Twitter Followers
“Self-obsessed, potentially dodgy behavior never interacts” sounds like a conversation two women would be having about a bad date. Instead these are descriptions on the Twitter report I received from Twit Clean. Thanks to Owen recommending it in his article “Social Media Noise,” I gave it a try. I’m not a computer whiz, and was just getting the hang of Twitter so I was surprised when it said I was following 1,349. Where did they come from if I didn’t connect with them? They’re called robots. Once Twit Clean ran the scan, they found 932 of the 1,349 people I was following were in fact twits …my words not theirs.
I was fascinated with the categories they fell into and the notes on each one. You wouldn’t want to fall into any of these categories: Potentially dodgy behavior (don’t meet them in back alleys), no activity in over a month (anywhere from 588 – 945 days), never interacts (don’t expect a birthday card), self-obsessed (no, they’re not interested in your business), relatively unpopular (bad breath or bad language). One says, he talks about himself constantly. Another says, “No interaction. Snob with 10% followed back, has 1000 followers but only follows 100, never posts.” One calls herself the networking queen but hasn’t posted in 275 days.
You have to admit the guys who administer this site have a sense of humour tempered with realistic expectations. But then I wondered, “What if I fell into one of those deplorable categories?” No worries, flipped over to what the report revealed about me and I could breathe easy. They stroked my ego with “You’re awesome! Keep being your wonderful self.” It propelled me to be more diligent about sending out practical, informative and encouraging tweets. Seriously, I am in business as I assume most of you reading Owen’s daily blurbs are, so it behooves all of us to take Twitter seriously or not be on it. In customer service I teach,”You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”
Then Owen introduced me to ManageFlitter.com to analyze the 1049 who claim to follow me. Once again I discovered the majority aren’t people I know or network with; they are hanging out in my space watching what I am doing. My next project is to go through 847 suspect followers. Manage filter also gives a complete description of this person’s Twitter activities.
As a new Twitter user, this was an eye-opener I ‘m passing on to you. You may want to delve deeper into who’s lurking in your world…twits or real people.
Barb Rees, owner of LoveToGo Writing is a travel writer, author of ‘RV Canada’ books, speech coach and ‘World Host’ customer service trainer. She can be reached at Write2Dream.com or dreambg1@shaw.ca
