The Abuse of Twitter
Dec. 4th, 2011 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
merI judge you by your last three tweets.
They don't have to be witty bits of perfection. But you know. Something vaguely interesting would be nice.
If they are @ replies that seem to be in dialogue with someone, I approve. I may even click over to see more than your last three tweets. But mostly, at that point, I think, "Wow, an actual conversation! This may be a person worth knowing, for they understand that we are not all book-buying machines on Twitter!" And I probably follow you back.
But.
If your last 3 tweets are pleas to buy your book, it's over before it has begun. You are abusing Twitter.
If you DM me to thank me for following you, and also, check out your book? It's over.
If you @ me to thank you for following you, and also, check out your book? It's over.
You can't thank someone and try to sell them something in the same interaction, and expect a fruitful relationship thereafter.
If you follow me, and I follow you back, and you act like I followed you randomly in your thanking? I know you aren't actually paying attention, and I unfollow again. Because you're just trying to use me.
You have absolutely no idea how to use Twitter, my friend. I want a hundred good tweets before you self-promo me. MINIMUM.
Or at least three.
They don't have to be witty bits of perfection. But you know. Something vaguely interesting would be nice.
If they are @ replies that seem to be in dialogue with someone, I approve. I may even click over to see more than your last three tweets. But mostly, at that point, I think, "Wow, an actual conversation! This may be a person worth knowing, for they understand that we are not all book-buying machines on Twitter!" And I probably follow you back.
But.
If your last 3 tweets are pleas to buy your book, it's over before it has begun. You are abusing Twitter.
If you DM me to thank me for following you, and also, check out your book? It's over.
If you @ me to thank you for following you, and also, check out your book? It's over.
You can't thank someone and try to sell them something in the same interaction, and expect a fruitful relationship thereafter.
If you follow me, and I follow you back, and you act like I followed you randomly in your thanking? I know you aren't actually paying attention, and I unfollow again. Because you're just trying to use me.
You have absolutely no idea how to use Twitter, my friend. I want a hundred good tweets before you self-promo me. MINIMUM.
Or at least three.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-12-05 08:55 am (UTC)This particularly annoys me. It's a function, I think, of people using automatic tools to follow people and thank followers. I don't think people should *ever* use automatic tools for interacting with followers or potential followers.
Another big red warning, for me, is if someone has an almost identical number of followers and people they follow, and the number is large (several thousand). That's a sure sign of using some tool that unfollows people who don't follow you back. They might as well have a sign saying "I'm not interested in reading your tweets, I just want you to follow me".
Bah. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-12-05 01:12 pm (UTC)