Marnie Webb's Chicken or Egg Question: Twitter or Blogging?

Yesterday, Marnie Webb asked an interesting question about choice of tools - specifically the choice the question of "Twitter or Blog?" 

Great question.  It was too hard to answer in 140 characters in any depth or without it being misunderstood.    It would be hard to answer this as a comment of a blog post too or if someone was doing a quick poll.  I don't think it is a black of white question, a question of voting on one tool versus other.  I think it depends ...

And, of course, it may also be a both/and answer or neither.

What does the person want to accomplish? 
What types of conversations are they hoping to engage in? 
What type of learning? 
Who are the people they want to talk to? 
What are the preferred communications channels of those people?

Twitter is easy to use because of its simplicity.  The 140 character limit forces you to be succinct and zero in on the essence.  That's a good skill.  The downside is that it can lead to miscommunication or misunderstandings.  And beyond quick information exchange -- if you want a deeper reflective conversation, twitter is not the place to have it.  Summarizing Twitter responses - if you want a facilitated conversation - is not easy, although with tools like this - that may change.

Twitter is great for just-in-time, quick answers.  What's your best tip for x?  What camera should I buy?   Help, I'm stuck in Minneapolis airport, anyone to share a cab? 

A blog is great for more reflective practice.  And while some say it is difficult to track conversations on blogs, it is possible to have a cross blog conversation (it is messy, like conversation threads on Twitter.)   Blogs are also an excellent place to aggregate conversations - on twitter that difficult, although the 08NTC Twitter account helps to do that more effectively.

What do you think?  If you were advising a nonprofit just entering the social media space, in what circumstances would recommend one versus other?  What questions would you ask?  What advice would you give?

Summary of Responses

Hayduke suggests the question should be Twitter or Facebook and points to video above.

Amelia Murphy suggests both - Twitter good for short ideas and blogging for more fleshed out ideas.

Netwoman says I've been blogging much less, but not necessarily only because of twitter...SNS take up a lot of time. X-post tools are essential.

Socialbuttrfly says I just asked this same question yesterday after reading a post about 'how twitter is hurting my blogging"

CoreyPud says like you said, depends on your goals @rosevines has a great case where they are getting sis Helen Prejean to twit rather than blog

Nina Simon says "On Twitter I'm a voice, on my blog, I'm an authority"

Why Short Is Tweet from Jeff Jarvis

Comments

[Carrie Housman]

Not sure how I would advise a non-profit, but I think twitter is a good bridge for individuals who are thinking about starting a blog. I'm of the belief that if you can't committ to tweeting on a regular basis than maybe you're not ready for a blog that needs constant feeding and time. There are a lot of us out there who like the idea of blogging but just don't have the time/energy to commit to it.. twittering is an easy way to still be involved in new media but not make a huge committment.

[Barry Madore]

Well, I'm new to Twitter-- just a week now having been indoctrinated at 08NTC-- and I'm here to propose a strategy based on my experience.

I'm a misguided perfectionist when it comes to writing. I've started and ended several blogging stints the same day just cause I can't commit my thoughts without overwringing them to death and giving up. But I have lots to say (look out that means long post ahead).

Inertia, however, has kept me silent. It's easier not to write. I've even fallen out of the practice of reading lots of blogs.

Along comes Twitter. The pressure's off. I can be casual and am limited to being succinct-- the properties that blogs were promoted to possess but that I found not to be true for me. Now? I'm Twittering like a fiend and following not just the tweets of very smart people but also the blogs and articles they link to. It's connecting me.

Furthermore, I'm refining my writing style and getting important practice expressing myself. With instantaneous feedback to boot.

This is priming the pump. I'm juiced to write more (like this long comment). Today I'm renovating my dormant website at my personal domain so that I can activate the blogging feature and get down some ideas that have been inspired by my tweets and the threads of conversation I've been following in just the past 5 days.

Thus, the strategy...

Theoretically, my profile is similar to many nonprofit staffers, activists, techies, thinkers-- especially to those who (fellow creative writing majors) are similarly paralyzed by perfection principles.

Let them start to Twitter.

I say the flood gates may then open and lead to more focused ideas for cogent blogs. Sort of like having an open notebook for informal journaling while walking, meeting, taking the bus. I've never gotten very good at that habit either. But, with iPhone in hand, I've found it more my style to jot and tweet and then get home and want to write. Fellow Twitterers with their responses are good first editors, taking the pressure down another notch and providing grist for deeper thinking.

I say egg-- soft boiled or over easy. Beth, that's my Twitter Aha Moment.

-barry madore
-saint paul, mn

[SocialButterfly]

We started to discuss on Twitter, but as you say in ur post, engaging in ongoing dialogue on Twitter is more difficult. I think for individuals entering social media for leisurely/entertaining reasons would enjoy twitter more because its quicker, faster, easier and takes less mainenance.

However, for nonprofits, orgs, or professionals, a blog is better at increasing the effectiveness of your message. This could related to some levels or phases of engagement with social media. The best of course, in my opinion, is when you can utilize both blogs and Twitter and take advantage of the nature of both technologies. Blog can help you communicate a message, engage your audience in dialogue, etc. Twitter can help disseminate that message, help monitor online dialogue and act as a mini-feed or 140 character snapshots into your organization and your org's mission.

Thoughts?

[Nick Booth]

I would say at the moment twitter reaches a limited (but very enjoyable) community and most people stumble on it when they first try. They just don't understand it.

Blogs are better understood by a wider group of people. So I would say
a solid, well thought through, niche and nice blog is the opening and/fall back position for most online social activity.

[Simon Berry]

Hi Beth - as I'd expect, you've covered most things!

