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Twitter – How Not To Tweet!

Right – I haven’t had a rant about Twitter for a while now! Today I would like to talk on how not to use Twitter. Now, before anyone harangues me on what I have to say, please remember that my comments are my opinion only. On the other hand there are a lot of social media people who will agree with what I have to say.

So let’s go. Right – when I checked my email a few days ago I had a few new Twitter followers and, as I usually do, I opened up each persons profile to see what they were about before following them. One persons profile appeared like this (and has been unchanged up to today):

Twitter Xigum

Huh!?! Okay, I don’t know about you but this is completely wrong. You can see that Xigum follows me – my mugshot is 4 across and 4 down in Xigum’s following list. But what can we learn about Xigum from his / her (?) profile? Let’s see:

  • Name: Okay, so this Tweeter is called Xigum.
  • Photo: Nope, no photo. Xigum is using the standard Twitter o_O picture (o_O can be read as oh-Ohhh, so even Twitter frowns on this).
  • Location: No location is given. No major drama but it would be nice to know.
  • Web: No web page URL is given. No problem really, if Xigum doesn’t have a web page.
  • Bio: No bio is given. No photo, an odd name and no bio. Xigum has decided to remain anonymous.
  • Updates: No – no updates. Huh?

So what ‘crime’ has Xigum committed you may ask? Well, unless I’ve got it all wrong, Twitter is is a Social Networking site. As such, users are, not surprisingly, expected to be social (i.e. introduce yourself to Twitter world using all the profile tools available) and they are also expected to network with other users (i.e. make regular updates for followers to read).

So Xigum has decided that he / she does not need to follow these basic guidelines, and I can tell you that Xigum is not alone. There are plenty of Twitter users who have done exactly the same thing as Xigum. So, if you are going to use Twitter, take the time to make a complete profile, including photo, and post regular updates.

By the way, you may be unsurprised to learn that I did not follow Xigum back!

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 2:19 pm and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

12 Responses to “Twitter – How Not To Tweet!”

  1. Hi Keith,

    these web 2.0 sites will be around for a while without running out of steam and only growing bigger making traffic generation easier and everyday?

    TTFN….John.

  2. Wise decision, Keith. I also wonder about these types of entries. And how do they end up following anyone when they are inactive??

    Enjoy the journey.

    Mandy

  3. Hi. This is definitely very helpful info you have here and I appreciate the post.

  4. Keith Blackburn on June 14th, 2009 at 10:06 am

    Hi John

    Yes – I’m sure you are right about the Web 2.0 sites. However….I do believe that there is a right and a wrong way of using them….but my opinion only!

    All the best and thanks for commenting – Keith

  5. Keith Blackburn on June 14th, 2009 at 10:10 am

    Hi Mandy

    I have to say that you must be the most prolific commenter in the current Masterclass. Thanks again for posting on my blog!

    You’re right of course – these sort of Twitter entries go completely against the ideas behind Social Networking. But there you go….

    Very best wishes – Keith

  6. Keith Blackburn on June 14th, 2009 at 10:11 am

    Hi Karen

    I’m glad that you find the blog post helpful and I appreciate you posting a comment. Please visit again soon!

    All the best – Keith

  7. I really like your post. Does it copyright protected?

  8. Keith Blackburn on June 15th, 2009 at 8:41 pm

    Hi Katty

    Yep – my stuff is copyright protected I’m afraid. But please feel free to link to this or any other post. I just want credit for the content!

    Thanks for commenting and please visit again – Keith

  9. Hi Keith,

    Twitter is a very powerful and hyped tool and you are right that it is essentially a social networking site. There is no place on it for people who are not willing to provide an acceptable amount of information and maybe through time Twitter will not allow you to have an account unless you include a certain level of relevant information. I can’t imagine what Xigum’s Facebook page looks like!!

    All The Best!

    Steve

  10. Keith Blackburn on July 15th, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    Hi Steve

    You’re right! I have a few more follows like Xigum’s effort and I will block them when I get round to it. Twitter do suspend accounts for “unusual activity” but I do not know what the criteria are.

    Thanks for your comment and all the best to you too!

    Keith

  11. Hi Kieth, great post and i have to agree with you. When i first got onto twitter i started using tweet later and set it to automatically follow people back.

    Today i checked and had loads of smutty followers that i was following as well, i checked them out and saw what they were about and un-followed them.

    I agree with you mate.

    Regards, Barry

  12. Keith Blackburn on August 22nd, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Hi Barry

    Nice to hear from you again and thanks for the comment. Yes – you need to be careful about the settings you select, there’s plenty of unsavoury people out there!

    Cheers and all the best – Keith

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