One of the worst things to happen to Twitter, in my estimation, is the worldwide social media back-rubbing mayhem called Follow Friday.
Don’t get me wrong. I really do enjoy meeting new people and take great delight in back rubs.
However, what should be genuine appreciation has been commercialized into a spammish beast. Many users create “follow” suggestions hoping those recommended users will feel compelled to reciprocate. Often they either reciprocate or Retweet the suggestions. This creates a furious cycle of tweets that fill streams with usernames instead of the conversations and favorite links that make Twitter an engaging and exciting platform.
I have stepped away from Follow Friday because a once-valuable practice has become disingenuous and spammy. But I want this criticism to be constructive. I’d like to introduce my alternative.
I’ve decided to post each Friday with recommendations in seven categories. Some people I’ve known for awhile. Others, like this week’s wildcard, Tom, are brand new in my world. I hope you’ll take a moment to check them out and let me know what you think!
The Categories:
- Blogger
- Personality
- Inspiration
- Community Builder
- Artist/Musician
- Tech
- Wildcard
(Each recommendation includes a quote from their attributed post. Names link to blogs. Twitter usernames link to profile pages)
Blogger
“Let your work not your words be intimidating. Work harder/smarter; talk less.” – Fooled by Niceness
Personality
“It’s good business to pull in things that are not just about business, but really this is one of those literary tools that says – I know more about you than you know I know. It’s a power thing. Not like a mob power thing, but rather an “I care enough to remember things about you” thing. Because the truth is – they probably don’t remember that much about you, and it’s awkward for them.” – Dealing With The Dark Side
Inspiration
“The dreamer in me has made a comeback, and I’m looking to give him a more prominent role. And the thing is, it doesn’t even matter to me if the dream is reached. Because living like I believe it will be, makes me a better person. More capable of offering my very best. To my boys. My wife. My community. You.” – On cynics, dreamers, and a path of what if’s
Community Builder
Carla Birnberg – @MizFitOnline
“I am MizFit, sure, but Im also BabyMama, Wife & DayJobEmployee. There are far more days than Id care to admit where I would really, really, truly, very much like to skip my cardio workout.” – The Bracelet
Artist/Musician
“An artist blessed with a seductive voice, rarefied technical skill and acute emotional authenticity, as Maiysha examines the dualities of striving and setbacks, strength and vulnerability, languor and urgency, sensuality and spirituality.” – Bio
Tech
“Be honest with yourself – Know your strengths and weaknesses. Surround yourself with good people that compliment your weaknesses. Be sure that you know your stuff; design and the process from concepts to print production to web design.” – 13 Tips You Should Know About Before Flying Solo
Wildcard
“Internet social networking can connect us in amazing ways with people we might never otherwise meet, and it enables us to integrate ourselves into the larger social fabric. Having met my wife online, I am obviously a big fan. It is also crucial that we network in person and maintain a presence in a physical community. Connecting is not a substitute for contact.” – Crumbs & Cookies
I welcome your comments, ideas, and suggestions as to how I might improve this process. Before you become insulted and morose because you’re convinced that I want to have your social media babies but didn’t mention you here, relax. Drop me a comment and remind me of your sweet loving so I can be sure to mention you before I run out of Fridays. =)
~Seth
photo credit: mikepedroncelli
Smart, very smart. Relationships beats linkages any day.
I’m no longer just recommending twitter users with only the #followfriday hashtag. Rather, I carefully select one or two people I value, explain what they do and what someone can get out of following them. I still use the #followfriday hashtag, but I try to elaborate on WHY you may want to follow that person, in so much as I can under 140 characters. Less spammy, more beneficial.
That’s definitely an improvement! I’ve used that a few times and encouraged others to do so as well. I think the post takes it a small step forward by giving a quick glimpse at each person’s voice.
Thank you for taking the time to add value. You’re helping to make Twitter a place for vibrant communication!
Yes, that’s definitely a good idea. I admit, I’ve been guilty of mass #FFs. But everyone I follow is genuinely worth following. Honestly!
Seriously, I’m going to severely cut down to a handful per week, probably combining Kristine’s format w/ Seth’s.
I entirely believe that’s the case. Most of us know quite a few people who are worth anybody’s follow!
