All of us are guilty of sending a tweet here and there that devalues the Twitter streams of others. But, if you're sending any of the following tweets on a regular basis, you should seriously rethink how you're using the platform:
1. @insertusername Thanks for following me!
Gratitude is nice, but generic tweets to every person who follows you is spam.
2. I'm listening to (insert song here) via (insert platform here)
Lots of people have their Pandora or GetGlue accounts hooked up to Twitter, but no one needs the play by play on every song you're listening to. Skip it.
3. I just posted today's blog. Check it out: www.bitly.ReadMyStuffButIWontTellYouWhatItsAbout
If you want to promote your blog via tweet, remember to give us a clue as to the subject. The fact that you've written and published something isn't breaking news.
4. I got 5,000 followers from (insert site here) and you can too: www.bitly.TheGuyOnlyHas400Followers
Aside from the fact that buying Twitter followers is downright sleazy, if you're going to tell us we can do something, why don't you do it first, eh?
5. Please like my Facebook page (also "subscribe to my YouTube channel", "follow my blog", etc.).
And the million dollar question is...why? Give people a reason. How will it benefit them?
6. Any tweet including the #NomNom hashtag
Let's leave the food tweets to those with food blogs. Knowing that you just ate pumpkin pie is noise in its purest form.
7. I walked ___ miles in ___ minutes
Having your Daily Mile activities feed into your Twitter stream is unnecessary. You're telling us about your daily exercise routine why?
8. I'm watching (insert show here) via (insert platform here)
Just like the music tweet above, telling your followers that you're viewing "Hawaii Five-0" does nothing to enrich our lives.
9. The _______ Daily is out!
Paper.li tweets don't help you make money, get more clients, or enrich the lives of your followers. It's time to say buh-bye.
You'll notice that a great deal of these tweets are a result of giving other platforms access to your Twitter account. Automation is rarely a good idea. Giving sites permission to tweet one's activities is generally the default setting because it provides exposure for the site; however it's not of benefit to the user or their followers.
What tweets are you sick of seeing? What do you think adds to the noise?
I don't tweet EVERY song lol :)
ReplyDeleteGreat list, Amber. Personally, I am not a big fan of the #FF tweets. To me, it is much more meaningful to say:
ReplyDeleteFollow Words Done Write because _______________
Also, I prefer to send such tweets on days other than Friday when the stream is already so crowded.
Had to laugh at some of these as I've uttered more than a few four-letter words when reading some of these, myself.
ReplyDeleteIn the interest of full disclosure: I've got a paper.li account. While it does post automatically for me, I've set it up to carefully select choice tidbits of interest to my audience. Tweeting a paper.li publication without putting a shout out to at least 3 of the contributors IS kinda lame (similar to your #3). But I do read issues on occasion published by others and find them interesting. Do they bring in new clients? Not as of yet. But I am connecting more with some of the contributors.
Oh, I concur. The generic #FF tweets need to stop. They offer no value. Do it right or don't do it at all.
ReplyDeleteGlad you've found a way to get some value out of Paper.li. When it first launched, I was a fan (as you can see from my old blog post on it). But then, the spammy daily tweets came. And everyone was auto tweeting their links.
ReplyDeleteIf you've found a way to make those tweets of value to you, more power to you, Tea!
I'm ashamed to say that I am guilty of 4 of these, usually as built-in shares from said platforms and one autofeed. I *do* try to add some sort of conversation-starting comment from pandora and getglue though!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tea on the paper.li publications. I also check out the ones that include my posts and I often click to read other people's articles. If they don't tweet to me about it, I wouldn't know.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering whether they help raise the creator's Klout score.
And no, I haven't produced one.
Hey Annette! If you can add "something" personal to make the generic template more valuable, that certainly takes the stink off the tweet (so to speak).
ReplyDeleteYour Daily Mile observation is interesting. Perhaps what's noise on Twitter can be a conversation starter on another platform that's more geared toward longer back and forth.
Thanks for coming clean, Annette ;-) Always nice to see you!
