posted by Doyle
We’ve all got ‘em—the things that make us crazy. Ever followed someone with their blinker on for 15 minutes on the freeway, and they never moved lanes? This is what I’m talking about. Five things that really bug me in the social media communities I participate in the most. I’m not really saying they’re terrible or even wrong, but I’d like to encourage everyone to consider the different ways social media is used, and ask yourself if you’re irritating others with your habits. Most importantly, are your habits moving your conversations forward? If not, time for a rethink.
So, here’s my “following the endless blinker” list:
5. “Thanks for the follow!” direct messages on Twitter. I let direct messages on Twitter come directly to my phone because many clients and colleagues communicate with me that way. The last thing I need is a bunch of texts on my iPhone that say nothing of value. Even worse? “Get my e-book here!” I give a nearly instant un-follow & block to those folks.
4. “As a person I trust, I’d like to add you to my network on LinkedIn. Please. Take a minute to erase the stock LinkedIn verbiage and jot a quick personal note. It doesn’t have to be long (in fact, it shouldn’t be), but since you’re asking for my time to connect, can’t I get 10 seconds of yours to ask me personally? Also, sometimes I don’t recognize the name of someone I just met at a conference, for example. A brief “nice to meet you at…” is not only polite, it can avoid getting bounced as someone I don’t know—a big no-no on LinkedIn.
3. Twitter streams that are nothing but “I’m at…” from Foursquare. I enjoy Foursquare, but when I follow someone that plays Foursquare and puts every check in in their Twitter stream, I find it gets really old really fast. If your check-ins are one in 10, perhaps it’s not so bad, but in general, “I’m at…” is no more interesting than “I’m eating yoghurt.” Not what I’m looking for.
2. “Since we’re following each other on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook.” Maybe, maybe not, but don’t just assume. We all use social networks differently. Just because we’re connected on one doesn’t mean we should be on another automatically. I don’t mind an appropriate invite through Facebook (or any other), but I do mind an immediate invite to visit your page when we’ve been friends on Twitter for about 30 seconds. One does not mean all.
1. And my #1 Pet Peeve: Playing the numbers game. Social media is not about having tens of thousands of followers or friends or fans or whatever. It’s about developing and engaging your network. In my opinion, it’s nearly impossible to truly use a tool like LinkedIn if you have tens of thousands of connections. I’ll take my few hundred—all of which I know personally. I have no problem asking for a favor or returning one for any member of that network. How can you know where to draw that line with 10,000 (or more) connections? You can’t, plain and simple.
That’s my list. What’s yours?
1 response so far ↓
1 marierotter // May 18, 2010 at 5:06 am
I've got five more for you: 1. Farmville. 2. Mafia Wars. 3. Drama queens on Twitter or Facebook: "I feel so horrible! Everything is broken!" and when you rush to your cell phone to call them and find out if something is wrong and tell them to put the knife down, they tell you that they just broke a light bulb or something stupid. 4. Spam posts on Facebook. You know the ones: "Right now someone is spending time away from their family to bag your groceries. It's grocery bagger appreciation week! Give your bag boy or girl a hug! If you care about not having broken eggs, post this on your wall." 5. Follow Friday on Twitter. It started out with good intentions but what's the point with no context to the post? You just get a list of names and no idea why you should care about those people.
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