This has been the year that Twitter has exploded. I admit that I love the simplicity of micro-blogging. You are limited to 140 characters, so you find ways of saying something “short and sweet“. That’s the whole beauty of it. Twitter is a blog for busy people who don’t have time to read and write large posts.
There are a few people who don’t understand the beauty of Twitter. A Twitter post is limited to 140 characters. These people can’t get their thoughts into a single 140-character paragraph, so they use several in a row. Add 140 + 140 + 140 to equal 420 characters and so on. If you have that much to say, then you need to publish a blog. Blogs are dead simple using software like WordPress. That way you can write all the stories you want. Many Twitter users can agree on one thing:
When you open your Twitter page to find several posts in a row by the same person, it borders on irritation.
I use Twitter to keep track of all my friends. I just want a little taste. I don’t want every detail. Some people have to post a link to every blog entry, every article they read and every action of their day.
Sorry, It’s too much!
You have to post stuff that is interesting or perhaps, out of the ordinary. I post blog links occasionally, but only when I feel the post is “better than usual“. People know where my blog is. If they want to read it, they can follow the link from my Twitter profile page.
So it sounds like I’m flip-flopping sides here. What I really want to say is, “There’s a rhythm to Twitter.” You need to post “every now and then” and it “has to be somewhat interesting”. How do we know what is too much? Well here’s my rule:
Three or more posts in 1/2 hour to Twitter is too much.
When I find that I’m following someone who posts that much repeatedly, I must delete them. It’s too much like spam. Twitter is buckling at the knees right now because of people like this. We need to “conserve” the service just like we need to conserve gasoline.
What if I have nothing interesting to say?
Fine, post that you are, “having lunch at Outback”. Just keep the rule in mind. If you have 5 things to say, then post 1 or 2 of the most interesting events from that group. Make it count.
What about @replies?
When you @reply somebody, there is actually some special filtering going on. The @reply will only be seen by you, the person you are replying to and only the people who subscribe to both of you. In that respect, @replies don’t apply to the 1/2 hour rule. In those cases, you are not broadcasting to the general Twitter population.
Find new folks, then weed.
Every now and then I look for new and interesting people to follow with my Twitter account. Shortly after, I have to do some weeding. I wind up deleting the people who break the 1/2 hour rule repeatedly. The result is an enjoyable Twitter page full of interesting links, facts, and ideas from a multitude of people.
