Andrew over @Webstudio13 has written a blog post that, in his own words says:
There is something called “Twitter Etiquette.” There are a number of articles that have outlined what not to do with Twitter, and I have read most of them. Consider this post as a summary of all those pointers.
Some of the points are downright obvious “don’t ignore others” – “don’t defame others” – well at least I think they are; whilst others I just totally disagree with “don’t neglect trending topics”. However the one thing that really got my goat about the article was its presentation of points as accepted facts without any explanation.
Take:
#10. Do not tweet way too less (People forget your existence) and
#42. Do not be reluctant to unfollow people who don’t tweet often
Why?
If your purpose in using Twitter is to learn stuff or follow links to blog posts, etc and not to actually promote yourself or your brand / business then what is wrong with only tweeting once in a blue moon? To my mind this makes the tweets all the more interesting – so long as they are.
#11. Do not only follow celebrities (They are boring)
Why not?
If this is your idea of relaxing then why not? Personally I don’t think I follow any huge names but the few ‘celebs’ (and I use that word guardedly) I do follow all, so far, have something worthwhile to say.
#17. Do not auto follow back everybody and
#18. Do not follow everybody you meet (Be selective)
Why on earth not?
What harm can really come in auto-following someone? Clicking on random links from DM’s is another story though. Or why shouldn’t you follow everyone you meet (not quite sure what is meant by ‘meet’ here)?
It’s your twitter account so do what you want with it.
OK, if you want to build a brand or a business or a huge following then that’s one thing, but if, as I suspect, like most of us on twitter we are just ordinary Joe’s and Jane’s then I don’t get these.
Let’s have a look at some more:
#30. Do not neglect trending topics
Tell me why?
More subjectively, let’s do this by looking at the trending topics right now:
#nowplayingPeople are tweeting their media choice of the moment.
#OhJustLikeMePeople are tweeting things that they’ve discovered they have in common.
#MJis
Liverpool
#imthekindofperson
#idoit2People are retweeting things they have in common.
Justin BieberThe young Canadian R&B/pop singer has a lot of fans who like to tweet about him! His second album, My World 2.0, comes out March 23.
My World 2@justinbieber’s new album comes out March 23 and his fans are excited.
#hcrHealth Care Reform. People are tweeting news about this issue in the U.S.
I’m okay
Not one of those things is even remotely making me want to click on them.
And when Michael Jackson died I didn’t need trending topics to tell me – I’ve got lots of celeb obsessed folks around me that couldn’t wait to let me know. That and even with only a few followers you’re still bound to hear stuff like this.
#34. Do not forget to archive your tweets (Back up! I use twapperkeeper)
Another why?
I can guess some reasons but I’m here to learn from you so tell me why you think I should back up my tweets – don’t command me and expect me to do it blindly -though I know some will.
#43. Do not forget to integrate your tweets with other social media platforms, such as Friendfeeds, Facebook, and LinkedIn
Surely this is only relevant if you’re attempting to build a brand or promote one? Personally I see and use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as three separate entities. I have some crossovers but on the whole different uses for different sites.
It also makes me less ‘samey’ and a more rounded individual because I’m not following the same folks across three platforms – what’s the point in that?
#48. Do not forget to install a mobile app to help you tweet while away from your computer
#50. Do not leave your iPhone charger at home when you are going out (It has happened to me three time when I tried to use TweetDeck with an exhausted iPhone battery.)
My answer to these two – get a life and stop worrying about the online aspect of it.
It will still be there when you do get battery power.
Dis-connect for a while.
Talk to those near you that you love or love you.
Sadly this brings to mind a tweet I’ve seen only this morning:
I love “couch time” with my beautiful wife on Sunday mornings! We’re talking about our up-coming anniversary!
No names, no pack drill and I’m not picking on them but the point is why are you tweeting this? If you love that person enough to talk with them then put down the phone / laptop / whatever.
What annoys you about articles like this and am I as guilty as some of the points I’ve raised?
"What harm can really come in auto-following someone?"
I do like this one though. There are way to many spammers and porn accounts out there. I really don't have time to go out there and remove them after I automatically followed them.
There are also a lot of people out there that follow anyone and everyone who's account won't get suspended because they are legit accounts for various companies or other stuff.
Doesn't mean I want their stuff in my timeline. Again, I just don't have the time to just go remove people I follow just because someone wanted to promote something I have no interest in.
Tx for teh comment Darrell.
Re-reading my post and your comment makes me realise I wasn't clear enough … I guess. I was really trying to aim for the POV of "don't tell me what I should do but explain it".
I agree with the don't auto follow all – I too don't want porn accounts. Fortunately spam accounts seem to get flagged up very quickly – but I flagged it as another example of the "Twitter Etiquette Nonsense" – at least as I see it.