In the past we’ve written about the overlap between the features on our most-used social media sites, and recently, we’ve seen another spate of “borrowing”, as it were! With Facebook and Tumblr both adopting some of Twitter’s features within the past week, we at The Practice wonder how this might be beneficial.

Tumblr announced just a few days ago that they were to introduce the “@Mentions” feature in order to let users address each other. The feature, most associated with Twitter, was highly requested by Tumblr users- perhaps the platform is feeling increasing demand to add a more “social” element to compete with the micro-blogging site? Similarly, Facebook has also taken a leaf out of Twitter’s book with the launch of a revamped Trending Topics list on its homepage sidebar. This comes after the platform first tested the feature last Summer. Now, users will be able to see personalised lists of trending words and phrases, while a follow-through link will take them to a list of mentions by friends and pages.

We love Twitter’s Trending topics, as it gives us a chance to keep up with the latest, and check out the conversations happening around any key event or news story. However, we have to admit that we are looking forward to seeing Facebook’s own Trending feature roll out, as it appears to give a more in-depth description of popular topics. Instead of just featuring the trend, as on Twitter, Facebook have upped their presentation by listing the topic and providing an accompanying sub-heading too. And as with Twitter, Facebook states: “Topics are personalised based on things you’re interested in and what is trending across Facebook overall.” But will we be seeing sponsored or promoted posts anytime soon, in a similar manner to how these appear on Twitter? For now, Facebook’s trending list will not include such topics, but again, it’s only a matter of time. Secondly, we imagine that the feature will draw in avid Twitter users if and when it starts to appear on mobile- (for now it only comes up on the desktop site). Surely, this will be the next and most lucrative step to attract users who rely on their hand-held devices for news and post updates.

Previously, both Tumblr and Facebook were keen to incorporate Twitter’s features, whether intentional or not, with the former introducing hash tags, and the latter enabling both embeddable posts and hash tags. Facebook hash tags didn’t prove to be too successful for brands, with EdgeRank Checker reporting post virality generating an almost equal reach regardless of whether marketers used the feature or not. Tumblr however, has proved that hash tagging on its site is successful, and we feel this is attributed to the fact that the platform is more primed for discovery purposes. Facebook however, did have success with embeddable posts, generating greater engagement and aiding the user experience. We’re in two minds as to whether Tumblr’s introduction on the “@Mentions” feature will be beneficial, as it is generally known as a sharing and discovery platform, as opposed to a social one for chatting. Yet since there has clearly been user demand for this, we might soon witness a Tumblr revolution, as more Tumblr bloggers personally connect with one another. Similarly, we’re not sure that Facebook’s Trending feature will prove as popular as it is on Twitter, due to the fact that many users don’t automatically search and discover as frequently as they do on the micro-blogging site. However, the platform’s content-rich capabilities mean it might prove more popular than we immediately realise.

Do you think social media platforms should borrow from each other? And do you think these new features will prove successful for Tumblr and Facebook? We’d love to hear your comments, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your thoughts on our Facebook page.