Mine was the extreme version that makes a point. I think you’ll be well-served by just giving a bit of a description and not going overboard.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
I agree 100%. FF was a nice way to meet new people originally but now it is spam.
Hi Seth, I love this idea of yours, its a relationship that i am also truly after. Starting next Friday i will just be very selective with my reco and make a list on my site and not on twitter stream. I agree this is one cool step to add value to our Twitter experience. So happy to read your post as always. Thank you for sharing
Hi Misty!
Knowing your artistic/design capabilities, I can’t wait to see what sort of format you come up with. Make sure to @ me next Friday so I can check it out! =)
Love it Seth. You’re onto something here. Very well done. And say hi to the family for me.
hehe
My mother said you’re not allowed to visit again. Something about you throwing cupcakes at people and running around in your underwear cursing in French.
I’m uncertain of where the cupcakes came into her story. Oh well.
=)
I love it and not because Im honored to be IN IT!
I almost dread fridays at twitter because it’s such a mass of names and @ symbols.
One week I tried to do one tweet per person I recommend and use adjectives I REALLY felt described them—-but that friday I tweeted all day long…
it is all about relationship building.
as you pointed out previously it’s about LISTENING, hearing & helping.
There’s some middle ground to be had, methinks. You’re already high on the karma train for your linklove Fridays. I like posting photos though. It takes a bit longer to format but the results are friendly.
I’m with you on listening, hearing, and helping. It’s so easy to focus on the listening and forget that truly hearing means a resulting action.
TOTALLY agree. The list of names with no context is completely useless in trying to find people who you’d actually like to connect with. To me, providing some sort of context about the person is key. If you’re interested, I posted about that at my blog, http://www.theviewfromher.com/?p=655
Hi Jan, I like how clearly you state your position and recommend a solution for other users of FollowFriday. Awesome!
Really needs some star powered help to make some dreams come true. America lets get on this.
Seth,
You hit the nail on the head. #followfriday has no more true significance, it is used not as a way to recommend quality followers but to self promote. It clogs twitter with junk. In fact, in recent weeks it seems that I have been getting less followers on Fridays even thought I’ve had numerous recommendations, then on other days. It would be curious to see if other experience the same phenomenon. I fell a bit embarrassed since I just sent a #followfriday tweet immediately before I read this post. I will follow your lead and stop #followfriday recommendations. Instead I will tweet whenever interact with an individual that adds significant value and tell my followers why.
Thanks for bringing this to the attention of the twitter community,
Andrew Mueller
I like that idea.
It’s as if Twitter really were a party and you’re calling your friend over to meet a cool person you just chatted with. Makes a lot more sense than waiting until the end of the night to hand out a list of people you’ve spoken with throughout the evening!
Thanks for being a part of the positive change that really will make a difference in time!
Hey Seth! I LOVE this idea. As a Twitter newbie of 1 1/2 weeks, it didn’t take long to see that for many, FollowFriday seems to be about a numbers game of gaining new followers as opposed to true recommendations of those you gain from by following. Based on what I read regarding how it was first used, I can see that it’s not being used in the way it was initially intended. Thank you for this wonderful new idea Seth! It’s a great one.
I remember you! =)
You’re a fast learner. Absolutely right that it’s turned into a push-me-push-me contest instead of friendly introductions. Here’s the easiest thing to do: When you meet somebody new on Twitter who really strikes your fancy, share your new friend with your followers right then and tell them why. That’s what we’d do in a face-to-face network. I think it will serve us well here, too!
Very well said. I’ve now protected my updates, not to avoid individuals/worry about anyone reading my tweets….it’s to avoid the spam. I don’t believe in protecting the updates because I believe it defeats the purpose of Twitter, but the spam has gotten worse, and it’s the only way to avoid it until something is done.
I’m sorry you’ve had to protect your updates out of fear. Have you considered something like Tweetdeck or Seesmic’s desktop system to run your Twitter account? You can set up groups and add others as you meet them and find out whether/not they’re just trying to sell you another way to get more followers!
Give it a try and tell me how it goes. I’ll be glad to help if I can. =)
I’m not sure that protecting your updates will stop spam. Doesn’t it just block people from seeing your updates? It doesn’t stop others updates from coming to you.
