Infinite Path

Last week, the two big guns in the world of social media announced plans to make small, yet potentially significant, changes to their services. Twitter’s chief executive, Biz Stone, notified users of amendments to its terms of use, which could allow advertisers access to the site’s massive user base. Facebook, meanwhile, will introduce a new feature which has surely evolved on the back of Twitter’s success. Facebook users will be able to tag their friends in status updates by typing ‘@’ in their posts.

The question now remains as to who will win this latest battle between the social media platforms. The answer to this question depends heavily upon the criteria used to assess the changes. Striking the right balance between keeping users happy and creating a successful business model which is financially viable and sustainable is not easy and these two recent changes may appeal to different aspects of this equation.

Twitter has long been criticised for failing to monetise its internet traffic. The official word from Twitter officials has previously focused upon the need to keep users happy, in order to encourage growth and new account holders across the globe. However, it seems that now a different approach is being adopted. Although Biz Stone didn’t go into too many details about the prospect of advertising, he stated that the company wanted to keep their “options open”. Whilst advertising may be a viable, tried and tested way to generate revenue, any changes to introduce adverts may alienate the users who handed Twitter their initial success.

Facebook, on the other hand, has already found a way to generate revenue and their latest change may win the battle of the users if not the battle of the money makers. Twitter has been praised for encouraging instant interaction between users and Facebook’s latest feature, which seems to have “borrowed” heavily from the micro-blogging site’s format, can only be a good thing for users.