Both Facebook and Twitter caused a paradigm shift in communication, empowering the “social media” market.  However, even though they are both seen as rival companies as they came around the same time, I can visualize that they have different value propositions.

Facebook has the primary purpose to allow people to keep in touch with family and friends and share photos. However, Twitter came out with the idea of allowing expression and communication in fewer characters, and wanting people to freely communicate ideas around the globe. Twitter has based its IPO submission on the fact that it is a mobile technology, hence easy to use, practical for advertising. Personally, the first thing I do every morning is read the news headlines on Twitter. The website uses the idea of “trends”, “Retweets” and “account promotion” in order to advertise, in comparison to Facebook, it is a less subtle form of advertising people, products and ideas in general.  So are they rivals? Well they are because they are both working in the social media sector of the market, however, even though closely related they do offer different value propositions and segments of the market. Eventually, people confuse one with the other, which is a clear example of the companies trying to work in more than one segment, hence causing misperception for its users.

Works Cited :

1. BBC News. BBC, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
2. Guglielmo, Connie. “The Twitter IPO: 20 Talking Points.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
3. “TWITTER IPO — TWTR IS NOT PRIMARILY A SOCIAL MEDIA PLAY.” The Slant. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
4.  “Twitter IPO vs. Facebook: Will TWTR Stock Suffer Worse Fate Than FB Debut?” International Business Times. N.p., n.d.