As Seth pointed out, something like TweetDeck can help with this.
You might want to check out Twindexx.com – We’ve tried to solve the problems with #FollowFriday by creating context around the recommendations. Let us know what you think?
Justyn
It looks to be a lot like WeFollow only with a real-time update streamlined into the site. Not really a big fan. If it can be counted, it can be gamed.
If I’m off my rocker, I’m open to being taught a lesson. =)
Good article, Seth.
I’ve treated FF like this for a long time. Not exactly the same, but in my heart, I feel the same way as you articulate here. My Twitter experience is a meaningful one, filled with friends who inspire, friends who make me laugh, friends who act as mentors (whether they know it or not), friends who comfort and friends who just make my day better by their presence.
I’ve long loathed people who are egotistical enough to RT a Follow Friday tweet recommending them …. goodness, to me, that’s the height of arrogance. Whatever happened to humility and graciousness and the ability to accept a compliment and behave in a manner that makes you worth of that very compliment.
I recommend people all week long, not only on Fridays, and when I do, a reason is almost always included. I love to take Twitter newbies under my wing, show them some of the ropes and pay it forward, as so many people have done to me over the past several months. And I especially love helping those who are innately shy and perhaps a little reluctant to jump into the fray to realize they are as much an integral part of that which is the Twitterverse as the verbose Twits are.
In sum, this is a long way of saying that I totally agree with you. People are real and the act of following (at least for me) constitutes one part interest, one part trust, one part curiosity and another part a genuine desire to meet someone new and interact. It’s never about increasing follower numbers, nor should it be – to me, that’s crass and wrong. And, when I recommend people, I recommend people whom I feel are worthy of the trust and respect that a new follower might bring. And, as part of the act of recommending them, it is important to do it in a meaningful way – not just as yet another @name on a list … that’s lazy and worth little more than the time it took to type the list.
Always the best to you,
Shelly
Hi Shelly,
I like it when you take the scenic route to your point. When do we get to see your blog? =)
Pay-it-forward is definitely a great concept when done in a smart way. There’s some hesitancy on Twitter and in other parts of social media to help in a broad sense. It a byproduct of the minimal cost-of-entry required to have a voice on the platform. You get the pro’s and the spammers…and sometimes it’s very, very hard to tell which is which.
I hear you on the compliments. Let’s just take them and be glad for the appreciation!
-S
Seth,
I definitely agree with your point to make recommendations to follow other users more sincere, more selfless and a lot better substantiated. This post is a great example of how to do that.
HOWEVER, for me, this method has the potential to minimize one of the main benefits of twitter… aggregation. By using Tweetdeck (or any other twitter application) we are able to aggregate and filter through a lot of data. Thus, for the properly organized, twitter becomes a time-saver (instead of a time-waster as some are experiencing)
Don’t get me wrong, I love having quality posts with lists such as this one….AND I will continue to click on and read those that sound appealing. I do think though, that the more we can educate people on creating QUALITY #followfriday recommendations, we can enjoy the best of both worlds.
Great post, let’s keep the community strong, un-cluttered and valuable for all!
Joseph
Precisely. Education is key.
One thing posts like this do is make the suggestion that there is perhaps a better way. Not, necessarily by posting a list to one’s blog (I’ve seen a few of those and they’re horridly long lists for the most part) but simply by adding some descriptions to followfriday recommendations.
I’m a huge fan of enjoying the best of both worlds. =)
I’ve already had a few people grab me on Twitter and let me know that they’d read this post and would be giving better descriptions with their FF’s in the future. I’ll celebrate that!
Here’s hoping that we can get more people to focus on value-added behavior instead of blathering in spamish.
[...] leave a comment » Everyone who has used Twitter for more than a couple weeks has surely seen, and likely participated in, #followfriday — Don’t! The once productive and effective way to recommend to people to follow has turned into an unsustainable self promotional orgy that is clogging the arteries of twitter. Although this has been percolating in my mind for some time, Seth Simonds opened my eyes with his blog post, Out With #FollowFriday, In With Connected Communities [...]
Ditto. I love it and yet I stay away on fridays .. and have unfollowed (regrettably) some people just for that. 30-50 tweets one after the other, all full of multiple recs and RT’ed by others .. did my head in.
