I originally started following everyone, and that quickly became one big mess. I’ve recently started culling that list. While it has upset some causing them to unfollow, I’ve decided it isn’t worth the headache.

I’ve found the best way to set up my Tweetdeck is to have an ‘inner circle’ that pulls out those people I truly enjoy tweeting with. The rest sit in the ‘all friends list.’ These people are ones that I might enjoy listening to (Problogger or Copyblogger for example), but don’t generally tweet with. When I notice someone in my ‘all friends’ list who doesn’t interest me, I unfollow. I essentially treat it like my television — I watch what I want, when I want regardless of what others think.

I generally say hello to new followers and try to engage them in conversation. If they aren’t interested in conversation, or don’t carry a conversation well, I don’t bother to investigate or follow them back.

However, I have Tweetdeck set up to search for specific keywords. This allows me to keep up on certain subjects. No commitment. (On a side note, I complained about my accounting program in one tweet. I had three online accounting PR people follow me within the hour. You can usually tell who uses this same technique )

While I may have teased you about your little rant the other day, you are very right James. I followed you for the same reason I come here. Fun, informative, and entertaining. (Just don’t let that go to your head hoser )

I’m tired of reading how you should/shouldn’t use Twitter that state specific instructions and rules for its use.

It’s ‘your’ Twitter. Use it how you wish, tweet what you like, and as frequently as you wish. If you’re interested in what I have to say, follow. If not, no big deal. The solution is only a click away.

Angie Haggstrom

Angie Haggstrom´s last blog post…The Great Debate — How Much Should A Writer Charge?

Given that Twitter is a means of keeping other perspectives, tho’ts & ideas available as we go thru our daily routines & that you get what you give — as w/anything — interaction styles will vary from person to person but should mirror however we interact in person. No more, no less: Do you periodically mention what you’re working on in person? Of course! Do you sometimes repeat what others have said in conversations? Surely! If links, quotations & retweets are part of an on-going conversational approach, you’re good.

James forgot to mention that another instance of quotes being well-tweeted/worth reading is when they include one’s own tho’ts; thus, my quotationaries — quotations w/commentary. ~_~ The same holds true for retweets, of course. Now & again, a retweet takes up all 140 characters but I make sure they’re interesting enough to be shared if so. I also like to give props where props are due so will sacrifice my commentary in order to include the original tweeters username.

It’s simply not a conversation unless you’re responding to @s & DMs at the very least. Bottom line, if it’s not a conversation, you’re missing out. Thanx for speaking up, King James (NOT to be confused w/ANY version of the Bible; well, maybe the freelancer’s bible.)!

(|_|*cheers*|_|)
*shameless plug warning* Twitter.com/coffeesister HA!

Dorian aka coffeesister |_|)´s last blog post…Happy Damn Holidays!

@ Judy – Exactly. Why on earth do I want to listen to someone give me a “daily tweet reminder” or tell me about how many followers he or she has?

And I’m sorry about the bacon. It was so good, I just had to mention it.

@ Zach – Funnily enough, I’m often called out by “big” twitter “pros” because of my high follower, low followee numbers. They tell me I’m not being open to others and showing my willingness to share.

My gut thought every time is, “You don’t know me at all.”

@ Chris – This summer, I was Twitter. Period. Always there, always chatting, always having a blast. Then I worked on Unlimited Freelancer, and had to cut Twitter for a few months.

When I came back, the conversations were gone. The link whoring and retweeting is nuts. No one is talking anymore. It’s all gone stale.

So I hop in and do my usual thing. “Playtime, folks!” And I rattle around for about an hour, shaking up the place and having fun. I make Twitter for me what I want it to be. What else can we do, eh?

That said… others do the same. For some people, it IS a place to drop links and do stuff I wouldn’t do. It’s hard to say, “That’s not right”, because the truth is, it’s right if it’s right for them.

Still doesn’t mean I have to like it

@ Michelle – Well, I’ll probably still be there, so you can @ me then and we’ll chat

@ Wilson – I was-… Oops, dammit, he’s gone. Okay, have fun!

@ Hunter -< blockquote>“You want conversation but you want it on your terms.”

