3 Twitter Questions You’ll Have to Answer for Yourself (with some advice thrown in)

Ever since I signed up for Twitter, I’ve grappled with how best to use it, and the advice I’ve come across has been as varied as the birds who tweet there.

In the end, there are some Twitter questions you just have to answer for yourself. Here are three of them and, for what it’s worth, my personal take on them.

Who will you follow?

Guy Kawasaki, no social-media slouch, suggests you follow everyone who follows you, arguing that it’s just common courtesy. The trouble with that, as Kawasaki admits, is that you can’t possibly read what everyone is tweeting once you start following more than fifty people. This makes me wonder: Is it really all that courteous to appear as though you’re paying attention to someone when there’s no way you possibly could?

It just so happens that I do follow Kawasaki because he posts interesting things. What he doesn’t do, however, is interact all that much, and part of what I’m looking for when I use Twitter is a group of people to engage with. Maybe following the advice of a big dog isn’t the best way to go when you’re an eager little puppy.

Others suggest you follow very few, keeping your twitter list to just a number of your friends and a handful of chosen experts. I don’t really like this either. People I don’t know are interesting too, and excluding them means missing the chance to be amazed by them.

So here’s what I’ve decided. Why not follow people who tweet things that interest you, and say to hell with the total? You can keep track of your closest friends, favorite gurus, and other Twitterati with programs like HooteSuite and Seesmic. But it’s also fun to simply log in, look around, and see who grabs your eye. For that purpose, as long as they’re interesting, the more the merrier.

What will you tweet?

Some suggest you look at places like Digg, Alltop, and StufftoTweet in order to find out what’s hot. The idea is that if you tweet hot stuff, you’ll be hot stuff. I’ve no doubt this works if your goal is to get more followers, but it doesn’t seem like a great way to connect with people who are interested in the things that interest you and the things you have to offer.

I don’t think you’d want to be a one-track tweeter, who, for instance, never tweets a thing unless it’s directly tied to, let’s say, your passion for kittens. That would be kind of dull. But you might at least want to enable people to pick you out in a lineup. You want them to be able to point and say, “There, that’s the guy who loves (let’s say once again) kittens!”

So I’d say mix it up. Share things you think will be of general interest to everyone, but remember to share what you specifically care about as well. This way, others who care about those things can find you.

I’d also suggest you not be skimpy with the retweets. If someone says something interesting or inspiring or if they point you to something much the same, pass it along. People who are following you are seldom following everyone that you do. Why not give them the opportunity to see why you’ve chosen to keep tabs on that particular person?

How often will you tweet?

For me, this has been the toughest question to answer. Tweet too little and no one knows you’re there. Tweet too much and you’ll annoy some people. So what’s a bird to do?

I really don’t have any solid advice to offer here. Everyone is different.

I personally don’t mind if the people I follow tweet frequently. I just don’t like it when they flood my screen with dozens of tweets in under a minute. It certainly gets my attention, but not in a good way.

But the other day, someone brought it to my attention that my eight tweets in less than thirty minutes (atypical for me) was too much for their tastes as well. That is, I would like to point out, less than a tweet every three-and-a-half minutes, which raises a question in my mind: Are you going to tweet with a clock by your side?

What I’ve decided is that it’s really up to you. Those people who launch a thousand tweets all at once have every right to do so, and I have every right to unfollow them. And I can tweet eight times in a half hour and let the chips fall where they may.

If you’re like me, you probably just want to do what comes naturally and tweet things of interest without keeping stats on your tweets per minute.

For some it will be too little, for others it will be too much, and for some it will be just right. And isn’t it the last group you were seeking in the first place?

One Last Question

Now, you’re probably wondering, “How can I follow this obviously wise and incredibly sweet person?” Oh, that one’s easy.

You can follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook.

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Tagged as: Twitter tips