Love the ones who rec 2-3 at a time and mention why “inspirational” “copywriter” etc. That makes sense and doesn’t make me go cross-eyed.
The worst? People RTing tweets that recommend them. I’m already in their follow stream why would they do that!? Lol ..
It’s a popularity party now (except for the ones who play well)
I know what you mean about the RT’ing recommendations for themselves.
It’s a bit like asking followers to follow you.
Or complaining to a friend that you have none.
Zany!
When someone is RT a list that contains themselves, they “might” be promoting the person who posted the list as well as the others on the list — but probably not 8=)
Look at you, finding the positive! =)
For the most part, it’s a result of trollish laziness.
Not that I don’t like trolls. I just haven’t met any nice ones on Twitter yet.
Seth,
Nice post and I would agree #followfriday is a bit spammy, although I was just mentioned in one and didn’t feel the NEED to reciprocate if I don’t want to follow that person.
Question to you and other commenters. Any ideas on how we can “structure” it is such a way where you can say – “really like @person because of his/her insights into #subject”
Wondering if you or others here, have ideas about it. I have been looking for effective ways to search, find people interested in multi-channel marketing, international marketing, and other subjects that I am passionate about – and it’s REALLY hard to do so.
Ideas?
William
Check out Justyn’s site and Wefollow.com for some structured categories of twitter users.
Also, I know Damon Cortesi @Dacort and a few other developers have come up with ways for you to search user profiles in addition to tweets through the API.
When you try to force something like Twitter into a specific format it makes things easier to search but won’t work because Twitter is based on impulse. You’re dealing with real people (mostly) in real time. Things don’t get more unpredictable than that! =)
*sigh* i have to admit i’m confused. here is my progression around #followfriday:
1. clueless newbie
2. figuring it out and following recommendations from tweeps i like and admire
3. building enough community to make recommendations of my own (maybe two or three)
4. getting on a roll and sending FF out to maybe 20 tweeps i like and admire
5. finding more and more great people, listing several names with a hashtag like #grtlinks
6. starting to get recommendations myself, taking time to learn about those tweeps (not always people i follow)
7. reading about folks not liking lists of names, so cutting down to one liners with one tweep and 140c description
8. trying it out and finding LOTS of great, like-thinking tweeps
9. finding a #followfriday application that takes your last 200 interactive tweets and turning them into lists. okay, is this what people really want to read?
and finally
10. this week – recognize both those that i enjoy and those that prop me with a one line, one tweep 140c description, BUT finding here that many think i’m clogging up their twitter stream!!!!
agh, help me. i’ve found so many tweeps through FF, even this week, maybe because i filter my tweeps into groups – am i the only one anymore? i really want to take the time to recognize the folks who make this experience wonderful for me. what do you think, seth? input welcome from anyone!
Hi Trina!
No, no! You’re doing fine! Giving a description of the people you’re recommending is the point of this post!
I’m happy to see recommendations of users when a description is listed with their name. That lets me know why the recommender thinks that particular person should be of interest to me. I don’t think you’ll see a lot of arguments against listing your favorites one at a time with descriptions. Most will appreciate it.
If you came to one of my parties and you didn’t know anybody else but me, would you like it if I yelled out an introduction to everybody at the same time? “Hey, everybody, this is Trina, she’s cool!” Of course you wouldn’t. You’d have a much better time if I took you around and introduced you to a few people I was certain you’d get along with!
The same applies on Twitter. In fact, most of Twitter seems a lot like walking into a party with everybody 2 drinks in already! Act on Twitter as you would face to face. That’s authenticity at its best. That’s the good stuff!
=)
[...] Simonds posted this morning about the #FollowFriday tradition on Twitter. For those of you who don’t quite understand the [...]
Hi, Seth!
I have only been on twitter a month or two. The first Friday I was on I was confused & slightly annoyed by all the #ff posts with nothing but @names in them. I’ll admit I followed suit at first thinking this was how I was to honor my new found friends, but it all seemed kind of pointless. I now try to give at least a few words as to why I’m recommending someone. But, also, my memory not being what it used to be, come Friday I sometimes forget who I wanted to recommend. So I think I will take the approach of thanking people & recommending them as I interact with them and not hold off for a specific date. That seems more natural to me.