If someone puts me in their paper.li tweet, I admit that I usually look to see what tweet got picked up. Curiosity usually gets the better of me. But, if I'm not mentioned I never look.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how a Paper.li would raise the sender's Klout score. However, if you get mentioned in a lot of other people's Paper.li tweets, it does increase your mentions (which may impact your score).
I just find it funny because I was wanting to share from Google Music -- mainly to get feedback on other artists I might be missing out on or find other like-minded people. Last.fm has not been useful in that way to me.
ReplyDeleteback to the day job ...
Great post, Amber! I'm guilty of very infrequently tweeting about music I'm listening to, but usually on the weekend or because it's in memory of someone or another occasion like #HappyBirthdayNeilYoung. I'm one who has a couple of daily paperli's going out, and I frequently get mentioned in someone's paperli. I've connected with a lot of great people this way, and found good content as well. I think everyone's different and what annoys some of us, doesn't annoy others. When I get to the point where someone is constantly tweeting things that I have no interest in or I find annoying, or they're just tweeting too much, I usually unfollow the person. I like to thank people using #FF or TY, but I try to keep those to a minimum because when I see a stream of those, I find it annoying as well. The latest issue that I find annoying is people trying to argue for or persuade others to a cause, like OWS, and use either cuss words or whiny, blaming, anarchic rhetoric. And, I'm basically sympathetic to the movement, but like anything else, positive and mature persuasion is a better approach. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't do #FF at all. I did when I was new to Twitter and could play the newbie card. I always feel guilty, though, when somebody else includes me in a #FF tweet...
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your goal and get what you're trying to do. I guess I would just go about that in a different way.
ReplyDeleteFor example, sending a tweet that says, "I just love Katy Perry! Who else is a fan?" or "I enjoy listening to Adele. Are there similar artists who you enjoy who I should check out?" Take the automation and the template out of it. I bet you may yield better results ;-)
Agreed! I think a lot of these are overused/abused and have really taken the social out of it. I get some of them in theory, but they just don't add that social element in practice. But, to each their own, I guess!
ReplyDeleteHey Brittany! Good point. Anytime you replace a human with automation it does take the social out of social media!
ReplyDeleteHey Karen! Thanks for weighing in!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you about folks trying to persuade others to change their long held beliefs. There's a time and place for it, and Twitter isn't it (in my humble opinion).
As for Paper.li, it's a platform that does have value. To me, though, those daily tweets have just kind of tainted it for me. If you're getting something out of it, however, good for you! I'm glad you find it useful ;-)
Ha ha. I know what you mean, but it's on them. There are plenty of other things to feel guilty about, so don't waste your worry on that one ;-)
ReplyDeleteI heart this post! Fantastic and spot on. Wouldn't it be cool to have a magical filter to block it all out??
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Thanks, Jason!
ReplyDeleteI know you can tinker with filters through TweetDeck and other platforms, but I haven't done it. Quite honestly, I'm more inclined to unfollow someone who's bogging me down with this stuff than to filter out their noise. But, I'm all for magical anything...
I agree by and large with what you said. I resist Klout's urging to send Klout badge tweets (now I've given up on looking at Klout altogether after I found ALL of the users they track have declining scores-- no one is "winning" in the eyes of Klout?).
ReplyDeleteAnd, I won't send a note in the clear to new followers. What I will do is DM them and send them a link to show them their profile according to a Twitter analytics thing I built up, Twiller.
Good addition, Mike! Yes! Yes! Yes! Automated badge tweets!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat list, Amber. I always suspected Paper.li was a waste of time and now it's confirmed. Personally, I'm getting tired of reading Foursquared updates on Twitter.
ReplyDeleteHi Shelley! Good one! Yeah, I've never been a fan of Foursquare check-ins. I've seen too many streams that are nothing but those tweets. Those folks should have their Twitter accounts revoke!
ReplyDeleteI have read articles that advise that one should first think about what one's social media presence is meant to achieve, and then stay focused to that. I could link your post to that thought.
ReplyDeleteYour article makes one wonder if one is guilty of contributing to the social noise, instead of fulfilling some purpose that people may find interesting.
