It has been less than a year since I first suggested that Facebook’s Status API would be the death of Twitter. Almost 11 months later, Twitter is still around and much more popular than before. While Twitter hasn’t disappeared, Facebook has spent the past year doing everything in their power to duplicate the functionality of the popular “micro-blogging” platform.
The Year Of Facebook’s Twitterfication
In January, the first step of taking on Twitter was the opening of the Status API. Developers could now instantly bring in user status updates into their applications. Within weeks, TweetDeck used the Status API to integrate functionality into the service which was previously exclusively for Twitter users. Seesmic and others followed suit, however Facebook was still missing plenty of features that would enable them to fully compete with Twitter.
In April, Facebook launched a service which enabled users to subscribe to their friends and Pages and receive their status updates via text message. In September Facebook released one of the more important features which duplicates the functionality of Twitter “at replies”: tagging. It was a long time coming and for many users it has become an important part of communicating with each other.
More recently, Facebook’s ongoing drive to replace Twitter has become clear as Facebook has officially encouraged users to make their status updates public by default. The immediate result has been a dramatic increase in the number of public status updates. With all of these features rolled out, Facebook has essentially developed everything I previously described in my “Blueprint For The Facebook Twitter Killer“.
It has take almost a year to duplicate all the features of Twitter and while it’s unknown whether or not users will prefer a more public version of Facebook, the 2009 Twitterfication of Facebook is now almost complete.
Search API Is The Final Component
With the majority of Twitter’s features now integrated into Facebook, and the volume of public status updates now dramatically increased, the only step left in the “Twitterfication” process is the opening of a search API. Most Twitter developers know that the Twitter Search API has become a key component of most third-party Twitter applications. Many companies now use the Twitter Search API for building brand monitoring tools as well as meme-trackers which tell users the most popular articles at any given time.
While the new share button and the RESTful share counting API lets developers tract the popularity of various articles, there’s still no way to determine how often users are talking about a specific topic. That’s where a public search API would help. Once released, the Facebook Search API will officially complete Facebook’s rapid Twitterfication. While Twitter’s growth has appeared to slow in recent months, there’s no doubt that the company has had a significant impact on Facebook’s product roadmap.
When we look back on 2009 and the numerous changes at Facebook, it will be remembered as the year that Facebook was officially Twitterfied. Whenever Facebook chooses to roll-out a search API, there’s no doubt that we’ll see developers jump at the opportunity to create more robust applications which integrate publicly shared Facebook content.
They also need to open the API for group/list so tweetdeck can use them like they just added the twitter list.
FF would also need the ability to follow someone’s updates without having to ‘friend’ them.
Facebook isn’t really Twitterfied until they rethink the friend model. The thing that makes Twitter work is the one-way friendship model. I can “friend” someone (i.e., follow them) but they don’t have to reciprocate.
I hope Facebook doesn’t try to do something like that becuase I think it will destroy what Facebook fundamentally is. They’re different services and we don’t need Facebook to turn into another Twitter, we already have Twitter.
“Facebook has spent the past year doing everything in their power to duplicate the functionality of the popular “micro-blogging” platform.”
The question nobody appears to want to answer is “Why?” — Nick, can you take a stab at it? Why would Facebook completely rethink their approach to social networking because of a small, up-and-coming player in a tangentially related space?
This reminds me of a Microsoft move: “we must get into any competitive software market no matter how inconsequential.”
Given this change over 2009, clearly the powers that be at Facebook consider Twitter an enormous threat, but I’d love to know why.
public profiles function as solutions to the 2 way friend requirement. they just to make it possible for people to become FANS of people they are not friends with… It would also be nice to be able to have 2 statuses a public and a personal… that is if they are going to replace Twitter since many people like having 2 different channels…
facebook sold out our privacy!
FB and TWw are two different animals. FB will hurt itself by dubing TW. FB is for friends, whom we add at our descrition. We inform about our personal lives and families, not news for the world to see. TW is for anyone interested in everyone, about anything. Good for news, informing about web site updates, but not for personal posts. I may have a business friend whom I want to TW about business, but not inform about my childrens life events. How will FB accomodate that?
Well i sort of agree with the article, while Facebook hasn’t really become Twitter, it continues to integrate a lot of its features and functionality. We had Facebook Lite, the @username [as pointed here], i guess all this is to relatively simplify the usage of the social network for users. But it will always remain Facebook, nonetheless..
I use Twitter (short term entertainment) totally different from Facebook (connection with people I actually know). Why would Facebook want to recreate something that already exists instead of strengthening their unique abilities.
Now I view FB as wannabe duplicate service to Twitter….and am considering dropping FB because it serves no unique purpose and it no longer protects my privacy.
I totally agree with Jane Dinny… I’m a Twitter and FB user and I use them in different ways, for discussing different things.. For example, I was a “Twitter reporter” for a TV channel, tweeting what happened in my city during the past President elections in my country… Twitter is for sharing ideas, opinions, FB is for friends, for more intimate communication, and I think it was a HUGE failure this thing of being public our privacy… I am a college teacher and no matter I protect my information, my students still get my personal FB profile by googling…
In my case, I am considering the option of deleting FB as well, for the same reason, not protecting my privacy… In that case, I prefer to use a photoblog or something like that if I want to show the world my private things.
The @reply mechanism is still fundamentally different. FB would need a mentions inbox, instead of letting random people publish to your wall.
Wish the privacy matter could be resolved in a better way!!!
I see people on Facebook who use it like they would use Twitter. They post what they’re doing, what their eating, what they’re about to do, etc. I am always telling those people that they should use Twitter if they’re going to update their every move. Twitter and Facebook are 2 totally different types of social media sites. I heard once imitation is the highest form of flattery. I personally like Twitter better than Facebook.
I think some of the features Facebook have copied are good, like the people/place tagging in your status - definately helps add more character to your updates when needed.
I hope that FB wont take on too much of Twitter’s functions as they are quite seperate in their ways now, and that is what a lot of people like about them - agree with Jane Dinny & Ximena - i use them for different things and i am encouraging different people to use each app for different reasons. There are so many people who update their facebook like twitter, and it is sometimes annoying!
I like the way that you can protect your information/ photos/ status’ etc more through FB then Twitter - this is WHY you should use them for different things!
I hope that Facebook designers/programmers will keep Facebook as it should be, only borrowing similar ideas and not changing it to duplicate Twitter - otherwise it will die a horrible death (like bebo and myspace have suffered slightly!)
hahah wow talk about twitterfication, twitter is still more l33t then fb by all means though, #imho.
I wish Facebook had stuck to what it did well. The exposure of the friend lists and the “Twiterfication” disgusts me.
Why can’t Zuckerberg quit stealing and come up with his own stuff?
I personally don’t like the idea!!! Face book is much more worthy than that!
I agree with you Louena! And especially after the change of interface and intro of FBML, there is no chance of anything or any network coming even near FB… not even Twitter holds a place to be at level!