July 3, 2008

I am inspired to a do a write-up about my criteria for having someone on the list of people I follow on Twitter, because it’s important for me to be able to refer a person to my policy if they want to know why I don’t follow them (or do). Also, maybe it will help you weed through your Twitter feed if you’re not one of the people on Twitter who automatically follows everyone back.

The thing is, I read every single Twitter, and if I followed every single person who followed me, I would no longer get to have that experience, and THAT is the experience I want from Twitter. Be assured that even if I don’t follow you, I do still read every single @brandice reply.

Here’s the kind of people you’ll find me following on Twitter:

People I know locally/in-person. I’m much more likely to follow someone who might have a less exciting Twitter feed if I’m genuinely interested in every mundane aspect of their life, because they are close to me and important to me. There are a few people on my Twitter feed that I wouldn’t follow otherwise.

People who are hilarious. If your Tweets are funny, I’m in. I am a huge addict of @hotdogsladies‘ Tweets, because they are ridiculously bizarre and funny at all times.

People are relevant and part of the conversation. By “the conversation,” I mean the conversation *I* want to be a part of, topics that are interesting to me, anything I really want to hear about or see Twittered links to. These are people who not only have the same interests but also have interesting things to say about those topics and have opinions that are relevant and worthwhile. I can really like you as a person but still not be that into what you have to say on Twitter… it’s not a character judgment, just a decision on my part about what I want to see on my Twitter feed.

People/users who are providing easy/relevant updates. These are often not so much people as they are companies or services who use Twitter to update their users in a simple, to the point sort of way, or something like CNN breaking news or even Twitter’s own site status updates. As long as it doesn’t become spam, I like to get the occasional announcement from my favorite people/sites/companies/etc. on my Twitter feed.

People I’m intrigued by or want to get to know. These Twitter users are people I may only add for a day or two, because I’ve just met them (in person or otherwise) and I want to get a feel for whether they fit into my Twitter feed dynamic. Once I’ve had them on my feed for a while, they will either fit into one of the previous four categories, or they will be cut from the list.

Deal breakers that will get you cut from my list:
(And to be clear, even if you’re someone who falls into the previous “kind of people I follow” category, you will be cut from my list for the below offenses unless I *really* love you.)

Twitter masturbation. For an explanation of Twitter masturbation in 140 characters or less, click here. This is my #1 pet peeve of all Twitter time. If you say, “@such-and-such Yeah, I agree.” or some other cryptic and annoying thing that, without some context put into it, should be a direct message… I am likely to delete you on the spot. I HATE THAT. Here’s how to reply properly: “@such-and-such Yes, I agree that Brightkite is a cool service. [link]” See the difference? I don’t have to dig up what the hell you’re talking about, and you’ve participated in a conversation in a way that doesn’t leave your other followers in the dark. LEARN TO DO THIS PROPERLY, or don’t expect me to follow you for long.

Twitter spam. I follow a decent number of people on Twitter, so you should not be showing up seven times in a row on my feed. Have some respect for people’s time and space and don’t inundate them with yourself. There are other cool and important people on everyone’s Twitter feed and those people deserve equally space, so be considerate of what I like to call “Twitter critical mass,” or the point at which you are just too much for people to absorb.

Offensive content in your posts. People who use the word “fag” get deleted, as do people who will repeatedly use the word “retarded” as an insult (I’m a social worker and I grew up with a loved one who was severely mentally retarded and I don’t care how you mean it, it’s shitty to say). Racist/sexist/bigotted people all get chopped, and if you and disagree politically/religiously and you’re constantly putting those types of comments out there, I’m not interested (for that reason, if I’m being overly inundated with Jesus or you’re zealously anti-choice or Republican, adios). Balance your political content and use sensitivity, or don’t expect me to be on board.

I don’t know you. If you follow me, and I have no idea who you are, I don’t follow you. @brandice from time to time and become part of my conversation and eventually you may be added as someone I’ve gotten to know over time, OR you may be left unfollowed because the only thing I see in your Twitterfeed that is relevant or interesting for me is when you’re @brandice’ing me. I follow plenty of people with this understanding, that I like what they have to say, but they’re not as interested in what I have to say. It’s reality.
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Basically, just remember that even if I really like you as a person, I just may not be that into your Twitter feed, and even with all of those guidelines, who I follow on Twitter can also be a case by case basis kind of thing. I don’t mass follow, I select. It’s good to keep in mind that Twitter is about conversation, not just blindly adding everyone you know just because you know them… at least that’s how I handle it.

How do you handle your Twitter feed? Let’s talk about it.
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Internetiquette is an ongoing series of writing that contain my thoughts on internet etiquette and how to reduce your jerk footprint on the web.

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