Comments on: Who to Follow, and Not to Follow, on Twitter – That is the Question

By: LisaMarie Dias

LisaMarie Dias — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:14:10 +0000

I do think that when you follow for interest and professional alignment vs just for the sake of the numbers, you find the twitterverse a more valuable (and less SPAMMY) place. Glad you are finding value and happy to have met you!

Have a great weekend!

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:53:17 +0000

Hope you had a good one, LisaMarie.

And thank you. Discussion’s the reason I’ve stuck with Twitter, not the slightly daft oooh-I-have-more-Followers-than-you thing that is a fun but thoroughly absurd leveling-up game. The rampant spamming almost scared me off at first – but then I started to see the potential (especially for connecting directly with people at the top of their field -truly democratic, that).

I think in general, the numbers game thing will get worse before it gets better, though. I’m trying not to get too sucked in.

By: LisaMarie Dias

LisaMarie Dias — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:49:29 +0000

Mike, I would guess that the fact that you bother to initiate and continue discussions will probably help you win that numbers game

Susan, I totally agree!

Hope everyone has a great day whether you celebrate Thanksgiving officially or just personally

By: Susan (5 Minutes for Mom)

Susan (5 Minutes for Mom) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:27:59 +0000

I love following tweeps who don’t have thousands of followers… those are the ones who’ll have time to reply.

By: Mikeachim

Mikeachim — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:41:47 +0000

Hah – I like Brian’s definition of “blowhards” up there. Spot on. I’ve also heard them called “broadcasters”, which is similarly nail-on-head. These folk will happily recount the contents of their lunch and answer complex questions with a simple This Is The Answer kind of answers, which is painful to see.

Twitter, at its best, is a chance to discover how ignorant we are about so many things. It’s a 140-character window to squint through, at the other end of which is the whole length and breadth of the whole world. (In theory).
But some folk seem happy to draw the shutters and then spend hours shouting through them.

One particular smoking gun regarding spammers is identical tweets. Two indenticals is suspicious – more than two, they’re *definitely* of the reformed pork luncheon meat variety of Twitter-user.

Must admit, I use Twitter in two ways – as the numbers game (it’s true – j’accuse moi), but also for the discussion and following of specific groups of people. The new Lists feature is mainly how I do the latter. So I suspect this makes me someone to follow and someone not to follow, all at the same time.

By: Yannick

Yannick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:36:54 +0000

I normally get inspiration on who to follow from Mr Tweet (http://www.mrtweet.com/), it’s a pretty useful app. I also check who my favourite tweeters are following, and that’s about it!

By: LisaMarie Dias

LisaMarie Dias — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:30:59 +0000

Nona, you are very welcome

By: Nona W. Kumah

Nona W. Kumah — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:18:16 +0000

Excellent advice. Thank you!

By: LisaMarie Dias

LisaMarie Dias — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:12:35 +0000

Yes Mike, I agree – there are a few really useful tools out there that will identify and remove any of your SPAMMY followers and I do suggest running them periodically.

And yes, Brian, vetting followers before you decide to follow back is defintiely a wise way to keep your interactions productive!

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:12:31 +0000

I have a “catch-all” term for people who use Twitter with little or no apparent intent to engage other Twitter users – I call them “blowhards”. This term includes spammers and others who simply use Twitter as a bullhorn and not as a means to interact with others. My policy is to immediately block blowhards.

When I check my followers list and decide which new followers to follow back, my decision to block or follow back is made in less than 10 seconds. The logic can be summed up in the mnemonic “V-I-P”. I check “vitals” first – what are the numbers for tweets, following, followers? Second I check “interaction” and look at the first page of a user’s tweets – this is where most people get blocked – do people engage or just broadcast – I look for people who tend to reply and retweet? Third, I look at the “profile” – I look at their bio info and sometimes their web site.

Frankly, it’s rather annoying to see people game Twitter for numbers rather than use it for its intended purpose: as a social medium.