Is Twitter (twitter.com) the new LinkedIn

I started using LinkedIn just over two years ago and it was one of the first of the social networking tools that I started using regularily in the day to day responsibilities of my job. LinkedIn now has over 20+ million using the site and the number is growing exponentially. It seems LinkedIn is mentioned in almost every conversation about online networking and in ANZ it has become a much more widely accepted recruitment tool than it once used to be.

Since LinkedIn, we hear more and more about Social Networking Tools and Web 2.0 technology. Over the past few years I have been invited to join countless networks (plaxo, spoke, facebook, myspace, oldfriends etc.......) and I find that it is too much to try to be on every network that is out there. Outside of regional networks (for example oldfriends.co.nz in New Zealand) I tend to use 3 main sites which are:

1) LinkedIn - usedmainly for work and professional contacts
2) Facebook - used for work, professional, family and friends
3) Spoke - used as a tool for performing targetted search and selection.

I find many of the other sites available replicate the information provided from these sites. One site however that I have been hearing a fair bit about lately is Twitter (twitter.com). A number of people I have spoken to think that Twitter is the next generation of Online Social Networking sites. I have signed up for it earlier this week and while I have not had an in-depth look into it, from first glance it looks very similar to the other sites out there - so I am not sure where all the hype is coming from.

I think it partially maybe due to the fact that the uptake of these sites in ANZ is usually 12-18 months behind the US so it may be that this site is not as widely accepted or broadcast yet locally - but if anyone is using Twitter or has comments/suggestions about it, I would love to hear your thoughts.