What is the difference between social media apps?

[roadman65]

I know out there we have Facebook, Twitter, and we have others out there such as WhatsApp and even some newbies.

I have been using Facebook for a while, so to me other apps and social media is not that appealing as I can communicate just fine with the FB media.  However, I just a new iPhone and one of the apps in it is WhatsApp and was just curious to know how that differs from Facebook?

Also I heard that Waze, even though its a GPS app, can be used for social media especially us road geeks as we can communicate trouble spots and speed traps and such. 

What are the differences of all as I am sure many of you have one or the other or maybe even all of them?

[abefroman329]

WhatsApp isn't really social networking. You may be thinking of SnapChat.

I primarily use Facebook and Instagram. I only use Twitter to resolve issues with companies that can't be resolved through other forms of communication. In general I find it to be a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

[Scott5114]

Facebook tries to be everything to everyone and as a result doesn't do anything well.

Twitter is best for posting short updates on developing situations. This could be a roadtrip you're on, a news event, reacting to a television show, etc. It is also apparently favored by certain elected officials.

The original idea for Tumblr was for each user to have a blog, and then the dashboard would allow you to see every blog post by everyone you follow like most social networks. Somewhere along the way reblogging (like sharing) was added and now it's mostly people sharing posts virally.

Instagram is for images and video. That is all you can post. You cannot post a text-only post (unless you post a screenshot of text you wrote on your phone, which is kind of a cop-out). You also can only post from a mobile device–you can browse Instagram from a real computer but can't post. One nice thing about it is because you can get a good idea of what kind of person is behind a profile from the images they post, Instagram users are much more prone to follow interesting people they don't know, so it is easier to get a large following on Instagram than any other social network, in my experience. Y'know, if you're into that.

Google+ is dead.

I am not really sure what the use case is for Snapchat. Photos sent with it are deleted after they are viewed. This means it is ideal for sending pictures of your penis to people and denying that you did so later, but I fail to see how it's really useful for anything else.

[jeffandnicole]

Facebook is great to see how dumb everyone else is.  Especially the township 'community' sites, where people can ask and say anything they want.  It's very clear no one keeps up on the news, and the amount of misinformation that goes around is truly awe-inspiring.  It's also where you can have people that insist on change in the township, gets everyone riled up, but will never, ever go to a township board meeting to talk about that change on the record.

[Chris]

WhatsApp is more of a chat client than social networking like Facebook or Instagram.

WhatsApp is extremely popular in the Netherlands, almost everyone uses it. Neighborhood watch with WhatsApp groups are also all over the place, they even have semi-official signs for it to deter burglars:

[abefroman329]

Apparently WhatsApp includes some sort of feature that allows you to send text messages to any mobile phone on the planet.  I've had a number of expat friends recommend it to me when we travel to England to visit my wife's family.  I just find it easier to buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card when we get there.

[Scott5114]

Chris, I apologize in advance for my tendency to think that pretty much every Dutch word is funny, but "buurtpreventie" really sounds like something Tim would make up (and probably have strong objections to).

Google Translate renders it in English as "neighborhood prevention", which seems like something that should be applied to rural areas on the outskirts of large cities...

[roadman65]

Facebook is great to see how dumb everyone else is.  Especially the township 'community' sites, where people can ask and say anything they want.  It's very clear no one keeps up on the news, and the amount of misinformation that goes around is truly awe-inspiring.  It's also where you can have people that insist on change in the township, gets everyone riled up, but will never, ever go to a township board meeting to talk about that change on the record.

Its also a great place for people to rant therefore politics is spread all over the place whether true or untrue.

I cannot tell you how annoying it is to hear about this jerk and that jerk and now that Roseanne's second run is cancelled by ABC cause of a remark Roseanne Barr made on Twitter the typical Left verses Right argument is the blame so both sides of the spectrum are posting rants galore over this one.   Ditto for a troll who staged a sit in a local supermarket because the chain gave money to a charity one person disliked and it went viral so much its seen everywhere on it.

[hbelkins]

Maybe the discussion should be more about social media platforms vs. apps.

[abefroman329]

Maybe the discussion should be more about social media platforms vs. apps.

I assumed OP was asking about the difference between platforms.

[jwolfer]

WhatsApp is popular outside the USA. I started using to keep in touch with a friend who was going back to South America. He spends time in Colombia and Argentina. Most of the world does not have free unlimited texting with mobile phone service.  Everyone I know from overseas or with family/friends overseas uses WhatsApp.

Also I have ghetto phone. MetroPCS and I have all kinds of issues with texts, delays and duplicates ( sometimes it to 25) with certain friends. Never have problems with WhatsApp

Z981

[roadman65]

Maybe the discussion should be more about social media platforms vs. apps.

