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I tell people I’ve been on the web since 1994 (and usenet before that), and their eyes either roll (“Here he goes again…”) or cross (“WTF is he talking about now?”).
But I wish you could have been there: Unmoderated newsgroups with no spam. Where the worst offenders were B1ff and Archimedes Plutonium.
And I wish you could have been on twitter in 2007. Whole different ballgame. Fun. Easy. Here’s how you got followers: “Hey, are you on Twitter? What’s your username?”
Now, not so much.
Life rolls on… and, here’s my current rules of thumb for dealing with Twitter. I managed to find a completely obvious “Golden Rule,” and it’s made the whole “Twitter Experience” much easier, and much more fun!
(Oh yeah, here’s the Official Website In A Weekend twitter handle: @websiteweekend.)
No. Just no.
This is me on twitter
Since I’m not a big twitter fan, I don’t have a lot of followers, and I don’t follow a lot of people.
I “know” this is leaving a lot of “money on the table,” but I’m not seeing how twitter helps me develop really great content. Marketing that content, maybe. But this assumes that my audience is using twitter.
What if they aren’t?
How would I know?
In any case, I’m not a Big Time Pro Blogger like John Chow or Darren Rowse, so I don’t feel compelled to do Big Time Pro Twitter stuff. Maybe later.
This is you on twitter
Currently, when I follow people, this is what I’m looking for:
- You have a real name somewhere in your profile, or you’re working a viable avatar reflecting you as a real person.
- You write or market your own content, not just others.
- You have a real picture (or I know you personally).
- You may or may not follow a lot of people. I don’t care either way.
- You say something about yourself. People are interesting. People do fun, crazy, cool, stupid and dumb stuff. I like reading about people and all their shenanigans. Sure, sell me your stuff, but tell me too.
- You listen to cool music and tell me about it. Seriously.
- You can tell what you had for lunch. Or dinner. A couple of my favorite people are serious foodies, and I enjoy reading what they’re up to. I mean serious too. They’re starting a private dinner series soon, I feel lucky to be invited.
- You’re more than a marketer. You can be a marketer, but you should be more than that as well.
If you automate (and by all means, you should), be a little more clever than the screenshot over there to the left. Check out the posting times: 33-34 minutes after the hour… like clockwork, every two hours. I have to admit, the tweets are a bit more clever than promotional links, but still, what’s the point?
Another automation no-no: Please don’t repeat too much. Especially quotes. Not a big fan of quotes in general, and I don’t want to see a stream of quotes which cycles every day or two. That’s just lazy. And boring.
Teeth whitening gets you an automatic unfollow. Unless you’re a dentist.
But there’s more! (I keep adding to this list… this article gets longer and longer.)
- “Make $$$ per day.” No.
- Sending me straight to a landing page is likely to get you unfollowed. Definitely if I feel “tricked” by your teaser. Especially if you msg me.
- Here’s a great way to get me to unfollow: insist on a quid pro quo. I had one person follow me with the demand that I follow back or he would unfollow me. Hahaha! Buh bye! Don’t let the door slam you in the a__ on the way out dude.
- And the absolute fastest way to get me to unfollow is to get all social media police on me. You don’t like something I do? That’s cool, unfollow me and send a nice email. I might very well change tactics or methods. Set yourself up as my personal social media cop and I’ll block you as well as unfollow you.
Basically, you need to be 1. a real person, 2. a real company, or 3. a celebrity, real or internet, that exudes high value and is interesting too (If I could think of celebrities I follow, I would list them.)
As it turns out, David Risley wrote a couple of articles about twitter which are very much worth reading:
- Top 10 Signs You’re Not Worth Following on Twitter.
- Top 10 Signs You ARE Worth Following On Twitter.
I now see there’s some overlap. When I first read these articles, they didn’t resonate because I wasn’t using twitter all that much. What’s cool is now that I have my own criteria, it’s much easier to compare to other people’s criteria.
No more cheeseburgers, please
All this following and refollowing, it’s like we’re selling each other cheeseburgers. I don’t get that part. If it’s not in the relationship, where the real value?
Please don’t think – in any way – that I’m telling you how you should twitter. That’s your business. These are just my guidelines for who I’m going to listen to.
So, after all this, do I really “get” twitter? I’m not sure. Frankly, I don’t think I do. I surely don’t “get” the notion of following more than maybe 150 people. Maybe I will when I get more experience. And I’ll be happy to blog about that then.
