Who do YOU follow on Twitter? Lately, this has been a quandary for me. I know that having lots of Twitter followers is important to many people, and I don't want to insult people who follow me by not following them back. However, the truth is that I am simply unable to read the tweets of tens of thousands of people, even if I use a service like Tweetdeck to organize them. So here's how I personally make the decision:
1) I follow people who have a photo in their profile. This assures me that they are serious about using Twitter as a personal branding tool.
2) I follow people who have a real person's name in their profile. I prefer to communicate with an individual rather than a company or business.
3) I follow people who write in English. This one pains me the most, but if I can't understand what you're writing, I can't be sure it's not spam or offensive content. It's nothing personal!
4) I follow people who have tweeted in the last 24-48 hours.
5) I follow people who have re-tweeted me or engaged in a conversation with me. Doing these things helps interesting followers get noticed, because unfortunately sometimes they get lost in the shuffle of spammers.
6) And last but not least, I follow people who aren't trying to sell me something directly, but are in my space (business and career advice) and have valuable insights and information to share.
Now, it's your turn, Twitter users. How do you decide who to follow? And for those not on Twitter, I'd love to know why you've chosen not to use it.
This is timely. I don't follow everyone who follows me and try to have a criteria but sometimes I ignore it. I also don't care if they haven't twittered very recently as long as they seem to do it often (as someone who isn't all that consistent anymore myself!)I follow people who I think will offer value - and mostly make connection.
Posted by: Rosalind Joffe | August 06, 2010 at 02:41 PM
I must admit that violate the first rule. I'm fairly new to Twitter and I think I've done a good job of providing valuable content (I often post my blog posts). But I have yet to include a picture, probably explaining why I only have 19 followers.
This was good advice to know however and now I'll add a picture!
Posted by: Samuel Sunmonu | August 11, 2010 at 03:54 AM
I resonate with number 5. I have restarted with twitter as a research project for a site I am developing that hinges around creativity, writing, and communicating deeply. I need to pay attention to number 5 to do this I believe. Good stuff!
Posted by: Jscott | August 15, 2010 at 09:11 PM
@Rosalind: Sometimes I ignore my own criteria too. :)
@Samuel: I don't know why, but a lot of people consider the picture to be pretty important. Let me know how it works out for you!
@JScott: Sounds like a cool project!
Posted by: Alexandra Levit | August 17, 2010 at 01:16 AM
I do not understand why people say they don't want to have to read thousands of tweets. There is no need to. Create lists to stop the 'noise'. It irritates when people try to follow as few people as possible but revel in having large numbers following them.
Posted by: Pink | May 09, 2011 at 07:30 AM
I tend to look at many of the same things listed here when following others. I look to see if there is a bio and if it contains anything I might share in interest.
I look for the pic as mentioned above. No pic means not a serious Tweeter.
I also look at their timeline. You can learn a lot about a tweeter just by taking a few minutes to scan their timeline. You can tell if they are simply bots or RSS feeds easily by just looking at a dozen posts or so. If they are bots or RSS feeds and have links that could be of interest, I put them in lists. Lists are great for linkers IMHO.
If they are just constantly promoting themselves or a single entity of some sort... I note it as marketing gimmick and avoid.
I am amazed by all the companies that jump into following me. Most have nothing to do with my interests and I have no interest in their tweets. They tend to drop off in a week or so when they realize I don't follow back.
I also look at followers vs. following. If they have very few followers and following a lot... that tells me they aren't legit or don't have much interesting to tweet.
I also tend to look for more mature tweeters. I have followed a few that made posts that I wouldn't ever RT or acknowledge for it's lack of social ethic appeal and just plain distasteful. Maybe it's just their culture they thrive in but it isn't mine.
I also don't follow those that like to claim they are the best or present an ego bigger than their Twitter status. Too many out there are into being a "self claimed" superstar rather than letting the audience decide. They get no attention from me.
Posted by: Synthetic Tone | May 09, 2011 at 07:35 AM
I agree with all your previous points...I like to see a good image - not an 'egg face!' I don't follow people who bombard a mass of tweets all at once so I get 10 in a row...They all get ignored! I always thank someone who follows me but I don't always follow back unless they are interesting to me...Sometimes I may be of help to them so thats great. I don't mind if people don't tweet daily ...it can become a chore, as long as what they say interests me or the link they add is a good one. Direct sell by direct message from non followers is awful!
Posted by: Nicki Hughes | May 10, 2011 at 09:52 AM
I use many of the same criteria. I also look at their recent tweets, and if they are not having conversations with anyone, I usually don't follow them. I don't want to be talked at - for me Twitter is all about the conversations.
Posted by: @stewartn | November 28, 2011 at 05:49 PM