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Too many Tweets Some Twitter users just post too much, often when they are using automated feeds to post. I normally use Tweetdeck, and if I'm seeing too many Tweets from one user, then I may be missing other more relevant posts. Your links contain frames Rather than using services like bit.ly or tinyurl, some Twitter users post links which are framed, companies like <a href="http://ow.ly/url/shorten-url">Hootsuite</a> and Adjix offer this type of URL shortener, which is used to serve ads. Framing content is unpopular and bad for the user experience, as was proven by the recent <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3679-digg-tries-to-dig-itself-out-of-a-hole">backlash against the DiggBar</a>. It's also unnecessary when they are perfectly good URL shorteners around that don't use frames. No profile picture It's not essential that I see a picture of someone before I follow them, but having no profile picture or background does indicate a lack of effort and won't help you attract many followers. No bio If there's no biographical information, I can't decide whether to follow people or not and, as with the point above, it suggests you aren't that interested in Twitter. Protected updates I'm not sure why people do this on Twitter, but how are people supposed to decide whether or not to follow if they can't see what kind of Tweets they can expect from you? Not posting often enough If you see a user's profile and they have only posted six times, and the last was two months ago, why would you bother following them? Like blogging you need to Tweet often enough to keep people interested. You want to help me get rich quick Twitter seems to attract a lot of these sorts of users, and they often have terrible websites like this: <img alt="" height="241" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/3628282145_2e98a73927_o.jpg" width="400" /> If you offer a way to make money online, or link to sites like this, there's no way I'll be following. You describe yourself as a guru or expert There are a lot of self proclaimed experts on Twitter, especially on the subject of social media. As <a href="http://personalbrandingblog.com/6-reasons-you-shouldnt-brand-yourself-as-a-social-media-expert/">this post</a> explains, it's probably not a very good idea to describe yourself this way. They can increase your followers Anyone who claims to be able to increase your Twitter followers by thousands in a matter of days just sounds like a <a href="http://raven-seo-tools.com/blog/334/its-probably-twitter-spam-if">Twitter spammer</a>, or has been using awful services like TwitterGetter. Either way, I won't be following them. Following too many people It's just a numbers game for some people, and many just follow as many as they can just to build up their followers. Following many more people than follow you indicates that you are trying to sell something, or are just desperate.

Too many Tweets Some Twitter users just post too much, often when they are using automated feeds to post. I normally use Tweetdeck, and if I'm seeing too many Tweets from one user,  then I may be missing other more relevant posts. Your links contain frames Rather than using services like bit.ly or tinyurl, some Twitter users post links which are framed, companies like <a href="http://ow.ly/url/shorten-url">Hootsuite</a> and Adjix offer this type of URL shortener, which is used to serve ads. Framing content is unpopular and bad for the user experience, as was proven by the recent <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3679-digg-tries-to-dig-itself-out-of-a-hole">backlash against the DiggBar</a>. It's also unnecessary when they are perfectly good URL shorteners around that don't use frames. No profile picture It's not essential that I see a picture of someone before I follow them, but having no profile picture or background does indicate a lack of effort and won't help you attract many followers. No bio If there's no biographical information, I can't decide whether to follow people or not and, as with the point above, it suggests you aren't that interested in Twitter. Protected updates I'm not sure why people do this on Twitter, but how are people supposed to decide whether or not to follow if they can't see what kind of Tweets they can expect from you? Not posting often enough If you see a user's profile and they have only posted six times, and the last was two months ago, why would you bother following them? Like blogging you need to Tweet often enough to keep people interested. You want to help me get rich quick Twitter seems to attract a lot of these sorts of users, and they often have terrible websites like this: <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/3628282145_2e98a73927_o.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="241" /> If you offer a way to make money online, or link to sites like this, there's no way I'll be following. You describe yourself as a guru or expert There are a lot of self proclaimed experts on Twitter, especially on the subject of social media. As <a href="http://personalbrandingblog.com/6-reasons-you-shouldnt-brand-yourself-as-a-social-media-expert/">this post</a> explains, it's probably not a very good idea to describe yourself this way. They can increase your followers Anyone who claims to be able to increase your Twitter followers by thousands in a matter of days just sounds like a <a href="http://raven-seo-tools.com/blog/334/its-probably-twitter-spam-if">Twitter spammer</a>, or has been using awful services like TwitterGetter. Either way, I won't be following them. Following too many people It's just a numbers game for some people, and many just follow as many as they can just to build up their followers. Following many more people than follow you indicates that you are trying to sell something, or are just desperate.

2009-06-15T11:12:11+01:00

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I've just been working my way through a few Twitter emails from over the weekend, and deciding whether to follow people back or not. Having initially followed the advice of Guy Kawasaki and automatically followed everyone who followed me, I have become more circumspect lately, to keep the content more relevant. I also tend to make snap decisions, based on the bio, and the last few posts. Here are ten reasons not to follow people back...

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<div style=""> For background on social media more generally, it's worth reading our (free to registered users) <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-pr-and-social-media-trends-briefing">Social Media Trends Briefing</a> (June 2009). Econsultancy has also published <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/social-media-and-online-pr-digital-marketing-template-files">Social Media and Online PR</a> Template Files, which can be adapted and used for your own projects. For innovation in this space, download our <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/innovation-report">Innovation Report</a>. </div>

<div style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: #ffffff; background-position: initial initial; margin: 8px;"> For background on social media more generally, it's worth reading our (free to registered users) <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/online-pr-and-social-media-trends-briefing">Social Media Trends Briefing</a> (June 2009). Econsultancy has also published <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/social-media-and-online-pr-digital-marketing-template-files">Social Media and Online PR</a> Template Files, which can be adapted and used for your own projects. For innovation in this space, download our <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/innovation-report">Innovation Report</a>.  </div>

Ten reasons not to follow people on Twitter false

2009-06-15T15:36:00+01:00

ten-reasons-not-to-follow-people-on-twitter

2009-08-14T15:43:54+01:00

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