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I have been using Twitter for a couple of weeks. Here are some of my thoughts about Twitter. Each thought is written as a Tweet. If you do not know what Twitter is, please checkout the this video that provides a good introduction to Twitter. After viewing the video please come back to read my post. You will understand what I am talking about.

Introduction

• Twitter is awfully simple to use, but “How to use Twitter” is a highly debated topic.
• This suggests there are many ways to use Twitter.
• There is no one best way to use Twitter.
• Some use Twitter to spread their message.
• Some use it to get help.
• Some use it to provide help.
• Some use it for fun.
• Some use it as a communication and collaboration tool.
• Some use it as a fountain of free flowing knowledge, a source of new ideas (my favorite use).

Different Types of Users

• A person with few Following and a large number of Followers is a Leader.
• A person who has roughly the same number of Following and Followers is a Friend.
• A person with few Followers and a very large Following is a Newbie or Learner.
• A person with a large Following and zero Tweets may be a Spammer.
• A person who provides completely irrelevant replies and talks nonsense is a TweetBait er or TweetStalk er, or Spammer.

Following:Followers Ratio (F:F)

• Judging a person purely on the “Following:Followers” ratio (F:F) is not a good idea.
• But many folks only use the F:F ratio as measure to judge a person.
• Instead look at what that person has to offer. Checkout his/her website. You may want to follow that person.
• A person with 9999:0 F:F is getting the same number of Tweets as a person with F:F of 9999:9999.

Mass Following

• Mass following a niche is very different from randomly mass following every one you come across.
• If mass following is spamming, why has not Twitter taken any action?
• Putting a cap on the F:F ratio can stop mass followers. This is not rocket science.
• If a cap is introduced, will it go against the concept upon which Twitter was built?
• Even after Following 1000s of people, Twitter still says “Invite More!”.
• Therefore mass following a niche is not spamming, as Scott Sweeney says it is Promotion.

Ideal Followers

• It’s better to have followers with few Following because you get more attention.
• It’s better to have followers with more Followers, because your message spreads quickly (Re-Tweet).

Some Problems

• Many Tweets disappear unnoticed.
• Twitter.com is very slow at many occasions; Twhirl (Twitter Desktop Client) hangs my PC.

Recommendations

• Twitter emails you when a person joins, but, wouldn’t it be nice to get an email when they leave too?

What does Twitter means?

• “Twitter” refers to the high frequency sounds some birds make.
• Don’t confuse the Twitter with Tweeter. Tweeter refers to a high frequency loud speaker.

Building Your Follower Base

• Darren Rowse suggests building a follower base by adding value to Twitter conversations.
• DoshDosh suggests building a follower base by promoting your Twitter profile.
• Scott Sweeney’s bold approach is to mass following people in your niche with the hope that some will follow you back.

Conclusion

After careful consideration I am inclined more towards the DoshDosh approach.

Are you thinking in Tweets? Please feel to leave a comment as you wish.

I am new to Twitter. My thinking is continuously evolving on this topic. So my views can change as I learn more about this powerful tool for social networking.

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