I assumed OP was asking about the difference between platforms.

Yes I guess being that some social media is without apps on your pc.   However, WhatsApp and Waze are not available on your pc or home computer as those are apps to be purchased in the App Store for specific use on typical Android, Smartphones, or iPhones.  I am sure there are many others specifically for the phones besides those two, but some of the apps function just like webpages on a regular computer which is what I am getting at.

[KEVIN_224]

I use Facebook, VK  and Twitter on the laptop. I access those three through the browser on my cell phone to save memory (not using them as apps). I have the rarely-used Instagram app on my cell phone. There is a web version of it, but it's very limited.

[In_Correct]

I know out there we have Facebook, Twitter, and we have others out there such as WhatsApp and even some newbies.

I have been using Facebook for a while, so to me other apps and social media is not that appealing as I can communicate just fine with the FB media.  However, I just a new iPhone and one of the apps in it is WhatsApp and was just curious to know how that differs from Facebook?

Also I heard that Waze, even though its a GPS app, can be used for social media especially us road geeks as we can communicate trouble spots and speed traps and such. 

What are the differences of all as I am sure many of you have one or the other or maybe even all of them?

I don't. I only have You Tube. You Tube was around before any of these others were around, and people used You Tube as a social networking site. Its purpose was the same. You watch videos if you want to. And you post your own videos if you want to. They do not have to be perfect. They can be simple home movies you want to preserve and even publish be cause life is too short not to.  If there is some thing that I do not like to watch, it is easier for me to not watch. There is no News Feed of other people's spammy posts. You Tube only recommends what I like. You Tube even got rid of their friends list feature. Many other sites did also. My biggest gripe with You Tube is that their layout prevents me from blocking the "Trending" links with out blocking out every other link also. There is no way to switch to the old layout, no user scripts that I know of, so I am hanging on to the Disable Polymer cookies as if they are the softest tastiest cookies around. Also, a very long time issue is the "Load More". With the old layout, there is a User Script "Load More All" which adds a Load All button. Every body else has even bigger gripes with You Tube. But you can not find one problem with You Tube with out finding even more problems with other web sites.


Now as for What's App. That is owned by Facebook. I like to replace the a with an e but that might get me in trouble with AA Roads Forums. I am talking about What's App for the moment. This is only useful for International Calling, and perhaps International Texting. I think it even gives you a separate telephone number with it, similar to Skype. Grade A Under A, Grade B Under B said he had a telephone number linked to his What's App.


Instagram (which I like to use the second syllable as the third syllable also. A word rhymes with it. But I am leaving it off of here.) is a junk service that is an insult to photography. They became successful by cropping and shrinking everybody's pictures. You can also post videos, but why not just use You Tube? There is no friend list, but there are privacy settings to where people have to send "Follow Requests" to view your entire album. And the profile picture overwrites itself. It is too much for people to simply not post some thing they are afraid of losing control of. They also have a feature with "Stories" and it is the best thing since sliced bread  be cause everybody eats it up. What a wonderful idea to have so many videos, many of them trash .gif and they disappear after 24 hours. But I think they give the option to pin these so they do not disappear. Instagram has a web site, which appears to be fully functional.


Facebook is a web site and a company that owns the previous two I mentioned. Facebook is one of the few web sites that has a friend list, despite most not having them any more. Following is a very basic feature on it, and the friends list is the center of Facebook. There is a limit of connections on that friends list, so any person that wants to have a following makes no sense to use facebook. Facebook's Privacy Settings is similar to Instagram's. They recommend most pictures and spam posts to be set to friends only, with the exception of thumbnails and banners. They also have a featured photos album which is public setting only. This is the most common setting, be cause if people want it completely private or completely public they have to keep going through their settings. ... or simply post nothing and unfollow / turn off notifications from everybody so your news feed is blank. This website, filled with drama, is never going any where. They claim to have 2 billion accounts, but those are mostly duplicate accounts as well as business accounts.


Since the topic is about apps, Facebook has yet another one called Messenger. Messenger is an instant messenger function from facebook. It is also known as Chat and Inbox. Instant Messengings used to require a Friends list, but not even that does any more. I will explain later. But still, with Facebook, that friends list is more important even if television is now full colour AND in wide screen. ... and available from the Internet. You have to go through every thing on Messenger to find messages from everybody. Some times people are so dumb they do not know about the Message Requests function. I am not interested in requests. It makes more sense to email, where every thing is much more private, and it is between you and who ever else you "Tag" from your address book.