Thanks for highlighting an issue that is ripe for some improvement. Loved your recommendations and checked them all out. Looking forward to see what your up to next!
Jeanne
I like the idea of a weekly post like you’ve done here. I may adopt something similar although I don’t know if I can be as structured. It’s nice because it gives more than 140 characters for the recommendation and it also gives some insight into the person. The quotes are a nice touch.
While we should always be introducing people during the week, I think FF is a reminder but it has gotten out of hand a bit and needs to be reigned in.
I like to see FF recommendations when someone gives a few of them with a short explaination — maybe next week I should use:
#followfriday @sethsimonds He is very creative at spamming your blogs comments
Yes, I think the recommendation does the trick. It’s the added effort and customization that makes the difference. Huge lists of usernames are often the product of trollish desire.
I wonder if others will realize that, in this instance, “spamming” is used with utmost affection? =)
Nicely done, sir! A hole in one!
Hey Seth,
I think it’s a natural progression we’re seeing through posts like this. It’s like a kid who is given free access to any and all goods in a candy store. At first, he gorges himself on anything he can get his hands on. But after a while, the Smarties and the Tootsie Rolls just dont cut it anymore. I think it’s time for some Enstroms Toffee (hey, I’m from CO you know).
Thanks bud, great post and I appreciate the shout out.
Cheers!
share. the. toffee.
good point. eventually we stop drinking the sap and boil it all down into grade A syrup. =)
While I think #followfriday has it’s place, I agree that it seems to be out of hand. I love your solution. It gets back to the basics of networking, being personable and actually knowing your group. I plan to start doing something similar myself. Thanks for this great post!!!
Kim
Great article with lots of wonderful follow-up suggestions and ideas. I’ve also taken the same Follow Friday route, putting favs in categories and suggesting them that way. And they have to be bona-fide, too! I figure if I’m suggesting them, then following them is a reflection of me. I’m a conversationalist and follow-back, then I watch people carefully. So if you get a recommendation from me, then it’s genuine.
Have a terrific weekend, everyone!
@AngelaMZ40
Good post.
What I hate the most about #FollowFriday is all these people retweeting the people that have #FollowFridayed them. So annoying!!!! And somewhat dishonest since all they are trying to do is increase there presence in the various sites keeping track of the most popular people.
I always categorize my FollowFriday tweets at the beginning, by interest group, like this: “[ Animation and Motion Graphics related ] #FollowFriday @yournamehere @andwhoever”.
Cheers
I think a lot of the #followfriday recommendations have reached a point where value and effect have been lost. When you see just a list of names and nothing else, it doesn’t tell me anything about that person.
I prefer the ones that have a reason why, and then I can decide to check out or not. I’ll admit there are some people that I will check out anyway, just from who’s recommended them to start with. Some people have that respect from me, and I know they’ll generally never disappoint.
But I like this idea as well – something that @smashadv and @sonnygill have begun experimenting with too, which is kinda cool.
I entirely agree, it has become incestuous.
[...] Ladies and Gentlemen, this goes way beyond “followfriday” (which some see as the new “spam”…). This is an unleashing of the Force: and may the Force be with [...]
[...] Unfortunately good ideas can be executed badly and/or misused to the point where their purpose gets lost and their value gets diminished. Seth Simmonds suggests this is exactly what has happened to #followfriday in his post Out with #FollowFriday and In with Connected Communities. [...]
[...] So, in honor of @sethsimonds I will do my own version of this. I hope he forgives the blatant copying Here’s a lkink to his post, go read it, I’ll wait Seths post [...]
Excellent, but….. I follow people whom I feel a connection with. When they recommend, I review their profile & tweets to see if we could have the same connection. Usually I find someone to follow. BUT (again :>) when a #FF recommendation is done with insight to the person they are recommending, I hope that it is sincere and will most likely follow.
BTW – @lollydaskal has this down to an art. She recommends one person per tweet and elaborates on the qualities she sees in them.
I’m still learning, but I’ve gone to recommending people who I respect and admire as teams. I choose a commonality amongst a group I follow and #FF them as a team.
Everyone, thanks for everything!
I think your approach is great for bloggers – and helps tie in blogs with twitter too.