So the upshot is this: I’ll do my best for everyone to get with this twitter program, but it’s not my strong point. My strong point is creating killer content.
(Update: I’ve been hanging out on twitter last few days since I wrote this article… I think I’m starting to get it!)
Not just a twitter ‘tard…
Just to be sure I’m not coming across as some sort of Luddite…
I’m currently using a very cool new social media service, which I am absolutely not going to share with you… not yet anyway. Insiders first, then Weekenders. Then I’ll write it up here on the blog later. Hint: it’s location based.
Here’s how cool it is: everyone I asked to follow – except for one minor local celebrity columnist – friended me. And the minor local celebrity might yet, she hasn’t refused the invitation, it’s just sitting in her inbox. As I think of it, the other local celebrity I know refuses to sign on… but it’s only a matter of time for her!
Is this new social media thingie a marketers dream?
You betcha bubbette.
Will this new thing eventually get pillaged like twitter? Probably. In the meantime, we’re having fun.
What’s that you say? Golden Rule?
Simple: Don’t tweet anything you wouldn’t read.
(Note to Andrew: Yet another topic for a future blog post.)
I agree with Gabe. If I get one more friggin’ DM from a get-rich quick “super affiliate” I’m going to vomit. I’m also amazed by how much the response rate has fallen. Even a year ago, there were more conversations going on. Now it seems like it’s everyone on their own little island hawking their BS at the top of the lungs and not engaging with anyone around them.
.-= Susan´s last blog ..How The Economy Is Stopping Businesses From Being Like Ryan Seacrest =-.
The big problem with Twitter is all the spambots on it. For better or worse (I’m thinking the latter), the etiquette on Twitter is so different from other social sites. Tweeting junk is, sadly, expected, and a good number of “friends” aren’t even human. I mean, everyone knows that Ashton really doesn’t have 2 million friends.
I think it’s a little unfair if we compare Twitter with other networking sites. It is what it is: a marketing tool where everyone shouting and not very many are listening. And that’s perfectly fine. We just have to find a way to play within the rules of that particular game.
.-= Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Brand identity, part III – Building your brand identity long-term =-.
@Gabe – At some point these clowns are just selling each other the same cheeseburgers back and forth, and the rest of us are ignoring them.
@Susan – It turns out that getting really rich happens very quickly… you either go “hockey stick” in revenue, or you don’t. There’s just that looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong flat curve before the /.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Top 5 Biggest Lies About Blogging for Money =-.
Twitter seems like a big, strange, geeky party. It is full of people, and they are all kinda having fun, but at the end of the night, only a few are gonna get laid.
Twitter itself seems to be a hockey stick. It doesn’t matter at all, until all of a sudden it does quite a bit. It’s where the people are though.
.-= Sean´s last blog ..Why Printmaking? (A Study in Polarity) =-.
Good observations and guidelines for twittering – I’ve used it less as it’s become more of a distraction than productivity tool.
.-= Walter´s last blog ..In San Francisco, Composting Is The Law =-.
@Sean – You know, I never thought of that way… but I think you really nailed it. Good thing I got game…
@Walter – I’m starting to see the light. I have (wait for it…) another article brewing on exactly how I’m using twitter.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Top 5 Biggest Lies About Blogging for Money =-.
Even dentists get the axe for pushing teeth whitening I am over seeing those tweets thats for sure.
.-= Extreme John´s last blog ..Facebook is No Longer Sacred =-.
Before I follow anyone back I always check to see if they are dropping affiliate links. Half the time I’ll even be vengeful and report them as spammers (since half the time they don’t post anything but trash).
I have mixed feeling about following a ton of people. With the invention of lists, I’m more likely to follow random people since I can just go check a list to filter out the noise.
I usually check my lists several times daily, but only check my full feed once or twice. If people are tweeting cool stuff, I’ll add them to a list. If they are retarded, I just unfollow.
I do have to admit though, since almost doubling my twitter following in the last 2.5 weeks, I have noticed a lot more twitter traffic than before. I wonder how much quality comes from those followers/pageviews.
.-= Blake @ Props Blog Reviews´s last blog ..Where Are Your Readers’ Eyes Going? =-.
