Pretty much the only reason why this WordPress blog exists is because I wanted to explain why I’m on Twitter and codify a consistent set of rules for why I follow, don’t follow, unfollow, and even block people. It’s something I wanted to write for a long time and only now have gotten around to it.
So why am I on Twitter? (How do I use Twitter? Who will I follow?)
- Real-time personalized newsfeed. Twitter describes itself as the best way to “share and discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.” I have to agree, and I like to stay current on certain subjects (see below). Many of my follows are news sites and official aggregators. I follow certain actors and writers (especially those with a comedic slant) because I find them entertaining. I also follow particular artists and bands to find out when their next concerts in my area will be.
- Retweeting content that I think is interesting. I think it was Peter Cashmore (or some other Mashable writer) who wrote an article explaining the different types of Twitter uses. I’m a “link maven,” and my areas of interest include biotech, tech/computers/gadgets, photography, food, and video games. RTs are little different from “digging” an article or “sharing” something on FriendFeed or Facebook. I’m doing my part (in the social media sense) to bring about awareness of something interesting. I also try to include a value-added commentary with my RTs.
- Publishing original content. I’ll post (random) pictures I’ve taken of desserts I’ve made, of nice presentations of food I’m eating at restaurants, and of music concerts and other events I’m attending.
Why won’t I follow you?
In general, I don’t immediately follow back anyone new (i.e. strangers) who have requested to follow me. Moreover, I don’t look at my follower list every day. There are lots of people on Twitter who just care about their follower count and stop following me within a few days (if not hours) once I start following them. As a result, I typically wait at least 3 days before even considering following back. Specific reasons for why I won’t follow you include:
- No profile picture, missing or incomplete bio. Yes, it’s a little shallow, but your profile is an important first impression for who you are and why I should follow you. It’s almost like your Twitter resume. On the other hand, if the tweets (currently displayed on your page) look interesting I may follow you, but it’s unlikely.
- It’s obvious you just want to sell me something. I don’t want to look at your page and see that every tweet is just some form of advertisement.
- You’re a self-proclaimed social media/advertising guru/expert. Usually these people want to teach me how to get more followers and make money from Twitter. I’m just an average guy without any specific agenda to promote on Twitter, so ultimately, I don’t care how many people follow me. And more likely (see above), you will either spam me with DMs or stop following me once I start following you.
- Too much foul language. Cursing serves a purpose, and I believe there are occasions when it’s effective to convey how really strong your emotions are. When every other word is swearing, however, it’s just vulgar.
- All you do is complain. I really don’t care for people who only see the negative side of things. I especially don’t care for people who ridicule strangers they see out and about in public.
- Overuse of TwitterFeed. If your stream is just a TwitterFeed of some other websites’ content, then I may be better off following them directly.
- Facebook Redundancy. If I am already friends with you on Facebook, and all you do is use Twitter to update your FB status, it’s redundant to follow you.
- You’re boring. There, I said it. I actually think of myself as pretty boring. So, if _I_ think you’re boring, that really says something.
Why will I stop following you?
- You don’t tweet enough. If you don’t tweet at least once a month, then why should I follow you? I can always visit your Twitter page manually. If you’ve protected your tweets, well, you probably didn’t really want me following you in the first place.
- You tweet too much. Y’know, back when I used IRC, people who filled up the screen and blocked out what other people said usually got booted by the channel moderator.
- You fail to respond to questions in @replies. Most Twitter clients notify you of new @replies… Seriously, what is going on when you don’t answer direct questions posed to you? On the flipside, if you @reply me with something very insightful or manage to engage me in an interesting conversation, I’ll follow you.
- You write cryptic updates that don’t actually convey information. My first reaction to your update should not be “What does that even mean?” If I don’t get it because there’s an in-joke for your special circle of friends, you’re not piquing my interest. You’re just annoying me.
Who will I block?
- Dating/singles sites, porn sites. These are self-explanatory. To be honest, I don’t like having them appear on my follow list, so I block them. There came a time when I got soooo many porn spammer/followers, that I eventually protected my tweets and removed myself from the public timeline.