It’s fascinating how social groupings work; last two Fridays I just decided to improve my #FollowFriday by adding in info on why and now realize many tweeters are on the same wavelength.
I love getting recommendations on interesting people, it helps the search for real people to connect too, with these improvements I know my network will grow in the ways I want it too.
[...] some of the coolest people alive. (That’s not the confession) However, in place of writing my Connected Communities post yesterday morning, I wallowed in self-doubt and discouragement. (That’s the confession) [...]
My #followfriday Rules:
One ‘Follow Friday Tweet’ per week, on a Friday (local time). Recommend just one person and provide a reason for your recommendation.
I thank people who recommend me with DM (if possible).
[...] campaign (of course, his thoughts were provoked by Andrew Mueller and who in-turn got motivated by Seth Simonds) that rules twitter on every Friday and across all the continents (of course, there is no official [...]
Great idea! I have been back and forth on followfriday myself. I took a break for awhile, but then I missed it and chime in occasionally. I just resist the urge to reply when it isn’t sincere–easier said than done.
I like that you have offered an alternative. I’m also honored I got a ff recommendation from you before your retirement
I agree. I have been using twitter for about a month only and I am genuinely interested in sorting out who I should be following. The #followfridays really aren’t helping me. I think the ideas expressed here are great. Even if peeps can’t go to those lengths, then at least just one peep per #followfriday with a reason why would be great.
I like this idea. Having only been on Twitter less than a month, I didn’t really get the whole FollowFriday idea. To tell you the truth, it seemed a bit ‘highschoolish’ to me. And (again), to be very honest, I was pretty much doing #ff out of guilt & obligation; although, I only listed people I truly enjoyed following.
Your ideas are interesting, as far as sorting people into categories; yet, I think there are a lot of people I follow who don’t fall into any of those suggested areas. (I made up my own categories with an article “Know Your Twitter Type” ~ which was entirely for fun.) I like the idea of suggesting a few people to follow and why. Thanks for your blog. I enjoyed it. I will depart so I don’t continue to ramble on. I posted your link on Twitter. I’m Spectrummother on Twitter- also have Spectrum Mother at wordpress blog. Keep up the great works.
Late to the comment stream and at risk of being redundant, good idea. I have avoided sending out lists of people on FF unless linked by a subject or theme that I can call attention to. Instead, have posted one or two at a time with a specific reason why soundbite included. After reading your post I’ve also realized I can’t remember the last time I followed someone because of a FF reco.
I think introducing great people to your followers right when you meet them makes the most sense and best reflects our behavior in the real world. I'm glad you found some cool people in my list. I like them quite a bit! =)
I think introducing great people to your followers right when you meet them makes the most sense and best reflects our behavior in the real world. I'm glad you found some cool people in my list. I like them quite a bit! =)
No, Kim, not solid networking! =P I continue to meet people who think we're supposed to throw any and all preconceived ideas about networking to the wind and leap face-first into social media. I don't entirely agree with them because, while the way we transfer words has changed, the way we connect hasn't changed since we learned that the skin of another comforts us more than our own warmth.
(I didn't mean that in a Hannibal Lector sense, at all. Just noticing it could be taken that way)
No, Kim, not solid networking! =P I continue to meet people who think we're supposed to throw any and all preconceived ideas about networking to the wind and leap face-first into social media. I don't entirely agree with them because, while the way we transfer words has changed, the way we connect hasn't changed since we learned that the skin of another comforts us more than our own warmth.
(I didn't mean that in a Hannibal Lector sense, at all. Just noticing it could be taken that way)
Hi Angela, you've got it down to a science! =)
I love nothing more than to see a genuine recommendation from one person who truly believes in the worth of another. It's heartwarming in the best of ways.
Enjoy!
Hi Angela, you've got it down to a science! =)
I love nothing more than to see a genuine recommendation from one person who truly believes in the worth of another. It's heartwarming in the best of ways.
Enjoy!
I think that also works as it does something to let people know what they're dealing with and what to expect. Keeps it simple while still getting the message out. Bravo!
I think that also works as it does something to let people know what they're dealing with and what to expect. Keeps it simple while still getting the message out. Bravo!
Hey Danny!
You've already started listing the groups so there's not much to say now. Love what you came up with. Sorry about the late reply, boss!
Hey Danny!
