Comments on: Gurus On Twitter – Get a Freakin Clue!

By: Lee LeFever

Lee LeFever — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:49:31 +0000

While I think everyone uses Twitter differently, I have to wonder about the real, authentic substance behind your philosophy of following, in your case, 10k+ people. I think it’s great that you take the time to follow everyone, but I also think it’s an empty promise. You clicked the “follow” button 10k times. It’s a gesture with no substance. My feeling is that you (or anyone that follows 1000s of people) have no more of a potential relationship with them than if you didn’t click follow. You’re about as likely to see their updates and know anything at all about them.
I see from your other posts that you often judge people who don’t follow you. I encourage you to consider that some users actually follow the updates of the people they follow – and that following a high number of people removes the core value that people derive from Twitter. And in those cases, the relationships are often real and authentic, not based solely on the click of the “follow” button.

By: Is Reciprocal Following on Twitter the New Blogroll?

Is Reciprocal Following on Twitter the New Blogroll? — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:05:11 +0000

[...] links: There has, of course, been plenty of other discussion on this topic. Plus Rebecca just posted a big list o’ Twitter [...]

By: Scott Allen

Scott Allen — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:19:16 +0000

@Jayadeep:

> One last question..Scott…How many people have you followed without them following you ?

Out of 518 I’m following, 136 (about 25%) aren’t following me. Some substantial portion of the rest (can’t tell you exactly how many), I followed first and then they later followed me.

> Come on…Scott…Get your ego out of the way.

See, that’s the frustration in all of this (and the main reason I feel so strongly about putting this alternative viewpoint out there). It has NOTHING to do with ego — it has everything to do with keeping my infostreams to a manageable volume that allows me to still get work done.

> Lets be friends…Scott. Should I follow you first ?

Better solution: start a conversation with me on Twitter.

@Sarah:

I think you nailed it regarding the idea that someone with a high ratio of followers to follow probably has something interesting to say vs. people who follow anyone whose Twitter page they come across.

By: Twitterbits » Blog Archive » Twit or Tweet? Who Do I Follow?

Twitterbits » Blog Archive » Twit or Tweet? Who Do I Follow? — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:46:56 +0000

[...] Bastide wrote a very informative post on TweeterBlog back on November 21. I agree with Jack: Follow me and I’ll follow you back. And vice versa. I [...]

By: Dave Klonke

Dave Klonke — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:08:45 +0000

I’m relatively new to Twitter. I lean towards not following people who have a “following” number that far exceeds their “follower” number. It reeks of spam. On the flip-side, I follow some of those people who have no followers, but I’ve elected to follow them because I like what they have to say. In fact, my favorite tweeter has 0 followings.

I do take a look at all my followers most recent tweets to see if I’m interested in their content.

Interesting post. I don’t think anyone’s wrong. It’s nice to be able to use it how you like.

By: Jo Golden

Jo Golden — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:51:28 +0000

I appreciated this Jack, enough to follow you now

While starting to get my balance with twitter, I also reject spam of all sorts. Some of what you described sounds a bit like guru spam coming down the pike. If someone is interesting, I’ll follow. I’ll un-follow someone who gets on my nerves–even if they got g status.

The more time I spend on twitter the more I want to connect with people who matter to me. That’s my criteria since they are in my twitterverse on an “at will” basis. Mine.

And I welcome all sorts and of any particular status. I follow most folks back and then review it all once in a while in case I made a mistake. Mr. Tweet is great for that http://www.mrtweet.net/

great post thanks,

By: Rick Brown

Rick Brown — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:41:48 +0000

Holy crap Jack!

You certainly opened a can of worms here. Good for you.

For what it’s worth, I think this is a great conversation.

And BTW, I love to play Devil’s Advocate! So here goes -

I gotta say, blasting folks for choosing NOT to follow everyone/anyone is like the holy roller telling me that the way I choose to worship my higher power is wrong.

There’s only one way to worship God and there’s only one way to use social media!

Wow! Really???

I suppose someone should tell Twitter to remove the “Remove” option then.

If I get tired of your rants because they don’t add anything to my world, you’re damn right I’ll remove your ass…in a heartbeat!

Why wouldn’t you do the same thing with me???

Because “that’s not how social marketing works!”?

B-S! You’re not obligated to be my friend. You can tell me to go pound sand any time you want.

Great discussion Jack, and NO, I’m not gonna remove you…even if you remove me…cuz I love rants like this!

And I won’t take it personal if you decide to unfriend me anyway.

You’re not obligated to follow me. I wouldn’t dare presume to have that power over you.

Cheers!
Rick

By: David

David — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:15:44 +0000

Of course some people’s business models may not include following a bunch of tweets. However, the examples cited above clearly show that these people are using Twitter as a broadcast list. If those “gurus” want to exploit it – feel free. I just find it amusing that so many would follow them. It seems to me like pure arrogance – but hey, to each their own.

By: Renee

Renee — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:01:07 +0000

Great post! I’m new to Twitter and just learning the proper way to use it to assist me in my internet business. I have noticed when I have added some of the “big internet gurus” they don’t follow and aren’t following anyone.

I must say it impresses me when some decide to follow me…it makes them seem more approachable.

Some of links posted on Twitter are helpful…that’s how I found my way here I’ll be back.

By: Dennis Grubbs

Dennis Grubbs — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:49:08 +0000

I have some policies regarding following folks on twitter. I will follow most anyone, unless:

*There is No Picture
*They use spammer tactics like following a large volume of people in a short amount of time
*The spam tweets like 10 in a row
*They send non-stop sales pitches

As far as interacting on twitter goes, I don’t always have time to do that, but try to when I can.

Just wanted to say this was a great blog post.

Dennis