Media in the New Millennium

posted by Doyle

One of the most common questions I get regarding Twitter is, “should I follow everyone who follows me?” Here’s what I do:

1. If the person seems to be running in the same circle as me (knows/follows many of the same people, etc.) I follow back.

2. If the person is writing about things I’m generally interested in, like socmed, PR or marketing issues, I generally follow them back.

3. If there’s just not a connection, sometimes I don’t. That has little to do with being offended, per se, and more to do with what I’m personally looking to get out of my time on Twitter. Not a hard and fast rule, but overall, I think it’s OK not to follow absolutely everyone that follows you. (Aside: if you have thousands of followers and follow just a handful, that doesn’t sit well with some Twitter users.)

4. If the person is clearly a spammer, I take the time to block. Twitter notices users who get blocked too often and will take action. In many cases, these folks have the same goofy Twitter nomenclature as email spammers and their names tend to just look a little “off.” Twitter founder Biz Stone said at the Aloha Media Summit earlier this year that spam was one of his biggest issues and his staff is working hard to see it doesn’t become a large problem. I say support them with a block if warranted.

5. Conversely, I seldom block anyone just because I disagree with them. It’s OK not to follow. Save the blocking, however, for behavior that is detrimental to the overall experience, like spam. Of course, it’s also appropriate to use in cases of attention that is inappropriate. A friend told me of a former boyfriend that was using Twitter to stalk her. In cases like this, of course, a block is completely appropriate. 

These basic guidelines work for me. Comment with any additional input you might have.

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