The phrase “better late than never” comes to mind, here. I realize that twitter is no new thing, and that the most appropriate time for a post like this would have been about three years ago. But I do believe that this post is quite necessary. Each rule I’m about to discuss is one I’ve seen broken by at least one of the 160 people I follow. Someone’s got to say something, and I don’t mind being the one saying it..
So read on, see where you’ve botched it, then go and sin no more.
ON TWEETING
Certainly twitter wouldn’t exist if people didn’t tweet. It is, in fact, the sole purpose of the website. But there is such a reality as “too much of a good thing”, and some folks fill the twittersphere with too much of their own content (and to even say that some of it is “good” is a gross exaggeration). People do want to hear from you… but they don’t want to hear from you that much.
What then, is an acceptable number of tweets per day? After much consideration, conversation, and thought, I’ve come to the answer: five, tops.
Now that doesn’t mean that you have to tweet five times a day. Most days you shouldn’t. But there are instances when 5 tweets are acceptable: you’re on an awesome trip to an objectively fascinating location or your spouse is having a surgery and you’re updating friends and family.
As far as content is concerned, it should go without saying that things like “good morning”, “putting on my socks”, and most food-related tweets are not the best use of your twitter potential… but I’ll say it anyway.
ON AT-MENTIONING
For those who don’t know, at-mentioning people simply links to their page by using their twitter name. It seems innocent enough, but there are ways this seemingly harmless feature can be abused:
For example, many-a-twitter user has been guilty of using at-mentioning as a modern manifestation of an age-old bad habit: name dropping. They’ll tweet something like:
“At Cool Place with @CoolGuy, @AwesomeGuy, and @HotGirl… so awesome, bro.”
Now the sole motivation for posting something of this nature is to ensure that your followers see how awesome you are, because you’re friends with Cool Guy, Awesome Guy, and Hot Girl (not to mention you spend time at Cool Place). It may have an undesirable side effect though: people may think you’re gross if you make a habit of telling them how wonderfully popular you are. (Note: If you are roommates with Cool Guy and Awesome Guy, and you’re dating Hot Girl, this is more acceptable.)
Another common mistake people make with at-mentions is to carry on back-and-forth conversations with people on twitter. That’s what cell phones are for. I’m not implying that you have to talk to your friend (God forbid), you can text them, but don’t have the conversation on twitter for the world to see. Use direct messages if you don’t have their number. It’ll be okay.
ON RETWEETING
One of the highest honors a twitter user can be given is to be retweeted by his or her followers. The idea is that your content was so helpful, funny, informative, or important (not to mention well-said), that they wanted to share it with their followers. Thankfully, there isn’t a whole lot of foul play going on in regards to retweeting, but there is one huge no-no that — while less prevelent than it once was — still dirties up the sphere (aka twitter litter). It goes like this.
Guy One tweets to Guy Two:
@GuyTwo: I just read your blog post; it was AWESOME!”
So far, so good. Nothing wrong with paying someone a compliment on twitter. Here comes the no-no: Guy Two retweets Guy One to make sure all of his followers see it, and adds a comment:
RT @GuyOne: @GuyTwo: I just read your blog post; it was AWESOME! // thanks man!”
Now that is just tacky. Don’t retweet people’s compliments to you. Get over yourself, Guy Two. Seriously.
ON FOLLOWING/UNFOLLOWING
Among my favorite things about twitter is that I can follow someone without their having to follow me back, and visa-versa. So I can follow @kanyewest, and he doesn’t have to follow me back, and @BarackObama can follow me, and I don’t have to follow him back.
However, this point is one of much contention among twitter users, particularly when it comes to unfollowing people. I’ve had countless real-life conversations with people on the subject matter of whether or not it is acceptable to unfollow people on twitter. Some think it appropriate only in cases where you don’t personally know the user you’re unfollowing (like when I unfollowed @BarackObama).
I take it a step further and say it is okay to unfollow anybody, even someone whom you enjoy a great deal in real life. If their content is consistently terrible, and they tweet 10-15 times a day… unfollow them. Tell them I said it was okay.
Now I realize that being unfollowed is a blow to the pride. I’ve lost some 30+ followers in the past year, and it stings a little, but that’s one of the beauties of twitter: follow who you want, don’t follow who you don’t.
IN CONCLUSION
Oliver Wendell Holmes — who lived during most of the 1800′s and grew to be quite old — said, “young men know the rules, but old men know the exceptions.”
I realize that there are exceptions to most rules, and that some of the guidelines I’ve laid out here have potential to fall under the “most” umbrella. However generally speaking, the things I’ve said here are true and ought to be adhered to as strictly as is humanly possible. Do your followers a favor, people.
Post written by D.O., who blogs for online diary for the masses, and tweets at @derrickoliver.
