12 Reasons Why I Refuse to Follow You On Twitter

After checking out your blog on why you don’t follow certain twitterers I figured I’d follow you since our reasoning for “to follow or not to follow” is basically the same.

I look for a good mix of tweet types. Some original content, some retweets and some communication with others. I figure I’ll get something of interest to read in that. And I like people who interact with their network. I’m looking to build relationships, and I want to follow people who agree.

And yes, I followed you after this blog post.

Those who have no substance to their tweets are annoying. It does not take long to identify those who retweet and post empty and inane replies in order to maintain a rolling marquee for their regular occurring inserts of self-promotion and announcements. Someone needs to let them know that they aren’t foolin’ anyone.

I agree it is nice to find a profile that has a balanced variety of quality tweets.

Hi all,

Achieving balance among announcements, links, personal updates, re-tweeting, replying, and so on is easier said than done. It takes time and a great deal of trial and error. If you’re just starting out on Twitter (or even if you’ve been at it awhile and are feeling frustrated), keep at it. Here’s why:

Unlike blogs, where people often land on specific posts from your archives via a Google search, that isn’t likely to happen with Twitter. Once your front page of tweets makes its way into your archives, they’re “out of sight, out of mind.”

I hope that knowledge frees you up to experiment!

And give yourself a break when you need it. Lately, I’ve been feeling tired and headachy, so most of my tweets are pre-scheduled links to blog articles. And that’s okay. I’ll jump back into tweeting when I’m feeling perkier. If a few people get offended and unfollow me because of it, I can live with that.

Like all social media, it’s helpful to have a plan for how you plan to use Twitter. Give yourself permission to modify your plan as you go along.

Thanks, Juli, for following me. I’ll do the same for you and other commenters in return.

Just started reading your excellent ideas and I’m hooked on your stuff! Will now follow you on Twitter too!

All the best!

Twitter.com/larrybourgeois @larrybourgeois

Excellent post, and not just because we think alike. I think newbies need to understand that following is not automatic. I suspect services like Mr Tweet are sending more people my way, but they’re not necessarily people I would ever follow in return.

threeundertwo: I’ve read article after article about how Twitter is supposed to be relational, and I believe that. But so many tweeters appear to be all about amassing thousands of followers. How can you relate to 10,000 followers… or even 1,000 followers in a meaningful way?

Lately, there have been so many spammers joining Twitter that I believe it’s absolutely essential to vet your followers before following in return. Unless, of course, you enjoy getting spam messages.

#1 and #2 aren’t automatic ignores for me, but there has to be something compelling in their last few tweets for me to click that Follow button, especially if they have no profile AND no avatar. Other than that, we are on the same page for sure!

I often will “unfollow” someone I followed if they send me an automated DM. Most are okay, but when it is a folksy come-on to buy their stuff, I get really annoyed. Whoever invented automatic DMs needs to be slapped around a little.

Not that I’d ever advocate violence.

Geoff,

I sent automated DMs during my first year of tweeting, just saying “hi,” thanking the follower and alerting them to my site. The usual. Bu then I started getting irritated by other people’s “welcome” DMs, so I stopped doing it.

I’ve noticed that the auto DM fad seems to be dying down a lot. Have others of you noticed that, too?
.-= Laura Christianson´s last blog ..A Little Toilet Humor =-.

I don’t seem to receive very many auto DMs. I won’t unfollow someone who sends one (figuring everyone’s entitled to one mistake) but I will if their tweets turn out to be one self-promotion after another.
.-= Janet Barclay´s last blog ..Green Living =-.

Janet,

I am curious as to your definition of “self-promotion.” This is something I struggle with in my own use of Twitter. I pre-schedule a lot of my tweets to link to posts in my blog’s archives. The blog posts usually don’t promote a product or service because they’re informational, but they do indirectly promote my business.

I pre-schedule them because I get very busy during the day managing clients’ accounts, and don’t always have the time or energy to interact with my followers. So, some days you’ll see a lot of replies and RTs from me, and other days, it’s mostly teasers that link to posts on my blog.

Would you consider that too self-promotional? Like everyone else, I’m trying to decipher the best balance for my tweets.

Readers… your input?
.-= Laura Christianson´s last blog ..A Little Toilet Humor =-.

Very quickly, because I’m on the way out the door, but I think self-promotion in itself is a good thing, as long as the self doing it has created a relationship with those they’re promoting to. You have to be in communication beyond your sales pitch to have that relationship. When I follow someone and they put out fifteen tweets in a row in very quick succession, all promotion products, I unfollow them fairly quickly. If I follow someone who responds to me occasionally, who occasionally says fun things, then promotes a page or product, I am much more willing to not only keep them around, but click on their links.

Laura, I agree very much with Geoff. Tweeting to announce a blog post is expected, and in my case, that’s how I know people have something new for me to read. (I had to stop subscribing to all but a few by RSS due to information overload.) But five tweets announcing the same post can be a bit annoying. And people who only tweet to advertise their products or services are just a step away from spammers, in my eyes.
.-= Janet Barclay´s last blog ..Green Living =-.

I don’t automatically follow back, but I do still review every new follower.

The straight number builders will unfollow me within a week, it seems, so there’s some auto-regulation there.

I’m on twitter for a broad topic (food), but do follow a few eclectic people as well.

So far, I’m in “mingle” & “be yourself” mode & learning so much, so fast, it’s exciting.

James,

Reviewing new followers is a great idea. I’ve noticed that a substantial number of new followers to the accounts I manage are either spammers or get-rich-quickers. For this reason, I do NOT use an auto-follow system.

Mingling and learning is a fantastic way to begin on Twitter. You learn so much just by listening.

Brooke – That is an extremely common occurrence on Twitter, as early in Twitter’s infancy, the “gurus” recommended that everyone send an auto DM welcome message. But people who were amassing a following quickly got irritated with those (I used to send them, too) and we stopped sending them.

I rarely receive these DMs anymore, but when I do, I also unfollow. Aggressive marketing in the “Thanks for the follow” DM hints that most of their tweets will be of the same nature.