I have 105 'friends' as Twitter calls them, these are people that i follow and they are following me back. Now from analyzing these friends i have come to the conclusion that around 20 are 'courtesy follows' and another 10-20 are people i regularly interact with. This leaves at least 65 people that i am interested in and they are (i would like to think) at least vaguely interested in what i am saying. So why am i not interacting with them?* In any other situation it would be rude not to chat with your friends over topics you have in common.**
And so i am going to make more of an effort to interact and get to know my 'friends' on twitter, and this is something that i think most people can be doing fairly easily. besides those operating a courtesy follow style approach to Twitter the majority of users will have a manageable list of 'friends' to interact with. And this list can be made into a Twitter list or a Tweetdeck column etc etc.
With more and more people becoming aware of Twitter and how to utilize it followers are bound to climb and many will realize that it isn't just about the amount of followers you have but the quality of your relationship. And so to those of you who have read this blog after seeing my tweet in your feed, Hello, hope we can chat soon.
Matt
* By this i mean more than an occasional re-tweet or mention, instead actually talking directly with through mentions or direct messages.
** As well as interaction with friends i think it is just as inportant o do so with those you find interesting and want to become friends with, if they are not following you they are not going to notice you if you keep quiet!
PLEASE post any thoughts on what is said above in the comment section as i am very keen to hear peoples thoughts and experiences. Thanks
www.mjohnstonphotography.co.uk
You've not missed the point Matt - we're all just working it out.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe I just missed the point too.
Hello to you too and I know exactly what you mean!
ReplyDeleteThanks to you both for the comments, Jdubbyah, i hope you're right!.
ReplyDeleteMatt
completely true, though sometimes its hard to find the time. But the online appearance is just as important as the offline world. There is alot of noise out on Twitter but we can all improve the content in which we interact with.
ReplyDeleteI usually make a few comments/replies to those who's tweet is most recent when I'm having a quiet moment (won't say where or when those happen), but I seem to have fallen foul of having a lot of #togs follow me, but they never say anything to me directly. I've a few (and I mean a very few) that I would 'engage' with on a daily, sometimes weekly basis, but I don't feel guilty about not keeping in contact with everyone. I did at first, I tried to keep those who I was following down to a manageable level, but where was the fun in that? I felt I was missing out on a whole lot more, so I try to keep my ratio of followers to following about the same, though I do spike my following lists from time to time, usually when I have time.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've rambled on long enough, I came by your post from @NewPhotoDigest and I'm now following you too...
Keep up the good work.
Darron Mark - Fellow #tog
@DMFoto
I'm agree with your points Matt...but sometimes RT is also a way to say "hello"and interact with a Twitter friend, maybe later. Interesting too to follow the twitter conversation by email or Skype on a topic you are sharing with. I made some new friends through Twitter, specially in the photo community where most of my followings/followers are from. Let's keep in touch !
ReplyDeletedmfoto, thanks for the comment. Like you i don't exactly feel guilty about not being in contact more but i feel i am missing out on an opportunity, and so will try to make the most of available connections. And thanks for your follow!
ReplyDeleteNathalie, Hey. I agree that often RT is the best way, kind of like a handshake in the twittersphere! I also agree that taking it into a more 'formal' mode of communication would be a good next step with people met on Twitter. Thanks for the comment, mention and yes let's definitely stay in touch!
Matt