Comments on: Twitter Follow Rules – Who To Follow

By: Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » Whats In a Name? The Importance of Being Authentic in Social Media.

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:48:15 +0000

[...] I have also found this piece by Jack Bastide to be a good one for those who want tips on how to gain a large following in social media (this applies to Twitter but the rules can apply in any network). Twitter Follow Rules- Who to Follow. [...]

By: Yvonne Perry

Yvonne Perry — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:33:19 +0000

If you take a look at @writersinthesky you will see that I do enjoy @replies and DMs. I try to keep a balance between posting business info and chatting openly about a matter others aren't privy to. I don't want folks to feel like they are eavesdropping on a private conversation, though I realize this is common to Twitter. I like to socialize and give good information that people can use, but in order for the effort to be worth my time, I've got to pull in a book sale or client from time to time. I've become more lenient lately about who I follow simply because I don't want to miss informative Tweets or great friendships, but now I have another problem: I am following more people than I can possibly engage with directly. I may have to unfollow folks just so I can maintain mutual connection with the ones I've already established.

By: Cyndi Smith

Cyndi Smith — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:33:07 +0000

Very interesting article! Thank you, Jack, for sharing Yvonne Perry’s viewpoint.

I have found several “mistakes” that I am personally making (for instance, I didn’t think that people would instantly judge me by the avatar and not by my bio). (see #1)

Also, I seem to find a lot of relevant information and interesting people in the @replies. (see #3) Sometimes searching through Twellow (which is I highly recommend as a database for finding similar interests and relevant information) doesn’t necessarily bring out the gems. And, if Twitter is acually social, I find people who constantly spout out information to be a bit boorish, don’t you? So scattered @replies might make the Tweeter seem a bit more personable.
The follower/following ratio can be a great clue, I agree, but I hope you don’t miss out on those “newbies” who might be diamonds in the rough!
Excellent article for stirring up some buzz! It really started me thinking about my goals on Twitter and just how I’m “optimizing” my time/followship in the Twitterverse.

By: Twitter Follow Rules - Who To Follow

Twitter Follow Rules - Who To Follow — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:50:48 +0000

[...] Twitter Follow Rules – Who To Follow. [...]

By: David Carter

David Carter — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:57:41 +0000

Interesting post – I must admit I checked my Twitter grade before writing this comment

On the whole I agree with Yvonne apart from point 3 – I actually like to see some @replies because it shows active participation

One biggie for me is the follow back – if I see someone with thousands of followers but only following a few back then I’m not interested. I have members of our government following me and I take the view that if they can follow me back, so can Joe Nobody who thinks he’s a somebody.

I also tend not to follow shovel sellers any more, most of them have no idea how to develop a relationship on Twitter (or Facebook for that matter)

Incidentally, if you want to find followers who have the same interests, twellow.com is a good place to go.

By: Don Deller

Don Deller — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:43:29 +0000

Thank you for your guidelines. As I read and make judgments about the various individuals and their tweets, I attempt to carve out a style that fits me. Obviously, every post is subject to many different opinions as readers interpret for themselves what the tweet means to them. However, it is great that people like you provide your recommended guidelines. I look forward to including them as I go forward using Twitter. I also welcome other opinions and suggestions for what makes others enjoy and benefit from Twitter. Your suggestion to use Twitter.grading is especially helpful.
Best wishes to your continuing success!

By: Zara Green

Zara Green — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:51:14 +0000

Excellent post! I was using it as a checklist as I read, and found something that I hadn’t thought about before that could greatly impact my following.

Thanks Yvonne!

By: Yvonne Perry

Yvonne Perry — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:28:44 +0000

Jack, you are awesome! Thank you for posting this! I owe you!

As you can tell by my Tweets, I do a lot of interacting with other Tweeple. I love the relationship aspect but I have to do a little marketing to make it worth the huge amounts of time I spent on Twitter.

By: divamover

divamover — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:14:22 +0000

Great confirmation of what I thought were just my instincts. I don’t follow people who haven’t given the most basic information (picture, bio, website). I almost always click on the website if it’s given.
I’m also turned off my looking at posts that are almost exclusively, “Look at my website,” “Let me help you make a million dollars today, ” etc. It’s boring.
thanks for the great article!

By: Sharon Dexter

Sharon Dexter — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:08:43 +0000

Great post. Thanks. I also do most of the above but I haven’t gone to the Twitter.grader to check this out as a step. Typically, if their bio interesting, then I typically just stop there.