I’ll be comparing four different social networking sites- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I’ve been a pretty avid user of Facebook since high school. I’d like to say I’ve been on the social platform for over 6 years now. I think the social networking site is great to keep in touch with old, current, and new friends. It has over a billion users tapped into its network. There’s not a single friend I can’t find on it, including friends from kindergarten! I do feel Facebook has lost some of its spark. It’s not as hot as it used to be back in the day, but I’ll chalk that up to no longer being the new kid on the block. Facebook is still standing due to the fact that it’s found various ways to innovate and adapt to the advancing technological era. Facebook allows you to do so much more than just connect with friends, I can join groups, find apartments, discover new music, and more. Facebook is actually my primary source of news other than my CNN app. Facebook keeps me on top of every single thing going in our world from the most serious of news to celebrity gossip. How else would we know about Kim Kardashian allegedly being robbed of millions of dollars? I find myself mindlessly scrolling through Facebook at all times of the day looking for something that will catch my interest, which typically turn out to be funny videos by social media influencers I follow or a relatable video by Buzzfeed (so glad Facebook now allows us to see posts from certain pages/people first)!
Twitter, in my most honest opinion, is a dwindling social platform that’s days away from its extinction. I hate the platform now. It was so popular back in high school, but thanks to all the other social platforms like Instagram, Vine, and Snapchat, it no longer glimmers in my eyes. The only time I find Twitter useful is when it comes to hot topic hashtags that produce incredibly hilarious tweets, or when there’s a big TV show or event going on and everyone chimes in with their own opinion. I don’t care to log into the platform at all, and I’m able to find all the hilarious tweets thanks to Buzzfeed listicles that I come across while browsing Facebook, so there really is no need for me to ascertain any time to Twitter. I don’t care to know others’ thoughts every second of the day, while Facebook does sort of essentially do the same thing, it has so much more to offer as I mentioned above.
My favorite social networking site to date is Instagram. It’s the most popular social platform as of right now, with Snapchat steadily catching up to it. It’s no wonder Facebook acquired it. Facebook knew Instagram posed a huge threat to their success, as I, along with others I know, no longer dedicated as much time to Facebook when Instagram came on the scene. I love Instagram! Thanks to the platform I’ve been able to receive sponsorships and get paid for endorsing certain brands that want me to wear their products and essentially influence my audience to purchase from them. Instagram has created so many new opportunities for creative folks like me and it gives us a space to ignite a new love for perfect selfies, posed photo shoots, and just create a very aesthetic profile. In addition to making me money, it’s allowed me to make connections with people in completely different continents! Thanks to the fact that we follow each other, we were very in tuned to what the other person was doing, so our relationship naturally blossomed, especially thanks to the fact that we had certain things in common- makeup junkie, stylish, rock big hair, etc. I’ve met friends from London, Nigeria, and more! The platform beats out wack Twitter by thousands of miles in my eyes. I’d much rather see beautiful visuals than boring tweets that contain nothing more than people’s random thoughts *rolls eyes*.
The last social networking site that I’m slowly starting to gain a liking for is LinkedIn. I think it’s awesome that it’s dedicated strictly to professionals. It’s wonderful for all folks of life, from college students to experienced professionals to recruiters and more. It does give sort of a Facebook feel in the sense that you see updates, comments, articles and more, but it gives us the polished and professional version of it all. You dare not upload a picture of you in your bathing suit to it, or any crazy, ridiculous photos for that matter. It’s wonderful that we’re able to literally bring our resumes to the digital world. I think it’s a great way to go beyond a first meeting with someone you met at a networking mixer, or during an informational, etc. It’s also great for randomly reaching out to those that you think may beneficial in your job hunt, such as employees that work in a field at a company you’re interested in, or to recruiters to schedule an introduction. It goes both ways too! Recruiters reach out to all sorts of people who never expressed any interest in their company in the first place, but due to their persuasion they may just get a new, qualified candidate. They would’ve never been able to do this before without enlisting the help of a head hunter. LinkedIn is a completely different social platform than the rest, as it serves in the space of professionalism and caters to the niche of those looking for opportunities, candidates, and more.
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