But for the benefit of others . . I read this post and I am now commenting on it because you posted something on twitter that just happened to catch my eye.

I'd use these yardsticks to judge weather Twitter might be relevant:
- are the people you want to reach on Twitter (or could they be)?
- do you have things to say that are less than 140 characters (remember these might be things like: what do you think - twitter or blog? http://tinyurl.com/28ahn3 !)?

If the answer to both of these is 'YES' (or maybe) then give Twitter a try.

I reflected here on how we might use twitter to support our online communities:
http://www.ruralnetonline.org.uk/what-about-twitter

Simon

[Simon Berry]

weather? I mean whether!
Oh and another thing . . . it's not one thing or the other it's how these tools each fulfil a particular niche that is important and then how you can use them to complement each other.
S

[Nina Simon]

Twitter if you want to do flash marketing research--sending out questions and looking for answers. Blogging if you want to be the authority, sharing information, occasionally receiving feedback.

I think of twitter as a community of active participants, whereas there is a more explicit divide between blog writers and blog readers. My "comment" rate on twitter is much higher than that on my blog, even though the volume of blog readers is much higher than twitter.

On Twitter, I'm a voice. On my blog, I'm an authority.

I suspect that most non-profits would prefer starting with blogs for that reason... here's my take on the different kinds of blogs you can create and how to think about how your message/needs are related to the type of publication you create.

[Michael Hoffman]

One of the most interesting movements I am seeing with blogs is toward the aggregation of comments. There are a bunch of good services out there now. The idea is that I am a commenter here and in other places -- why not follow my commenting all over. Lets connect the blogs through their comments.

Here are the main services. I am thinking of adding Intense Debate to our blogs soon. Beth, have you looked at these?

Disqus -- one of my favorite bloggers, Fred Wilson, is using it and invested in it.
www.disqus.com

CoComment
www.cocomment.com

SezWho
www.sezwho.com

Intense Debate
intensedebate.com

[Sue Waters]

Hate to say it - especially as someone who is not into Facebook but for someone who is just starting out, with limited experience probably the best starting point would be Facebook. There is something about Facebook that tends to grab even the most reluctant user of technology. I'm sure our cats and dogs probably have accounts. For a new user it's a good option because they are likely to already be using it or their friends are, so more incentive to use. Whilst Ning communities don't seem to work well unless you have a very large number of people (which you have with nonprofits) they would also be a good option because the blog and forum facilities are a comfortable environment for newbies to get used to the online environment. Twitter would be my last option for a newbie because they are less likely to get it.

[Peter T.]

I volunteer on the board of a non-profit. I have volunteered on similar boards since 1992. These groups run drop-ins and our social events are key to our programs and our member's health. There are people who get better drinking coffee all day and smoking. We are a health movement so need privacy. Along comes the internet. Personally I stopped attending the drop-ins and sought out the online world and am still dong that. About 1998 or so our group starts offering Internet use at our drop-in for 1 dollar. The local psychiatric backwards have computers installed in about 1997. Our group(s) gets a web site in about 2000 and now we have blogs authored by staff who are also members. I was hired to make blogs happen for a small project we had, but very few have time to write for them and privacy issues are still too strong. So we do what is popular not what is best.

Remember something called the digital divide? Many of our members do not have home computers.

I began blogging my daily health routines in 2004. As a peer I seek no authority that is key to successful empowerment of others I do not take power from them. As others noted blogs allow longer explanations and clearer communications. As many have noted think of the writers and what they like to do.

Again as is the nature in this movement friendships are key so for twitter to work it can not be strangers but instead something like facebook where all my friends from various decades have found the site and that makes it worthwhile.

That said our facebook page for our group is not used. At heart your over our heads we just do not have the literacy to participate in much.

I dare you to find one member of our groups who uses an airport more than once a decade. Even our staff do not fly around or take cabs from airports. You keep flying high if you want but our movement is down to earth.

[Johannes]

Hi Beth!
One thing to consider is that writing on a topic in your blog, you might be found and read by anyone who was researching on the topic, e.g. through Google. That's very unlikely for Twitter where you are only read by people who know you already (or at least have added you to their contacts).

So if one is just starting with Web2.0 tools and doesn't have a large Web2.0-aware audience yet, I would rather suggest to start with a blog first.

[Peter gulka]

The threaded nature of blog comments support ongoing interaction. Forums do this even better and it can keep conversations going on over months.

Twitter should be reserved for immediate calls to action. It is too immediate and scattered for extended conversations

[Marnie Webb]

This is a great discussion, Beth. Thanks for taking the question on at a great depth.

I tend to think of these tools -- twitter and blogging -- as two things that work together. The more I think about it, the more I think that twitter is the starting place because it helps to build a habit of writing out loud -- something that can often be hard for people -- and it helps a habit of conversations rather than lecturing.

I think the big value of blogs and RSS is that together they give you the tools of conversation but, as the blogging tools become more sophisticated, it seems that people are also taking the blogging itself more seriously. Not a bad thing in itself but does it get in the way of conversation. Maybe for someone who is just starting.

I think that twitter encourages conversations and a questioning posture. That skill can translate into a better blogging and more two-way engagement.

At least, that's what I'm thinking this morning.

[Moses]

Insightful blog on tweetering and blogging. In addition to that...
"Twitter brings the flow to a conversation like the normal human chat but it is one-to-many that makes it look like everyone is shouting a message across [a one-to-one add-on interface would enhance it use or probably an integration with an IM]. Blogs on the other hand is like someone giving a speech and comments follow after that [this is ideal for one-to-many conversation]. One commonality with the two is there is a recorded history of it unlike the human interface." http://tinyurl.com/56st8k