In preparing for a demo of Dashter for Chris Smith this morning, I decided to curate the #isuckattwitter hashtag stream that was active for his Inman webinar this morning. Just prior to the webinar, Chris asked his followers to give him some input on what Twitter behaviors really bug them.
Chris Smith – @Chris_Smth
What is the #1 thing that people do on Twitter that bothers you? Will feature in the #isuckattwitter webinar please use the hashtag w answer
As usual, his community was quick to respond with their thoughts about what constituted “sucking” at Twitter. And their thoughts fell into a few major categories.
You Do Nothing But Broadcast
Obeo – @MarciJames
@chris_smth People who do nothing but broadcast #isuckattwitter
Eric Proulx – @EricMProulx
I love getting NONstop listings. It’s the whole reason I’m on twitter to begin with! Listings listings listings everywhere! #isuckattwitter
Of course, this is the classic example of sucking at twitter – the non-stop stream of links or quotes with no interaction. Social is a conversation folks. Conversations require two-way interaction. It’s really that simple.
You’re A Robot Randomly Responding To Keywords
stacy serey – @stacyluvssicily
@Chris_Smth Auto Spam! #isuckattwitter
Lisa Oden – @laoden
@chris_smth Peeps who use my tweets to offer me products I don’t need, knowing they NEVER read tweet & don’t wish to engage #isuckattwitter
There’s almost no way to avoid this one. However, you do have some options. When you get one of these, do the community a favor. Go check the stream of the offending party. If their entire stream is made up of nothing but canned messages with links, click on the report for spam link and help clean up the mess these bots create.
You Bombard People With Endless Follow Friday Mentions
Atim Ukoh – @powerpuffkatie
#FollowFriday #isuckattwitter They are so old now I don’t know why people bother. If you are recommending give a reason why we should follow
This is one I can agree with wholeheartedly. The endless stream of tweets filled with endless mentions attached to the #ff hashtag is not only old, it looks and feels ridiculous to me. I’m with you, Atim, tell me why you think I should follow someone. Give it some thought. Make it personal.
You Auto Direct Message People and Spam Hashtag Streams
Katie Lance – @katielance
@Chris_Smth i hate auto DM’s and when ppl hijack a hashtag w/ spam #isuckattwitter
Auto DM’s (direct messages) have gone way done for me, but the hashtag spam is still rampant. And while this is most common on major trending hashtags, you can still find the casual spammer in highly targeted hashtag streams as well. The key to NOT sucking in a hashtag stream is to actually try to add value to the conversation. Again, this aint rocket science.
You Ignore The Real People Trying To Talk To You
Obeo Inc. – @Obeo
@chris_smth people who ignore you when you mention them #isuckattwitter
I’m not sure I agree with this one in full. Sometimes a mention doesn’t need a response. But I understand the motive for this one and agree with the concept. People want a conversation. If you’re consistently ignoring the attempt for a conversation, then yes, you probably suck at twitter.
There Are Lots Of Ways To Suck At Twitter 🙂
There may be a few other things you could come up with that irritate you about how people use Twitter, but I think Chris’ followers did a pretty bang up job of nailing the key offending behaviors. How about you?
And, some rules can be broken and not make you suck at twitter. Take @salon for example. They certainly do two of these: they only broadcast and they never have a conversation. But they have 158,000+ followers a good deal of retweeting of their status updates taking place.
Re: Salon as an exception
This points to different objectives for using social media. If you are focused on the “media” side of the equation then the tactics for effective use are differerent than if you are focused on the “social” side of the equation.
Not everyone can nor should obsess about trying to do both sides–social _and_ media. And certainly not those who are just starting out.
Re: Follow Friday
That’s why I’ve always been sparing in my participation in the ritual and even when I do, I do it like this: http://thoughtfaucet.com/tag/follow-friday/
I don’t suck at Twitter and I’m not afraid to say it. Which doesn’t mean that I couldn’t improve of course.
Gahlord
No, you don’t suck at Twitter, Gahlord. 🙂 And your point is on point. I’ll add that if you’re focused on the media side of the equation, the value you provide had better go well beyond the conversation that takes place on Twitter.
Jeff – Thanks for including my comment and adding your insight. I certainly do report blatant spammers and try to give benefit of the doubt to those I believe are just “doing it wrong”.
Gahlord – I love what you said about being social or media. That is so true. I follow many people for their social interaction, yet others just to stay informed. Of course, I really love my peeps who give a nice blend. They’re the most fun!
You suck at Twitter if you are a fake, a poser, an imposter, and a hashtag hijacker. You don’t suck at Twitter if you are a cowboy.
🙂
I think one of my biggest annoyances that some think is a actually good idea is the validation services like Truetwit. If I have taken the time to check you out, decide I want to follow you, you can at least take the time to do the same in return.
I shouldn’t have to go through extra steps of clicking on some link in an auto dm and then validating myself to you. This type of practice makes me feel like you are too good or too busy to do a little investigating on your own. Or, you don’t know how to do it, which scares me even more.
If someone sends me these now, I just unfollow them and don’t even bother anymore.
Happy Birthday, Jeremy. 🙂
Thanks man! Happy early to you. I remember yours as it falls on my anniversary. And since I won’t be near a computer on your bday, I will say it now 🙂