Per se, I would not advocate against any one kind of tweet. If sharing good music links is the purpose of your account, by all means do so, and those who love your kind of music will follow you. Would that make sense?
Sure, it all goes to goals. That makes sense.
ReplyDeleteIf you're part of the music industry, your musical tastes would be relevant. If you're in fitness, your exercise routine may be of interest, as well. However, I would still advise to actually write your tweets rather than automate them. Be real. Add context and personalization. A templated auto tweet is never the way to move the needle IMHO.
I've begun to dread Fridays because of the #FF hashtag. If you want someone to be followed, at least provide some info about them! But the number one type of tweet I despise and wish could be banned are the ones that tell people where you are at that moment. Foursquare tweets, I guess. This is ego massaging at its worst. And then there's the tweet that lets the world know you're signing off and going to bed. And the food tweets. Ugh. Fortunately, I'm using Twimbow now which allows me to filter out annoying tweets.
ReplyDeleteHere's one; "Good morning, Tweeps!" and "Good night, Tweeps!" Reallly don't need a check in from someone as to when they wake up and go to bed. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteI'd add one: for Pete's sake, stop posting your Foursquare updates. Noise at its worst. Even if it means something to you that you're the mayor of Nobody's-Ever-Heard-of-It Café, the rest of the world can live without knowing it.
ReplyDeleteLove it. Also your horoscope! I don't care! And as far as Liking you on Facebook in order to win something, I hate that too!
ReplyDeleteAlways find it annoying the check ins from mundane places. Who really cares and does Starbucks on the corner of You're stupid send you a check for promoting them?
ReplyDeleteI fully understand if you're a celebrity; as then they have pull. The are influencers. Other than that shut up! LOL
A great post and many thanks for sharing. I agree with everything here but I question 1 and 9. I still send variations of a thank you tweet automatically ... hmm should I re-think? I dunno. It's just courtesy made efficient and I say a little more than "thanks". And paper.li.. again I am uncertain. It can't do any harm can it? It takes no time and I do dip into to and discover new stuff in some of the editions so it can enrich my "experience" Isn't that part of what social media is all about. No-one can say with absolute certainty it won't lead to sales either ...
ReplyDeleteBrilliant post Amber. I do #1-not a generic, automated response, but I do send everyone a personal TY if they follow me. Is that OK?
ReplyDeleteHi. This is all opinion at the end of the day it's what YOU think that matters. IMHO you don't need to seek approval. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd any tweet with more than one hashtag. And a stream of thx for the RT's and lists of twitter handles. And..... I'll stop now. :)
ReplyDeleteI get it. I even agree with you. But I LIKE my followers and I want them to know I appreciate them following me. Lately, I'm trying to include a statement about something they've done/said/posted, but I have followers that I choose not to follow. I still want them to know I appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like being thanked and mentioned. It may sound crazy and it isn't my only means of pats on the back, but I appreciate people saying thank you to me, even in Twitter.
Retweeting every tweet they're tagged in is annoying... for example -- Justin Bieber. You can just hit "reply" and not take over all your followers feeds.
ReplyDeleteAlso when people tweet the same thing over and over. Yeah, we saw it already, stop wasting my time and space
it's not hard to tell who really "gets" social media and who doesn't - i guess at least for those of us that already do.
ReplyDeleteautomation = masturbation
Whew, I'm glad my original staple 'I went to Starbucks today' didn't make the list. I don't think I'm guilty of any of those. I don't mind being included on someone's # 9. Of course, I might not be a good judge for this anyway because most of those would have required some work or at least forethought and that's just not my strong suit............just sayin'.........
ReplyDeleteI stay out of a lot of trouble just by 'showing up'; no more, no less.......
Hey, who made you the hashtag police? I'll put as many as I want.......
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Amber, and interesting food for thought -- NomNom ;-)
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I found your post via a paper.li tweet. Hmm...
Hey Eryc! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! The irony is not lost on me! Touche!