I think this says it all. We want conversation on our terms. Isn’t it our right to decide how we want to use Twitter?

‘Tis. ‘Tis indeed, my friend. So I recognize that my post is a little bit hypocritical in that I’m telling people my terms, and suggesting they should have the same.

I can try, though, can’t I?

@ Jim – Damn. I thought I was that interesting. Oh well…

Cheers, everyone!

One commenter on my post said that twitter is the adult equivalent, the “middle school for grownups.” I thought, “Yeah, that’s true.”

I haven’t totally figured twitter out yet, but I have mixed feelings. I see an awful lot of egos and shameless bragging (“I just reached 4,000 followers!). And what’s up with the advice that we should all follow the “thought leaders”? What the hell is a “thought leader,” anyway? And who decides that they are the only people with something to say?

I am selective in who I choose to follow and it doesn’t particularly bother me if that person doesn’t follow me back. (As with James: I’m a writer,. he’s a damn good writer, and I get something from his tweets, when he’s not talking about bacon). : )

I am using lost of social media tools: facebook, LinkeIn, biznik, etc. And twitter is just another tool. I’ll see if it’s worth the time as I get into it more.

Thanks, James, for another thought-provoking post.

I’ve been followed, and then unfollowed by my fair share of EBay moms, and “MAKE MONEY NOW” entrepreneurs, but I’ve never felt any obligation or benefit to following them back. I follow people who provide valuable conversation. I like looking at my feed and knowing who everyone is, and seeing that conversation tends to follow certain themes (Web Design in my case).

I agree to a point with your comment on conversations that fall on deaf ears. I realize that many of the larger twitter accounts I follow have far to many shout-outs to respond regularly to. I’m not offended by a lack of response, but I do get excited when a big twitter celebrity finally responds. The simple things in life!

Great article!

Zach Dunn´s last blog post…The Real Problem With Design Contests

This was a really helpful post. I just got twitter and have been struggling with how it even works. As far as my experience with social networking sites go, I was surprised that twitter was so simple. I don’t see as much conversation as I did “soap-boxing”. I followed as many interesting people as I could, thinking it would make the conversation more interesting. However, the white noise (as you put it) is excruciating. I’m glad you put my thoughts into words. I think you are right… following too many people is not the point of twitter. In fact, I have been noticing that the people who I enjoy following most tend to have around 20-40 people that they follow. They are the ones who are having true conversations. I think I am going to start following less people…

I miss Twitter just a little and will perhaps one day re-sign up, but not for awhile and will be more careful next time.

By the way, it’s my twittering time again, catch you later.

“You want conversation but you want it on your terms.”

I think this says it all. I can’t be sure of the context–was she criticizing you for not following her back? Anyway, this statement is absolutely right. We want conversation on our terms. Isn’t it our right to decide how we want to use Twitter?

If someone just wants to use it to keep tabs on a few people, they might want to receive only a few tweets a day. If they follow me and I tweet 20 times one day, pushing all the tweets off their front page, should they get angry? No, they should just unfollow me. I’m using Twitter in a different way from them, and sorry if I’m not doing what they want, but I’m not going to change just to accommodate one follower (or even many followers).

If Tim Ferriss doesn’t want to follow anyone back, fine. If Gary Vaynerchuk doesn’t want to check DMs, fine. If Steve Pavlina just wants to tweet his words of wisdom without conversing, fine. They can do what they want, and I can decide if I want to remain a follower (and in these cases, the answer is yes).

BTW, regarding not responding. When I first signed up on Twitter, I didn’t really use it, and I didn’t take the time to figure it out. I didn’t notice there was a “replies” tab, so there was a good chance I’d miss any tweets that were directed at me. That’s not a problem for me anymore, especially since I use TweetDeck, but consider that someone might be accidentally ignoring you just because they’re a newbie and didn’t see your tweets.

Hunter Nuttall´s last blog post…hnuttall: @FireByDragon So if she becomes a lawyer again, is that called going into relapse? Oh, and I guess I’ve heard of a recovering chocoholic.

Jim Koscs´s last blog post…The Truth About (“Bland”) Cars