You've already started listing the groups so there's not much to say now. Love what you came up with. Sorry about the late reply, boss!
Twitter's kissing cousins.
Twitter's kissing cousins.
Yes, I've seen her FF usage. She does a great job. I think any sort of declaration you can make as to why you want people to follow a certain account is a positive.
Thanks for adding value! =)
Yes, I've seen her FF usage. She does a great job. I think any sort of declaration you can make as to why you want people to follow a certain account is a positive.
Thanks for adding value! =)
And for those who don't have a blog, just including a little description in the FF can make a huge difference. It adds some personality and thought into something that's become rather spammy. I'm glad you're finding success and enjoyment on Twitter!
And for those who don't have a blog, just including a little description in the FF can make a huge difference. It adds some personality and thought into something that's become rather spammy. I'm glad you're finding success and enjoyment on Twitter!
You, sir, are the antithesis of spam! =) I would hope that the people who recommend you are following you! Otherwise, the recommendation doesn't make much sense. I've seen stranger things on Twitter though. What a mess of fun and odd behaviors it is.
Thanks Chris!
You, sir, are the antithesis of spam! =) I would hope that the people who recommend you are following you! Otherwise, the recommendation doesn't make much sense. I've seen stranger things on Twitter though. What a mess of fun and odd behaviors it is.
Thanks Chris!
Yes, we all have the tendency to reciprocate because we don't want to seem rude…it takes conscious effort to break the habit and act in a way that aligns with our goals for the platform.
Definitely easier said than done.
Yes, we all have the tendency to reciprocate because we don't want to seem rude…it takes conscious effort to break the habit and act in a way that aligns with our goals for the platform.
Definitely easier said than done.
You should have written my post. That would have saved everybody the time they spent reading my long version of what you said perfectly with only a few sentences! =)
You should have written my post. That would have saved everybody the time they spent reading my long version of what you said perfectly with only a few sentences! =)
Hi Marcie!
Categories are fun but certainly not necessary to successfully recommend others. You're always welcome to ramble here. Everybody knows that's pretty much all I do. =)
Hi Marcie!
Categories are fun but certainly not necessary to successfully recommend others. You're always welcome to ramble here. Everybody knows that's pretty much all I do. =)
Sorry about the delayed response. If this were a brand-in-crisis situation…I'd be bankrupt already.
I liked your FollowFriday, it was concise and offered value without asking for anything in return.
I followed @SirKenRobinson because I saw him suggested yesterday evening. That's the first time I ever remember following somebody because of a FollowFriday mention. It was a pleasant and uneventful first.
Sorry about the delayed response. If this were a brand-in-crisis situation…I'd be bankrupt already.
I liked your FollowFriday, it was concise and offered value without asking for anything in return.
I followed @SirKenRobinson because I saw him suggested yesterday evening. That's the first time I ever remember following somebody because of a FollowFriday mention. It was a pleasant and uneventful first.
My two cents: Twitter is great, but don't take it too seriously. I occasionally recommend people on #followfriday, when I feel like it. I have no set of rules in my mind as to whether I will recommend people or not, other than the fact that I enjoy someone's tweets myself (funny, interesting or otherwise worthwhile).
Your two cents sound a lot like sense that would work well in real life,
too! I'm glad you've found a way to use Twitter that works well for you.
Best of luck!
Another Great Post!
I only ever did one #followfriday post. I think you hit the nail right on the head, about it being spammy and a hope of reciprocation.
This is exactly why I built tweams. A place for people to recommend their favorite tweeps in specific web industry categories. However I have haven’t gotten it to pick and get moving yet. I have to make some adjustments to get it to pick up and become more popular.
[...] created. With little time to go searching out new names, and things like #FollowFriday making it difficult to separate the noise from the potential, it is easy to see how some of us can grow complacent with our social media [...]
[...] Topics: Social Media, Twitter Everyone who has used Twitter for more than a couple weeks has surely seen, and likely participated in, #followfriday — Don’t! The once productive and effective way to recommend to people to follow has turned into an unsustainable self promotional orgy that is clogging the arteries of twitter. Although this has been percolating in my mind for some time, Seth Simonds opened my eyes with his blog post, Out With #FollowFriday, In With Connected Communities [...]