The sheer noise and volume of that many people all talking at once is enough to turn away those not prepared for the din. The zeitgeist is enough to both draw cool celebrities and drag all the weirdos out of the woodwork. Following (pun intended) are a few simple rules will make sure you’re the life of the party, without resorting to escaping with that proverbial lampshade over your head in shame.
Engage but be polite. Keep in mind who you’re talking to. It is a public forum. Behave.
Don’t clutter the stream—attract attention, don’t beg for it. You don’t need to direct everything you say at one person. Keep it relevant and say interesting things. Don’t overdo it. Let people who want to listen come to you.
Yes, celebrities are on Twitter, but the rules are different for them. Don’t emulate their bad habits, and be courteous. These people get more requests and messages aimed at them than do most of us.
Take part in hashtags, but avoid cluttering ‘Twittergames’ like Spymaster. This isn’t Facebook. Go be a pirate elsewhere.
Share and share alike. ReTweet often, and RT properly, but don’t overdo it. If your stream is nothing but RTs, it means there is no original thought or sense of who you are.
As in life, as at the party. You get out of Twitter what you put into it. Find your own niche, and look for established cliques on topics that interest you. The first step in being a good follower is following the right people and paying attention to the organic community that grows around you.
A helpful guide with help from @DangerWill42
- If you are following me and you protect your updates, I’m not going to follow your over-protective ass.
- If you are following me and you mention making money using Twitter, I’m not going to follow your greedy ass.
- If you are following me and you have absolutely nothing meaningful to say, I’m not going to follow your pointless ass.
- If you are following me and you tweet mundane shit every 5 seconds all day long, I’m not going to follow your inane chatty ass.
- If you are following me and you expect me to follow you back so you can get a large following, I’m not going to follow your reciprocating-only ass.
- If you are following me and you even mention how to gain followers just once, I’m not going to follow your wanna-be-shepherd-scam ass.
- If you are following me and you use the letters “LOL” too frequently in your updates, I’m not going 2 follow UR A$$.
- If you are following me and you can’t fucking spell, I’m not going to follow your illiterate ass.
- If you are following me and you post links to your “Sexy Pics”, I’m not going to follow your exhibitionist ass.
- If you are following me…oh yeah, gee thanks for following.