Facebook squares up to Twitter
Facebook and Twitter’s prospects for cornering the market in real-time search have been considered by a marketing industry expert.
Ben Parr’s analysis on Mashable comes after Facebook decided to launch a real-time search engine last week, which could provide vital social media demographic information to marketers.
The move effectively positions Facebook as a direct rival to the micro-blogging tool, which has been offering real-time search data since acquiring Summize over a year ago.
Among Facebook’s advantages, Mr Parr points out that it enjoys a much larger global penetration with 250 million users (compared to approximately 45 million for Twitter).
Another plus point for the world’s largest social networking tool is that it enables users to filter results and search videos and photos as well as text.
Twitter enjoys several advantages
On the other hand, Twitter enjoys the distinction of being the tool that brought real-time search to the mainstream and it also has greater experience, having already provided the service to the public for more than a year.
And Mr Parr has argued the micro-blogging website’s biggest advantage is that most Twitter users have a public account so their updates are included in real-time searches.
As a result, Twitter could potentially provide more representative information to marketers on trending topics and opinion swings.
“You can argue compellingly that either company will eventually win out in real-time search, or even that the market’s big enough for both companies,” concluded Mr Parr.
“Google could launch a real-time search engine and sweep away both Facebook and Twitter Search, or a start-up could make a big impact.”
Earlier this month, Facebook caused a stir when it bought social media aggregator FriendFeed for an undisclosed sum.
Analysts have interpreted the takeover as part of Facebook’s strategy to become a hub for all social media content, which could greatly enhance its appeal to advertisers.
