- You post nothing but links. I'm not interested in your dozens of links about a topic I'm already not interested in. Twitter isn't a link mill. Do something else.
- You use Twitter only to promote yourself and refuse to be a part of the community. I don't follow people I know I'm not going to be able to chat with. I want conversations, sharing, and cooperation, not a one-sided borefest. There are exceptions, of course, for publishers.
- You type in textspeak or are otherwise incapable of using even basic English spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I know you only get 140 characters, but if I need a chatspeak dictionary to decipher what you're writing, then you're a waste of my time.
- You follow ten times more people than follow you. Unless I already know you, I'm likely not going to follow you if it's clear to me that you're on Twitter to spam.
- You try to force me to buy your product. Chances are, I don't want it, even if it is something up my alley. Tell me about it, and then shut up.
- You're just another of those self-proclaimed SEO masters or whatever other nonsense Web 2.0 titles are out there. Honestly, I don't really care. I'm not on Twitter to find out how to make my blog the next Boing Boing or whatever. That, and, there are about ten trillion of you people out there, and none of you offer anything new. I can Google most everything you say.
- You're interested in subjects that I'm not interested in or you don't have a bio. With rare exception, I am not going to follow you if your bio indicates that you are into something that, quite frankly, I could care less about. I don't care about horse racing or bingo or how to sell dresses. My bio indicates what I am interested in, and unless I know you or somehow find you interesting, I'm not going to bother following you if your Twitter account will be dominated by subjects I find exceptionally boring or inappropriate.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
7 Reason Why I Won't Follow You on Twitter
Twitter is a great tool when used properly. One of the biggest problems with Twitter is that everyone and their mother is trying to use it, and unfortunately I'm not going to follow everyone and their mother. Here are the seven reasons why I won't follow you on Twitter:
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I've never written down my Twitter following rules, but your list covers my standards pretty well. I don't follow just because I'm being followed. I follow because I actually want to read what someone has to say.
ReplyDeleteI like to follow you because you make me want to write more. I need that some days.
That pretty much summarizes the process I go through with new followers. One additional FAIL is the use of cuss words in tweets. I've been known to cuss, but not usually shouting in a crowded room, which is what Twitter is.
ReplyDeleteI had one guy this week who's profile showed the same 5 tweets over and over about 3 or 4 times. That sure doesn't look good an a profile.
Thanks for the post.
@WesHopper
I fail to understand just WHAT is so appealing about Twitter, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think you nailed it pretty much. One additional rule I have on not following someone: Every other tweet is about getting more followers to follow them. This irritates me to no end. I'm not on twitter to just follow people, to help their Twitter follow count. I'm there to learn or interact with others, who have like interests.
ReplyDeletekarabu: Well, I'm glad that I made you want to write more. Not sure how I manage to do that, but still, that's a good influence to have!
ReplyDeleteWes: I hate repeated tweets, unless you're spacing them out (you know, like say you're highlighting a giveaway and you repost it once a day or something, that's fine, but not 200 times in a row...). Cuss words don't bother me unless they are really prominent in the tweets. A curse word once in a while is cool, but not if every tweet has two or three of them...I already hate rap, and I'm not likely going to like it in my twitter :P.
SparklingBlue: You know, I didn't get it at first, but the more I've played with it the more I've come to see it as a tremendously efficient social networking tool. It's easy to use, easy to customize, and easy to chat with. It's not complicated by having to go to a website, and, I dunno, it's just a great way to meet people have interesting short conversations. Plus it has a tremendous influence on society, as seen with the whole Amazon thing.
Fantasy Dreamer: Agreed, but I suppose that fits into #2.
Yes, I suppose it could as one-sided but I'm not sure what they are promoting. Unless boredom has become a new commodity on the market. :)
ReplyDeleteYour rules rock and I have the same sentiments.
ReplyDeleteTwitter is my radio, it plays softly in the background and those I follow thus keep me company and hopefully I them.
Thanks Wrathex!
ReplyDeleteFantasy Dreamer: That's true. I think there needs to be a pretty even balance between contributing to the Twitter community and promoting oneself.
I like the idea of Twitter being a radio playing softly in the background.
ReplyDeleteI block realtors on principle. I don't want any realtors following me. They're annoying enough in real life.
I usually try to keep the number of people I follow to around 100. That's a comfortable number for me. Between my work interests and authors I like, that's an easy number to hit.
I also will stop following someone if they dominate my feed. I want to see a mix of voices.
By the way, I post a lot of links, but many of my work colleagues don't read blogs and seem to value them. So to each their own, I guess.
Shannon: It's definitely a personal preference. I just never saw Twitter as a place for massive linking. Blogs are good for that. *shrugs* Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI really understand where you are coming from. These are basically my rules on Twitter as well. The ones I would add are if you add me and there is NOTHING written on your twitter feed, there is no reason at all for me to want to follow you. And there is also no reason for me to want to follow some twit who only wants me to see her naked. If I wanted that I would search out the actual porn I wanted and not the crap you are trying to force down my throat. Thank you for writing down rules. I really enjoyed reading them.
ReplyDeleteJodi: Agreed :).
ReplyDeleteYes, it is popular. Yes, everybody are crazy about it. May be I am retard or conservator, but I do not get it, what does Twitter offer to make the life better?
ReplyDeletedepressivedisorder: Depending on whether you're an Internet savvy person and someone who enjoys having contact with the world through the net, Twitter is a great way to communicate with people and find interesting folks. That's a good thing for life, in my opinion.
ReplyDelete