I once was more annoyed about people sending me Tweets about Teeth Whitening service and all, but simply put, I learned how to manage better the people that really interest me and that is by creating groups. Now with the twitter list, it is even simpler to do so. For example, I use Hootsuite and I have two groups of people that really interest me (you included, haha)… This are the only Tweets I see and occasionally maybe I will look at my Twitter stream. And BTW, don’t bother sending me a DM, I simply do not look at those anymore…
.-= DiTesco´s last blog ..Amazon’s Make Money With Twitter Program =-.
@Extreme – I haven’t actually noticed any dentists yet. If a dentist within walking distance advertised this with a discount, that would be different. I might just walk over there and see what’s up.
@Blake – I follow and unfollow a couple of people every day. Strangely, I don’t get huge lists of people following me… they must be angry I don’t follow them back or something. Whatever.
@DiTesco – I haven’t looked into groups and lists yet. Still a little behind the power curve I guess.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Top 5 Biggest Lies About Blogging for Money =-.
Online since 1994! Dave you old bast…. “Wise, Knowledgable WordPress King”.
Twitter is brilliant if used properly. I’m only ‘new’ to it, and in combination with tweetdeck you can easily filter out all the noise. regardless of how many followers/followees you get, i have ’1′ column of people I choose to listen to and join in the conversation with. Sure it’s a bit marketting game but you’ve got to make the conversations happen yourself.
From your experience Dave has twittered improved things or is it just another spam avenue?
.-= Andrew´s last blog ..Is Your Boss a Used Car Salesman? =-.
@Andrew – Twitter is exactly like irc except:
1. Short posts
2. Only one channel (WTF!!!? Who let the hoi polloi in?)
3. No operators.
FWIW, being an op on an existing IRC channel was a big deal. IIRC (and I may not), I was an op on the EFNet #java channel for a while.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Top 5 Biggest Lies About Blogging for Money =-.
Automated tweets. Lots of people use that, but I don’t. I’m part eager social media adopter and part old school in that sense.
My pet peeve is getting “gifts” from people who I have no previous conversations before. For example, user A sent me a DM telling I was given “peace and happiness” and could I send a gift back, with URL provided. How about a normal conversation, prefixed with hi. Has that gone out of fashion already?
Spammers I notice are directly addressing you in the public timeline, using @username plus spammy message. They might have noticed poor conversion rate from spamming DMs?
Great perspective, Dave. Enjoyed this post immensely.
.-= jan geronimo´s last blog ..When Quitting is the Only Sane Option Left =-.
@jan – yeah, automated “thank you” is an oxymoron.
I haven’t automated anything yet, but I don’t have anything in particular against it… as long as nobody can tell it’s automated! I’ve got a fair bit of material lodged back in the archive that’s still relevant. I’ll find a reasonable way to bring it forward.
Posting at 33 minutes past the every 2 hours is dumb. Posting same time every day is dumb. In fact, posting every day would be a dumb way to automate. Random is better. None on one day, 3 the next, one the following, then none for 2-3 days. &c.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Top 5 Biggest Lies About Blogging for Money =-.
@jan: You brought up the two things that I cannot stand most about Twitter. I am sick to death of DMs that have some “I got rich and you can too, click this link” messages.
I noticed that thing where they randomly post an @ message at users. I see about two of those a day. I’ve more than once reported it as spam. Twitter’s going to have to get ahold on how to filter stuff in the future, it totally makes the experience ANNOYING.
.-= Susan´s last blog ..How The Economy Is Stopping Businesses From Being Like Ryan Seacrest =-.
I’m still in two minds about Twitter. At the moment I am treating it as purely a test to see how it all pans out. I am waiting till I hit 10,000 followers before I make a decision on whether it is worth it all.
.-= Paula from Affiliate Blog Online´s last blog ..We’ve Been Featured on Famous Bloggers Club =-.
@Paula – I suspect in the end, Twitter will be used for purely marketing purposes, or purely social purposes, but probably not much in between. On the purely marketing side, it’s back to the cheeseburger conundrum.
I am a twitter addict and its getting worse since following eleventy hundred other bloggers…so much interesting content so little time.
Twitter is an easy way to connect and communicate with people who share a common interest without giving out super personal contact info (messenger IDs and so forth) until you’ve built a trust and relationship with them. I am totally loving that side of it. And Tweetdeck or the like is a MUST IMHO. I can put all you bloggers in one column, RL friends in another, Facebook stuff in another…etc etc. Makes tweeting simpler and funnels the noise into manageable bites so you can find what your interested in.
.-= Gurl´s last blog ..Changes coming to a blog near you =-.