I think that's the first time the "m" word has ever been left in a comment!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya! Yes! Good additions to the list! Thanks, Yoyoman16!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. I'm all for thanking people for when they do nice things. It's just templated verbiage is so incredibly insincere to me. If you want to connect with someone, I think it's better to make it personal in some way. Heck, I thank people all the time.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are plenty of Twitter accounts who have nothing but @____ thank you for following me! That's all they have for dozens of tweets and they think that's engagement. It's not; it's spam.
#What #do #you #mean #Lisa?
ReplyDeleteThank you lisagerber @bdorman264 for the comments! :-)
Personal is always better than automated templates, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Yeah, seen plenty of those. It's like they think we've been hanging on waiting for them to arrive and say howdy! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYep! Good one. Too many Foursquare updates out there, for sure.
ReplyDeleteHey Jean! I completely agree. Great ones to add to the list.
ReplyDeleteI know too many people who do all of those. ;-)
Hi Wendy! Thanks for adding to the list.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen the horoscope ones a few times, thank goodness. Although now that I say that, I'll probably see it all the time now! ;-)
Good point. Lots of free advertising come with those check-ins. Unless a business is ponying up for a discount or something, it's just gravy for them.
ReplyDeleteNo one can say anything at any time with absolute certainty ;-)
ReplyDeleteAs for courtesy made efficient, I guess I'm more old fashioned. The best courtesy comes from effort--not automation.
Amber and Bill,
ReplyDelete#that's #exactly #it. #soannoying. #Icantevenreadit #whataretheydoing?
Addresses the rampant narcissism that Twitter turned into news reports. What you're doing at the moment needs to be interesting to someone other than you. Receiving an automated "thank you for following" doesn't bug me. BTW- News flash - I'm typing a comment on my computer. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting observation. Many of those tweets do seem to be "me" focused, don't they?
ReplyDeleteHeres an alternative view of paper.li for your consideration and one that I agree with. http://www.catalystmarketers.com/online-daily-newspaper/
ReplyDeleteI am a very busy chap and dont have time to personally acknowledge each new follower - I manage 4 twitter (business divisions) accounts and have over 12k followers. An automated tweet is efficient and in offensive. Its not lazy. It is efficient. Quantity (with relevancy) is quality when it comes to twitter followers. The bigger the net the more fish you'll catch. Trust me.
http://www.catalystmarketers.com/online-daily-newspaper/
My pet peeve is "I am at [insert restaurant here] enjoying [insert food item here] - so good!" - Especially when these tweets come from PR peeps.... I mean how transparent can you be by plugging a client? Let's stay creative in our publicity people!
ReplyDeletep.s. I kind of like getting "thanks for following me" tweets :)
I actually like those paper.li tweets (though I don't have one anymore, I don't think). And I like the food posts--and my followers seem to, also lol. But some great points here.
ReplyDeleteIf I Follow somebody, and get an auto-return tweet that doesn't simply say "Thanks!" but says, "Thank you & BUY MY BOOK" or "Thank you & go check out my website" I UNfollow.
ReplyDeleteI don't particularly feel loved or appreciated when I'm thanked by somebody's machine/auto-reply, any more than when I get a postcard birthday card from my car dealership.
ReplyDeleteIf somebody follows me, and I don't already Follow them, and they look interesting, I will follow them. If they post something I like, I'll retweet it. I don't thank people for following, IMO that's implied.
Funny, I just found this article thru a paper.li tweet...
ReplyDeleteThis is a SPOT ON list! I noticed myself nodding along the entire way through the post.
ReplyDeleteOne point about the "Thanks for following me" tweet - which many people commenting below seem to get warm fuzzies from: Most of the time it's automated, which is impersonal and spammy.
IF you are going to thank someone for following, make it personal. Comment about their blog or their bio or profile pic, or anything that indicates a person was behind the tweet and not an autobot.
As for the Paper.li tweets, I don't mind those because a) I'll often click-through and read ones with interesting topics, and b) my own posts or tweets often show up in the #branding #marketing or #smallbiz issues, which allows me to track the various ways my content is being dispersed.
