tuxedo face, all burnished and polished, prim and proper. FACEBOOK is where my college friends come to rag on me about being legit. It’s where I have pictures of my wife and daughter. Is that really the level of personal involvement I want to share with future employers and business partners. Some might venture then that my LinkedIn profile is a lie, that is a fabricated, falsified version of the real me, one with no place in today’s transparent world. My problem is that while my peers were getting addicted to myspace I was in Brasil doing missionary work. I missed the whole, “Let’s get crazy, take pictures, and then put them out there for the world to see.” I like my Chinese wall.

My babblings bring me to this, will I now have to manage my social media personae much the same way I manage my corporeal ones? Or do I just embrace the future and tear off the tuxedo face mask, revealing something not so polished and a good bit more manic? Only time will tell I guess.

By: botogol

botogol — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:47:07 +0000

With facebook now worth $15bn (madness, surely?) I remembered this post.

Doesn’t June seem like a long time ago, now? I don’t suppose facebook was worth more than six or seven billion then

Four months on, I increasing tend to think that the key differentiator of Facebook is that it’s the first successful app which has persuaded people to list themselves under their *real name*.

I suspect that alone might account for a good chunk of the $15bn valuation: I use google a lot. google have a whole pot of information about the likes dislikes and habits of ‘botogol’ How much more value will microsoft/facebook create by attaching that profile to a real, actual person. A killer app indeed?

By: Charu

Charu — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 06:16:51 +0000

I am surprised by this comparison between facebook and linkedin – basically surprised that you are trying to compare the two at all. to me, the two have different purposes – linked is my “professional” networking site (oh, if only I took it more seriously, given my consultant-often-at-a-loose-end status!) and I like the way it works for me – the Donald Ducks of the internet cannot breezily drop by with a message there – and facebook is more a “personal /social” networking site. exactly the way you have described it.

most reviews I have read compare facebook with orkut (which does have many many of the Donald Ducks mentioned above) – several orkut users are migrating to facebook, thanks to the tighter rules about who can be your friend (oh yes, friend may not be the right term – it makes me hesitate before pinging someone there – you, for instance) and who can see your profile.

(I write all this and see others have said it before – never mind – heres goes)

By: Amelia Torode

Amelia Torode — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:52:11 +0000

Great post and the discussions afterwards really added something extra. One of the features that I love about FB is the random 6 pix of FB buddies that come up on your profile page – a little visual jolt to remind you to Poke/Message/scribble on their Wall just to say hi and to keep in touch.
Couple of other thoughts – I still think that what I call the “layers of friendship” issue still needs to be addressed. I find it odd when on my FB homepage I see the notes that friends leave on other friends walls. They are not leaving notes for me to see and I feel like somehow I am intruding (and I bet that they are not aware that there words on coming up on my FB)
Asi had some good thinking on FB Vs personal blogs, which you might not have seen:
http://no-mans-blog.com/2007/06/asi-joined-the-group-if-this-group-reaches-150000-members-i-will-name-my-son-batman/

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:25:33 +0000

Grant, the two systems you compare seem to reflect two different purposes, as many others have noted … one for keeping track of and in touch with business contacts, the other for creating that sense of spontaneity that comes from being around other unique like-minded individuals. The way you describe your use for Facebook seems similar to the way I use Bloglines … feeds collected more for keeping certain people and topics on the edges of my personal radar so that they don’t get lost forever in the depths of my memory.

It also strikes me that co-working serves a similar purpose … in the words of Chris Messina from this co-working video (http://www.horsepigcow.com/2007/06/27/coworking-video/), it’s a way of “accelerating serendipity”. Creative friction that comes from having multiple ideas/relationships randomly crossing paths can often produce moments of stunning brilliance.

Some genius just has to provide a way of letting us dole out elements of our lives to others in an ever widening circle of relationships via a single system … much like, as I understand it, OpenID would allow me to disclose key pieces of identity (or multiple facets of my identity) based upon who is seeking the information.

As usual, great thought-provoking post!

By: botogol

botogol — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:23:24 +0000

I too have been checking out facebook (haven’t we all?) and overcome with enthusiasm I have even invited you to be my ‘friend’.
Here’s some thoughts.

1) “friend” is *not* the right word is it? I’m not sure what the right word is: mate? contact? networker? node? circle member? acquaintance? fellow-traveller…. I don’t know, perhaps a brand-new word is needed

2) I have been part of (and moderated) a number of net communities and Facebook is the *first place* where I have felt pushed to use my real name. Facebook seems to be built around real-world networks, rather than virtual ones, it seems designed to facilitate real world meetings. Examples: it pushes ‘networks’, and these are completely ‘real-world’ oriented (location / workplace / college). To join my work-place network I need to reveal my workplace email address (and name). Interesting. I joined as botogol, I think I’ll have to join again…

3) It’s still rather American. (England, rather than UK, “High School” OK I can work that out but “Class Year”? What’s that? Cambridge is a recognised place of education, but not the colleges (ie they don’t understand Cambridge) How much effort is it really to be more international? If it’s $1bn company they could fix that

4) Granularity: One network for all of London? One network for all of New York? Sorry, Facebook, that doesn’t work. I’d sooner join the Manhattan network than mix with people from North of the River…

..But it has a certain something, doesn’t it?

By: ed

ed — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:26:12 +0000

Grant, not only do you have a sharp pen, you are also a gentleman. To be honest, other than my dimunitive height I don’t see how I resemble Martin Sorrell. =) Regardless, I thank you.

I think you made a great point about facebook. It is almost like a peripheral radar, bleeping on the corner of your eyes. We should coin a term for this. Something like ubiquitous presence/digital phantom etc. Faris talked about something rather similar called phatic communique. http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2007/05/continuous_part.html
But I think it’s more than that. “Phatic” suggests almost like a reflex response that you have no control over. The fact is I love reading status updates and photo updates and I’m quite active about reading them.

On that note, I’ll update my status right away.

By: Ennis

Ennis — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:42:36 +0000

You do know that Kevin Slavin is also on Facebook …

By: Jamie

Jamie — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:14:01 +0000

Grant, I see what you mean to some extent. LinkedIn can seem one-dimensional at times and I also tend to lose track of some of the people I’m connected with. Basically, LinkedIn is an advanced business card which is great for managing your business contacts or getting new ones. Facebook is a great socializing network that really does fit the postmodernist human being with so many different ‘boxes’ to jump around in! But (and this is perhaps where my own one-dimensional, modernist personality takes over!) I have a hard time in mixing ‘business with pleasure’ in the sense that I don’t think the two worlds always should be intertwined. I don’t know if my personal day-to-day experiences or interests that I post on Facebook should be readily accessible to all of my business contacts as well. That is why, for the time being, I’m going to keep my LinkedIn profile as well and hope that the LinkedIn staff create a site with more features (uploading a picture with your profile for instance?!)….

P.S. you really had me going on the James Gandolfini shooting spoof article!;) Cheers Jamie