Snap Chat is complete garbage  that is app only. Your web browser access is only meant for password and to delete the account. The default setting is for people that you have added, but some people make their settings public. It still makes no sense be cause every "Story" or "Camera Roll" expires after 24 hours. It stays in your personal photo album, so you can "Throw Back" when ever you want to. This filth hijacks your camera which makes it easier for lazy people to upload. They also have the option to turn them selves into animals and lots of rainbows. Other options (the most used option) is to add text as part of the picture. In addition to hijacking your camera, you can also use this as a regular web cam between people, also calling and texting option, each promising an expiration date. Many people use SnapChat slightly more compared to Instagram Stories. App Only, you will need the most trending of Smart Phone.


Tumblr ... a blogging platform. I like Blogger instead. I do not like any thing that omits vowels.


Blogger: Yet another Google / Alphabet thing ... for blogs.


My Space ... was very popular and almost be came what Face Book is now. Back when my space was popular, it had a completely different layout with a friends list (with friends requests) and a blog. You could subscribe to the blog without adding the person as a friend, and they could subscribe to your blog without them adding you as a friend. The main page had a display of your friends list and comments section. (Wall, or Time Line) and a limit of 16 or perhaps it was just 12 ... pictures. This was lifted and changed to unlimited during The Simpsons Movie. The layout of the main page could be changed drastically with third party codes, which made the website even slower. The new My Space does not have a friends list and does not let you change the layout, but it is much simpler.


Vero: A newer pile of rubbish that has a friends list option. Telephone AND payment method was required for me to use it, and nobody really uses it. Perhaps it is be cause of those requirements. I hope it goes away and I hope every "Social" "App" goes away. It is app only. And it does not even seem to have any account access with a regular web browser and regular computer. You must have the fanciest of trending smart phones. It has even less support compared to Snapped Chat!



Skype: is a friends list based instant messenger, with calling (including a telephone number) and web camera.


Kik: is an instant messenger that does not rely on friends lists.


Meet Me: This was My Yearbook, almost identical to My Space except there was never any flaws that My Space had. Eventually they changed the name to Meet Me, and they changed the layout to some thing unusable. What most people do on The Internet, is to date, even if it is not supposed to be a dating app. And also, people were much happily married when there was no Internet Dating Apps. If they were single, they did not want to kill them selves. Meet Me's privacy settings is that even if the profile is set to public, you must have a Meet Me account. There is a web site also.


Badoo IS a dating app, with an "I am here to make new friends." option for your profile description.


We Chat is an Instant Messaging and reviewing service.



Google Plus is also a reviewing service. Most people use Google Plus whenever they want to review some thing. Other (and very undeveloped) features is a single photo album where you can upload pictures and also films to the profile pictures. That album is public, but the rest of them are viewable to yourself. Every picture is first uploaded to Google Photos. Posting to this album is tedious.




Twitter: Twitter began by being available to the most basic of text capable telephones. Other features were added and it now resembles a very basic social media. Your thumbnail and banner overwrite, and every thing else is in a Media Album. (Uploading to the thumbnail and / or banner DOES NOT upload it to the Media Album. You must be sure to upload it to the media album.) You also have Tweets which are usually text based, and also retweets which is what most people use Twitter for. Settings are generally public. You have to manually set it to "Protected" with "Follow Requests". Or, on the contrary: You can set it up to have any body direct message you. Apparently Twitter is affiliated with The Alphabet Company.




And that is not the first time Roseanne had controversial Tweets. So it makes no sense for Season 10 to be taken off the air.

[roadman65]

Stay away from Roseanne as that could lead to flame war here and the fact that politics is not allowed. In fact the FB post I did a few weeks back got locked cause a political opinion debate got fired up.

Lets keep it non political

[hbelkins]

I much prefer the Facebook Web interface to the app. It's a pain in the butt to get the iPad app (which is different than the iPhone app) to show "Most Recent," which is the view I prefer (and even then, it's not a true chronological view, because it lists posts by when they're commented on, not when they are posted, so an older post with a new comment will show before a new post you haven't seen before.)

Plus, the app does not show as many posts in the feed (whether Top Stories or More Recent) as does the browser version.

One thing I like about Facebook over Twitter is that Facebook is geared toward friends only (although some "friends" aren't really friends, as I have learned; and screenshots can trump privacy settings) and Twitter is truly a public forum. One thing I wish Facebook offered is the ability to post and prevent anyone from commenting.

Kik is inferior to the now-defunct AIM and Yahoo because those services could be used on a computer. Kik is mobile device-only. Yet Kik survives while the other two died. It's similar to VHS triumphing over Betamax.

Isn't Snapchat what horny teenagers use to send naked photos to each other because they are supposed to disappear after 10 seconds or so? (Those pesky screenshots, though...)

I never got into Instagram because I'm one of those who thinks that real cameras are preferable to phone cameras. I'll use my phone camera to grab a quick shot if I need to, but I much prefer using a real camera with an optical zoom lens.