Yup definately a few pet peeves here, and I have unfollowed people with too many tweets like these!
ReplyDeleteAmber,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It should be entered in a bank of info called "Before you even think of tweeting, read this now!"
I agree with all of the above, except the paper.li. I find some of the best content there that I may not have found otherwise. I usually only look at those that I'm featured in, which is a bit self-serving, but they are meant to recognize those that follow us.
My paper.li is a weekly -- Everyday is indeed too much. I feature my Birds Of A Feather tribe members. It is one way for us to stay connected and keep up with what each other is up to, as everyone is so busy, and Triberr has been sometimes overwhelming as of late. My tribe mates seem to really like it.
Below people are commenting on #FF (Follow Friday). I've come to dread Fridays as the gesture does not seem to mean much anymore, and the streams are so crowded. As Janet Callaway mentions, I tend to recognize people on other days.
Mainly I agree with you -- Thanks for the burst of finger energy! :)
~Keri
Hey Tina! Ah, yes! The combined Foursquare slash #NomNom tweet! A double trouble offense!
ReplyDeleteI'm not against thank yous, per se. It's just that I see too many folks that have nothing BUT thank yous: 20, 30, and more. Like they think that is engagement and never tweet anything but individual thank yous to every single person.
Thanks for chiming in, Tina! ;-)
Well, if your followers like that stuff, I can't argue with that ;-)
ReplyDeleteTouche!
ReplyDeleteHey Nikolas, I'm with you on the personalization. So, so true! I don't like anything that feels like automation or a template.
ReplyDeleteAs for the paper.li tweets, I'm glad you're getting something out of them. That's great ;-)
Thanks for chiming in, Chris. Me, too! ;-)
ReplyDeleteKeri, thanks for the great examples of how to make Paper.li useful. I'm not against the platform, in theory. I just hate the daily templated automation of it. You provide a wonderful overview of how it can be used more effectively. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteGreat input!
Good post. I agree with all of these with the exception of Paper.li. I can show you a way to use Paper.li to actually generate business and get paid.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave, I'm not anti-Paper.li. I'm just anti automated, templated, daily tweet. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, yes. The business-related birthday cards! Make you all warm and fuzzy inside, huh? ;-)
ReplyDeleteIn most cases, I would also be anti templated daily tweet. But Paper.li is the exception for me.
ReplyDeleteI too am against auto / template tweets except for the 1 send to each new follower. I've written it in advance thats all!! And how on earth can this be spam? The act of folowing opens up the channel for 2 way communication. If people unfolow me thats cool because it leaves space for people who get it. Twitter isnt about personally engaging with every follower everyday either - thats what email is for.
ReplyDeleteI like the first 8 of your 9, but I disagree re the paper.li. I find that my paper.li increases my range and also helps me review what my followers are sharing in an easy to consume format. Twitter presence and web presence in general are a function of multiple factors. Paper.li tweets help newer followers find the best of my twitter stream.
ReplyDeleteYou rail against most of this stuff, but I find that much of these things help flesh out who a person is and how they live their life. Sure I don't care how far another follower runs in a day, but I can't say others wouldn't be interested. Twitter is noise, plain and simple. It's just a matter of how much noise a person generates versus how much worthwhile content they generate. I used to have the expectation that people deliver quality all the time, but I realize that sharing different things with people has value, even if it is junk to some people. I've had someone tweet what they're listening to and had it change the whole complexion of my day. Maybe hearing that song was just the pick me up I needed to get me through a boring afternoon. When you have lots of followers, you have no idea who you might connect with when you tweet stuff like that. Having the expectation that everyone should cut down on the noise is foolish. People just need to be mindful of how much noise they create. I know my tweets aren't going to please everyone all of the time, but if I can bring value and enough reason to keep following, that's good enough for me.
ReplyDeleteThough I will agree paper.li is stupid. The only time I might read it is when I'm mentioned in that edition, but even then barely ever.
Nothing wrong with a personalized how do you do. That's not what I'm Nothing wrong with a personalized how do you do. That's not what I'm
ReplyDeletegetting at. I'm saying a generic form letter is not the most effective
way to start any relationship or two-way dialogue.
