

Why Facebook Works for All, Twitter for Some  - dorkitude
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/why-facebook-works-for-all-twitter-for-some/

======
ryanlchan
I read once that the surest way to identify an engineer driven company was to
look for user elements that work like data structures. Between the @'s, the
#'s, and the other various syntactical quirks, Twitter sure seems to fit that
description well.

On the other hand, however, I'm not sure that's only a bad thing. The barrier
to entry is present but not insurmountable, and it gives the "Twitterati" a
clubby sort of feel. Everyone wants to feel special - back when Facebook was
invite only, people would claw and clamor for invites. There's a balance in
there, and it seems like Twitter's gotten close. Not perfect, but close.

------
tokenadult
The biggest single mistake of most software designers is to underestimate the
importance of usability. If there is any significant usability difference
between two products, consumer selection will favor the more usable product.

~~~
diminish
yes but facebook menus are confusing a lot; i guess design has less role than
this article assumes in fb adoption. it may be related to their functional
nature with regard audience.

