Social networking, short messages or long messages?

Social networking sites are all about getting to know other people who have the same interests as you. I’ve talked a lot about Twitter in the past on this site, because this is the main social networking site I am involved with. For me, it is quick and easy to regularly contribute to the site, and I have also been able to connect with many other writers through doing so.

But there are other social networking sites which allow you a lot more room when it comes to posting messages for your followers to read. They probably haven’t got a fraction of the publicity that Twitter has had lately though, so perhaps it is an unfair comparison. But do people generally prefer the brevity of those Twitter messages, or would they rather have a bit more space to stretch out in?

Personally I don’t think that either short or long messages are better than the other. I think the main thing to bear in mind is what the nature of your message really is. A lot of people like Twitter because – ironically – it stretches your writing skills. You have to be brief to get everything in. But does that mean you have to miss essential facts out altogether?

I’ve spotted people on Twitter who have basically written short articles and posted them in bite sized chunks. The title appears in one tweet – something like ten tips for better writing, for example – and then you will get ‘tip one – edit your work’ or something like that as the first short tip. This is followed by nine more tweets of a similar nature.

It can be good to have more room to blog or post a message on your choice of social networking site of course. But if you only use that space to waffle in, then what was the point in the first place?

Perhaps the key then is not whether one form is better than another. Perhaps it is simply which one suits the message you have to give at the time. If a social networking site allows you limitless space to post a message in, that doesn’t mean you have to write an essay. Think about what you want to say, say it, and then move along. Nothing more to see here, you might say.

Of course it is more frustrating when you have a longer message to get out and Twitter’s 140 character limit won’t permit you to do it. In this case double tweets are really your only option.

But the most important rule applies to every message you will ever post on any social networking site. It’s simple – check everything before you hit the ‘post’ button, or make it live. If you do that, you’ll be more assured of striking the right balance, no matter how long or short your message might be.