I see this all the time. A stream FULL of:
@__ thank you for following me
@__ thank you for following me
@__ thank you for following me
@__ thank you for following me
Don't know about you, but that's spammy to me.
Yes, these tweets sure do tell who a person is. However, this is Twitter and not Facebook. Do 5,000 strangers care about your jogging routine? Probably not. But your mama and roommate on Facebook probably do.
ReplyDeleteMost of the examples above help give Twitter a bad name and make folks think it has no value. If you think it's foolish to expect folks to be less "me" focused and more community focused, that's certainly your call. It's just not how I find value in the platform.
Hey Edward, glad to see some of you are getting value out of the Paper.li stuff. I'm not against the platform, just hate the daily, templated, auto tweets.
ReplyDeleteI think the thing you forget is that Twitter isn't all business, nor is it Facebook. Personally Twitter is my online base and I don't really care about Facebook even though I do have an account.
ReplyDeleteAnd the reality is, if you have 5000 followers and they're all strangers you're probably doing something wrong. I have 1200 followers and a large segment of those people I know personally and have forged real relationships with. So they do care what I might eat. I know this because if I do post a picture, the picture service will tell me that sometimes hundreds of people have viewed that picture. This fact has been proven over and over to me.
I can understand the desire to cut these down if you're a business trying to cut through the cruft, but the reality is these are your customers and this is how they choose to go about using Twitter, a platform with no hard and fast rules.
Ironically, I've made some great connections by saying good morning. To me, it's not about reminding people what time it is. It's about being polite and personable and giving others a ridiculously easy reason to reply back to me. I find far too many tweets/blog posts to be more "inside joke" than an opening for conversation and discussion.
ReplyDeleteReally like this comment. I try to reply to new followers because I see it as an opening to creating a future relationship. I look at their tweets and bio and see what we have in common.
ReplyDeleteWhen I post what music I'm listening to, I do so with the intent to see what my audience (readers) are listening to. And I've found some great songs this way. I think it makes me more approachable and music is a fairly universal topic.
I try to have a goal in mind for each tweet, otherwise it seems pointless. Rather than share what I'm eating, I want to know what my readers are eating. I actually got a great Thanksgiving recipe from one of them the other day based on a tweet.
I agree Edward. The worth of the paper depends on the worth of the stuff flowing into the paper...which is dependent on what the paper's owner decides to put in it. Our paper the BVS Books Daily Roundup stays very focused on writing and reading posts. It basically pulls together all the things I've posted, plus the best of stuff a few others that I've CAREFULLY selected have posted.
ReplyDeleteSome of the papers represent a quick and easy way to get the content. I agree that there are others that are not nearly as focused (or are not nearly as focused on what is of interest to me). These other papers may well be of more interest to some people than my paper is. Many of us follow people who have both some similar and some dissimilar interests. What's of interest is in the eye of the beholder.
For me too. :-) I try hard to make sure that there is something of value in the paper each day...so when the auto tweet goes out it is a reminder to my followers that there is good stuff to go look at.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say that 5,000 was all your connections. It was an example to illustrate that not everyone in our stream is someone we interact with and know well.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have many people whom I've forged great relationships with on Twitter. However, I try not to bog them down with nonsense such as the cake I'm eating or how many jumping jacks I just did. As you say, no hard and fast rules. However, automated or templated tweets provide no value to me in the least. If you dig them, that's great.
Hi Selena, if the blogs you are reading are using too many inside jokes, that's a real shame. As you say, that certainly curbs discussion.
ReplyDeleteHey BVS Books, you bring up a great distinction. Sounds as though you're putting time and thought into your paper. That always makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteWhen people rely too much on the automation and just have the bots take over, that's when things start to go south.
This is just another blog post telling writers/bloggers/readers or whatever what *not* to say on twitter/facebook, just like the thousands of others crashing through the blogosphere these last few months. I think all of these "what not to tweet/facebook" posts only really serve two purposes.
