« Think Before You Dial Your Next Con Call | Main | Interviewing? Choose a Strong Company »

August 05, 2010

Comments

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.

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!

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!

@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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been saved. Comments are moderated and will not appear until approved by the author. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.

Your Information

(Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)