[abefroman329]

One thing I wish Facebook offered is the ability to post and prevent anyone from commenting.

It does. You can set it so that non-friends can't comment, and you can prevent specific users from commenting.

Not that you'd do anything to suppress someone else's freedom of speech, though 

[Takumi]

[SSOWorld]

The Facebook mobile site is getting stripped of its features bit by bit.  The intention is to get users to use the app instead.  You can't post GIFs (why?), shoot live video (makes sense), or do a number of advanced items from the mobile site.

The problem with the app is ten-fold.  It is invasive - VERY invasive.  It also has the limits that posters above mentioned (like limited post viewing as H.B. points out), and it's extremely large and resource taxing. iOS now only permits installation via WiFi due to its size - why??? - It should not need that much, even after the separation of Messenger and Page manager from it.  if you install it, but not messenger, it will complain until you do.  Same is true for Instaface.

[vdeane]

I much prefer the Facebook Web interface to the app. It's a pain in the butt to get the iPad app (which is different than the iPhone app) to show "Most Recent," which is the view I prefer (and even then, it's not a true chronological view, because it lists posts by when they're commented on, not when they are posted, so an older post with a new comment will show before a new post you haven't seen before.)

Plus, the app does not show as many posts in the feed (whether Top Stories or More Recent) as does the browser version.

One thing I like about Facebook over Twitter is that Facebook is geared toward friends only (although some "friends" aren't really friends, as I have learned; and screenshots can trump privacy settings) and Twitter is truly a public forum. One thing I wish Facebook offered is the ability to post and prevent anyone from commenting.

Kik is inferior to the now-defunct AIM and Yahoo because those services could be used on a computer. Kik is mobile device-only. Yet Kik survives while the other two died. It's similar to VHS triumphing over Betamax.

Isn't Snapchat what horny teenagers use to send naked photos to each other because they are supposed to disappear after 10 seconds or so? (Those pesky screenshots, though...)

I never got into Instagram because I'm one of those who thinks that real cameras are preferable to phone cameras. I'll use my phone camera to grab a quick shot if I need to, but I much prefer using a real camera with an optical zoom lens.

I've been using the FB Purity browser extension to curate my feed.  I have it set to filter out sponsored posts, "liked this" posts, and "commented on this" posts, as well as to force Facebook to use Most Recent.  That helps keep my feed manageable.  It also means that my phone and computer don't have comparable feeds, though.

The Facebook mobile site is getting stripped of its features bit by bit.  The intention is to get users to use the app instead.  You can't post GIFs (why?), shoot live video (makes sense), or do a number of advanced items from the mobile site.

The problem with the app is ten-fold.  It is invasive - VERY invasive.  It also has the limits that posters above mentioned (like limited post viewing as H.B. points out), and it's extremely large and resource taxing. iOS now only permits installation via WiFi due to its size - why??? - It should not need that much, even after the separation of Messenger and Page manager from it.  if you install it, but not messenger, it will complain until you do.  Same is true for Instaface.

Heck, my phone doesn't even have enough free space to install the app on in the first place!

In other news, I was considering switching to AT&T prepaid, but what stopped that was finding out that the Facebook app is preloaded on all their phones.  Yeesh.  Maybe next they'll force us to have a preloaded NSA app that records everything the microphone and cameras pick up 24/7.

[US71]

I don't use the FB app, but use the web to access it from my phone. I rarely use my phone to access FB anyway.

[abefroman329]

The Facebook mobile site is getting stripped of its features bit by bit.  The intention is to get users to use the app instead.  You can't post GIFs (why?), shoot live video (makes sense), or do a number of advanced items from the mobile site.

The problem with the app is ten-fold.  It is invasive - VERY invasive.  It also has the limits that posters above mentioned (like limited post viewing as H.B. points out), and it's extremely large and resource taxing. iOS now only permits installation via WiFi due to its size - why??? - It should not need that much, even after the separation of Messenger and Page manager from it.  if you install it, but not messenger, it will complain until you do.  Same is true for Instaface.

It's probably really expensive, in terms of money and resources, for FB to maintain a mobile site and apps for the various smartphone/tablet operating systems. I agree that the iOS app is absurdly bloated at around 600 MB.

[hbelkins]

What's the other FB browser extension besides FB Purity? I know there's another one, but I can't think of it offhand.

I've tried both, and they both have positives and negatives.

[abefroman329]

There were (possibly still are) many Greasemonkey scripts for Firefox related to FB - I used to have one that would notify me if I was de-friended by someone.

[SSOWorld]

What's the other FB browser extension besides FB Purity? I know there's another one, but I can't think of it offhand.

I've tried both, and they both have positives and negatives.

Social Fixer used to be there, but maintenance of it stopped years ago.

Probably got tired of battling FB's constant changes.