ReplyDeleteThe first is basically advertising what the blog owner dislikes reading on their twitter/facebook, at which point I unfollow them immediately, if they're on my media. I'm obviously annoying them so I might as well sever the connection.
And the second is basic regurgitation of the same information (with varying degrees of snark, depending on the blogger) with the goal of garnering comments and/or padding out the posts count.
All this kind of post basically says is: don't post anything about your life. At all. Keep the personal personal and only post what I (the blogger) wants to read.
Ironic! I just found this article through paper.li
ReplyDeleteI could live without #FollowFriday forever. It seems nobody ever uses
ReplyDeleteit to point out WHY the reader might like to follow someone, which would be welcome:
"If you love moths as much as I do, follow my lepidopterist friend Bob at (screenname)! #FollowFriday"
However, the practice has degenerated into meaningless walls of screennames I'm not given any reason to care about.
"#FollowFriday #FF (screenname) (screenname) (screenname) (screenname)
(screenname) (screenname) (screenname) (screenname) (screenname)
(screenname) (screenname) (screenname)"
Entirely useless and annoying.
Sorry to hear that is what you took away from this, Natalie. At no point did I say not to tweet anything about your real life. This is essentially a post saying that automated, templated tweets provide no value--only static.
ReplyDeleteHa ha. Yeah, it is, Spyros ;-)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, Rob. Your example is spot on and a wonderful example of why hand-written personal tweets yield better results than automated, templated ones!
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding to the dialogue! ;-)
I'm guilty of doing a couple of those you list. In fact, I just looked through my tweets of the past couple of weeks and they're mostly paper.li, but in my defense, I've also been offline for the past couple of weeks. My Daily is drawn from a list of my absolute favorite resources or people, so it works for me as a consumer.
ReplyDeleteI like knowing what other people are reading, listening to, or watching on TV or what movie they're seeing, so I don't think twice about sharing what movie I'm watching or where I'm at. I add a comment or a quick review to most of my GetGlue or Foursquare check-ins. I think that's the key.
Anytime you personalize a template, that's a step in the right direction. Adding something to make it useful and more meaningful is a good thing ;-)
ReplyDeleteTo be honest i did not keep in mind these things and often tweet some rubbish and silly tweets, but now after read your post i can better understand that what should i tweet and what not.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. Glad the post got you thinking. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes you are right these kinds of tweets can create hurdle to promote your business as well as your personal reputation. Before some months i also use these kinds of tweets then i stopped when i read about twitter promotion strategy.
ReplyDeleteGood point. If you want to be strategic about your Twitter presence, it's smart to be mindful about the kinds of tweets that you send.
ReplyDeleteWords Done Write
ReplyDeleteWords Done Write Congratulations on opening a really big controversial can of worms. :-D
ReplyDeleteAutomation is a two way street. There are no shortage of "filters" to help us organize and dissect our streams, and it's still our choice to weigh the cost of continuing conversation with someone, and walk away when we wish.
I take pleasure in the fact that Twitter is a lot like democracy in the sense that people are free to choose what they will talk about or not. It's good to be considerate of one's audience and have somewhat of a communications strategy, but I agree with some of the other comments as far as sharing occasional posts of a personal nature: Many of us enjoy hearing about the likes and dislikes people have. Every post need not be some diatribe that profoundly changes my life to be interesting to me. What I really like about Twitter is that it allows me to know more about the whole person. I enjoy knowing what you want me to know about you.
Good discussion!
Ha ha, Don! Opening cans makes for a more interesting discussion, huh? ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point: the audience. All of our audiences are unique. The network I've worked to build may be different than yours. Therefore, the tolerance level may vary.
For me, automation is a big turn off. I try to practice what I preach, so if I don't like it from others, I don't do it in my stream. However, if your network sends these kinds of tweets and you do, too, I can see how it may not be as big an issue.
Thanks for adding to the dialogue ;-)
I like paper.li because it's just one a day and sometimes it's interesting. All the others I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteLots of the commenters on this post agree with you on the Paper.li thing, Abel ;-)
ReplyDelete