Twitter Out-Influencing Facebook
Twitter’s microblogging/social network is much smaller than Facebook. So why do tweets have the edge in promoting news content–especially on mobile?
![](https://develop.bigthink.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/origin-286.jpg?w=128&h=96&crop=1)
Sign up for Smart Faster newsletter
The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.
What’s the Latest Development?
Twitter’s microblogging/social network is much smaller than Facebook. Of its 200 million users, only a fraction are really active. Meanwhile, Facebook is heading toward the 800 million users mark. But Frederic Filloux says that tweets have the edge in promoting news content–especially on mobile.
What’s the Big Idea?
Where Facebook encourages fly-bys–viewers that won’t stay on the site–tweets and retweeets usually come from people who have chosen to follow a given individual, news organisation or a specific subject. The referral is therefore much sharper, more targeted than the impulsive “throw-on-my-Facebook-wall” type. Twitter also has in its favor the 140-character format, a hit for smartphones.
Sign up for Smart Faster newsletter
The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.