How I Use Twitter & Why I Won’t be following 30,000 Either

There have been a lot of comments this month about @MarkShaw performing a mass un-follow of many of the more than 30,000 “friends” he has built up on Twitter. I thought I’d add my point of view.

Mark has been described as a Twitter guru, he offers advice to companies and individuals on how best to use Twitter.

I’m sure his advice will have changed over the time he has been using Twitter. He says himself, he started with a policy of automatically following anyone who followed him.

That may be a fine idea when you are trying to build a network of friends and followers, and trying to understand how people are using it. However, over time (if you are successfully using Twitter), as your reputation grows, your follower count will grow. If you autofollow, the stream of tweets that you are presented with each time you enter the site will become increasingly irrelevant, it will be difficult to engage with your network, and many of the benefits of Twitter will be lost to you.

Of course, I want to promote my business using Twitter, but I try to achieve that by adding value to my followers, and those whom I’m following. No one is going to walk up to Crittall Windows’ reception and say, I was so impressed with John’s tweets that I want to give you an order. I tweet links to news items, and to things I find of interest, I retweet requests for help, I engage in conversations about current issues, I enjoy some light banter, and where I have relevant knowledge or experience, I offer help and advice to anyone who needs it. In short, I am networking, as I would in the real world, but using a tool which provides me with the ability to reach more people, in a wider geographical area.

I’m also trying desperately to win a year’s free pies from @HollandsPies!

My objective is to build a network of people with common interests, from whom I can learn, and with whom I can share my experience. If I follow too many people, then that just wouldn’t be possible.