How Not to Do Twitter: The Rise and Fall of My Twitterverse

I came a itty-bitty late to the Twitter party. Once I embraced the staple concept, I put over resolute make a massive Twitter following–in all the wrong ways, and for all the reprehensible reasons. If you are new to Chirrup, or trying to gain Chitter followers, perhaps you can learn from my mistakes.

The Wrong Way to Do Twitter

On that point is no point in tweeting in a vacancy. If you don't have Chitter followers, you are essentially alone tweeting to yourself. I had grand visions of beingness an Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk – currently 6,891,674 followers), or a Pete Cashmore (@mashable – currently 2,336,322 following), or a Saint David Pogue (@pogue – presently 1,351,572 followers), operating theater even a Robert Scoble (@scobleizer – presently 183,534 following).

Twitter - follow me — You postulate to attract Twitter followers or you'll just live tweeting to yourself.

I did some Google searches and asked around about building a Twitter following. Apparently, I fell in with the wrong crowd and got the wrong advice. Essentially, the direction I got was to follow as many other Twitter accounts as I possibly could, and then those Twitter tweeps would reciprocate and follow me backwards. The trouble with this strategy is that it raises your Twitter following issue, merely doesn't attract any actual Twitter followers.

You keister't buy love…or Chitter followers. The only Twitter followers you get undermentioned the "follow and they'll follow you back off" strategy are other Twitter users pursuit that same strategy. The net result was that I was apace approach 20,000 Twitter following, but the immense majority of them were never really interested in reading my tweets surgery contributing to any meaningful dialog. In the finish, I was still au fon tweeting in a vacuum–sporty a much larger vacuum.

Destroyed Earth Exercise-Complete

At few point, it occurred to me that I wasn't really interested in recitation the tweets of the vast majority of the 15,000 or so Twitter accounts I was following, and thither were thusly many tweets coming through with that I couldn't obtain any value out of Twitter the least bit. I had no idea who these people were, surgery whether we had anything in frequent. Then it hit me–if I don't care near reading their tweets, they probably don't care about meter reading mine either.

So, I went back and did some further research on my Twitter "idols". Ashton Kutcher only follows 637 Twitter accounts. Pete Cashmore follows 2,260, and St. David Pogue follows 1,631. Robert Scoble follows an insane 31,758–but it is still lonesome one one-sixth of the amoun that are following him, and I am willing to bet he uses a variety of lists and filters and really sole reads the tweets of a few hundred Chirrup accounts.

I took a "adust Earth" approach to rectifying the situation. I unfollowed everyone. Literally. All 15,000 plus Twitter accounts I was following–gone. I'm sorry to those I unfollowed. It was nothing personal. It's not you, it's me.

Then, I started anew by pursuit every of the accounts from the Techies: 2011 Directory of Who to Stick with On Twitter heel away Jason Hiner at TechRepublic. I take in since distended the list with additional Twitter accounts I am interested in that aren't on Hiner's list, merely my 15,000-nonnegative list has been whittled down to a much more manageable 200. I do even use a couple lists in Tweetdeck to filter specific Twitter accounts that I desire to follow many closely, simply the traffic on my primary feed is right away a reasonable stride that I prat sustain with.

The Fallout

The first thing I found when I unfollowed everyone is that the same people who use the "follow me and I'll observe you back" strategy seem to glucinium the same people World Health Organization use those services that monitor WHO unfollowed them and then blast it resolute altogether of Twitter–as if the public shame is supposed to make ME want to re-connect with them or something.

Frankly, a tweet that says "@thetonybradley and five other Twitter accounts unfollowed me today" says more active the one being unfollowed than it does about the ones doing the unfollowing. Maybe those populate should spend more time bountiful people a argue to want to follow them, and less time trying to embarrass them publicly.

Twitter - please stay — Unfollowing others has sparked a multitude Exodus of users unfollowing my Twitter explanation.

Since I did my scorched Earth unfollowing, my Chitter following has been steadily declining. From its high somewhere north of 19,000, it has instantly dwindled to someplace less than 16,800. It continues to drop with each passing solar day, albeit slowly.

The Right Path to Do Chitter

Building a Twitter following–a real Twitter following–is like building relationships in real life. The strategy I on the job was akin to purchasing friends. You buttocks get a good deal of multitude to show up and be your sidekick if you're liberal away free internal-combustion engine cream, but how many of those populate will be at that place to bond you out of county jail at 3am on a Saturday night after a bar conflict?

The lesson in all of this is to cost authentic. When you're toadyish, you attract insincerity. My new finish is to simply equal ME, provide as much measure American Samoa I derriere, and to embody comfortable with whatever Twitter following that attracts–whether it's 100,000 or 1,000…operating theater 10.

I don't know where the tush is on the fall of my Chitter following. Wherever IT is, though, the Chirrup following who remain will be quality Twitter followers that matter–Chirrup followers WHO are actually fascinated in auditory modality what I have to say, sharing my thoughts with others, and engaging in debate and discussion.

I won't ever throw the following of an Ashton Kutcher. I may not ever have the following of a Robert Scoble. But, any followers I do have on Twitter volition be relationships I have attained–speaking of which, flavour free to follow me @thetonybradley.

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