Comments on: Reader News: 24% Of Twitter Updates Done By Bots

By: CarolAnnB

CarolAnnB — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:44:58 +0000

In addition to “bots,” Lara, there are a number of twitter sites that aren’t even being tweeted by certain celebrities. There really is, in my opinion, no difference between talking to a “bot” or a “ghost tweeter.” See the NY Times article here: When Stars Twitter, A Ghost May Be Lurking Incredibly, many folks converse…rather, attempt to converse with celebrity figures on twitter never knowing that they may just be addressing a ghost (writer, that is).

Personally, I believe that twitter is a great social networking site regardless of these minor snafus of inhuman or ghostly encounters.

Great post, btw!

By: Yogi

Yogi — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:53:24 +0000

I support Adi. “The vast majority of popular accounts are broadcast in nature. ” I also use ping.fm to auto post update from my blog.

By: Daniel - ReTweet Graphics

Daniel - ReTweet Graphics — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:39:13 +0000

I have tested various set-ups with different services and found that most of them produced too much repeat tweets and and sharing things that probably weren’t Twitter-Worthy even if I had decided to save them myself. The final solution I’ve settled with is using FriendFeed to share the select few links that I enjoy and share via Google Reader. All other links and conversation is done manually via TweetDeck or other online twitter tools.

By: Carla | Green and Chic

Carla | Green and Chic — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:00:17 +0000

Its pretty obvious who uses bots and who’s genuine. If you’re a regular, its easy to weed them out.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:10:16 +0000

I use hootsuite.com and ping.fm to send out useful information I think friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc. would also want to hear. But then I get email notifications when people post replies at Facebook or Twitter DMs. These are my first priorities. I go into Facebook, etc. and scan, post replies, interact, etc. Then I also head over to Twitter and answer DMs, then @lisajcopen posts, then check out the most recent posts at Twitter, then my favorite Twitter-ers. I post replies to Twitter, and try to visit the web sites of 10 or so people a week to get to know them better and see what relationships to form. I could never keep up without some tools, but I still enjoy the interaction and getting to know plp. The ability to post tweets in advance for useful links is one of the best tools, and then I can post personal stuff as it happens, keeping my Twitter account well-balanced.

By: Adi @ CMI

Adi @ CMI — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:05:00 +0000

To be honest though, the vast majority of popular accounts are broadcast in nature. Even if they tweet manually they don’t tend to interact with many people. You only have to look at the tiny number of accounts they themselves follow.

By: Adam Baird

Adam Baird — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:45:16 +0000

I actually have very little problem with bots. I, like you, think they serve their purpose. However, as you say, its very important to make connections and be on your account personally on a regular basis.

I will say though that I’ve wondered how effective it would be to create some sort of aggregation feed and throw in a sponsored tweet once in a while. If its useful information it might work. I don’t think I’ll be trying it any time soon though.

By: AliSwi

AliSwi — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:55:14 +0000

Well, this certainly contradicts the true purpose of social networking, don’t you think? You can hardly cultivate relationships or build a genuine fan base with automation. It’s the human aspects that make it social.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:36:07 +0000

I usually go through my followers regularly and delete those that are obviously getting their auto tweets from the same source. I like following real people who have the time to talk to me. We live in an unpersonal world already, and I’d like to keep relationships foremost above business. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I just came back from a trip to Ecuador where the people there had relationship first, material things last, and it was so refreshing. I miss it.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:26:13 +0000

I think it is better to think of twitter as a protocol, not a social network of people. It is more than just network of people. People are using twitter to post all kinds of data. They have their plants on twitter( http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9877823-52.html) , their blogs on twitter. It is not used only for a conversation, it is used as a transmitting device. Think of it as a protocol, more like http. You can’t say that internet should be about blogging only. Same reason you can’t say that twitter is for human to human dialog. I know you probably talk about your side of twittering – “connecting” and becoming popular as a marketer. But there is more to twitter than that. I’m sure more people will follow twits of obamas’ toilet (http://hackaday.com/2009/05/05/twittering-toilet/) than some small business marketer or even political observer.