Twitter MathWhat to do (and not to do) on Twitter

PodCamp NashvilleMarch 7, 2009Rob Robinson

Who I am / Why I’m here• Blogger• Twitterer• Public relations practitioner• Preds fan• Husband• Animal lover• Philosopher• Media junkie• Sports fan • Entertainment critic

Twitter Math• Not calculus• Not a measurement tool

Twitter Math• Meaningful contributions• Why to follow• Why not to follow• What to do • What not to do

Twitter Math

Participation

Significance

Authenticity

Community

Good Twitter Math• Transparent profile• Real photo• Informative bio• Real location• Credible Web link

Good Twitter Math• Twitter is not an inbox• Mind your replies• Follow to be followed

Good Twitter Math• Keep it meaningful and interesting– Doing something unusual, fun or creative– Witty or insightful observations– Entertaining or informative linking

• Not a blog aggregator• Transparent and frequent

Good Twitter Math• Participate• Tweet with your audience in mind• Check out new followers

"And, in the end, the love you take/ Is equal to the love you make.“

The Beatles (pre-Twitter)

Bad Twitter Math• No photo• No bio or irrelevant bio• No location or fake location• No tweets• Really old tweets

Bad Twitter Math• Bad content– Self-serving/promotional tweets• Make money from home• How awesome your business is• No engagement with followers• Auto-direct messages

– Pointless/useless tweets– Tweets about increasing followers– Constant replies without context

Bad Twitter Math• You follow 170, but only 40 follow you. Your

four updates are all about what you can do to "grow ur biz." B-L-O-C-K

• You follow 188, but only 5 follow you. Your handful of tweets are about home-based business opportunities. B-L-O-C-K

Bad Twitter Math• You follow 1,223, but only 310 follow you.

Your tweets make no sense, & your web site sells vitamins. B-L-O-C-K

• You follow 1,927, but only 513 follow you. You also claim to be a Disney character. (No offense, Walt.) B-L-O-C-K

Bad Twitter Math• You follow 1,597 while only 122 follow you.

Tweets re: how great your biz is. B-L-O-C-K

• You follow 363, but only 37 follow you. Your one tweet is re: making money at home. B-L-O-C-K

Bad Twitter Math• You follow 512 people, but only 19 follow you.

You have a mere five tweets, all about making $$$ on the Web. B-L-O-C-K

• You follow 134, but no one follows you. You also have zero updates. B-L-O-C-K

Bad Twitter Math• No profile photo: “I’m hiding.”• No profile info: “I’m not sharing.”• Low followers (over time):

Community doesn’t value what’s being contributed.• Low Tweets (over time): “I don’t participate

actively.”

Twitter Math Exceptions• Outliers– High follower to following ratio:• Mainstream media• Celebrities• Twitter celebrities

– New users– Only following by design

More Reading• Mashable: Follow FAIL – http://mashable.com/2009/01/06/twitter-follow-fail/

• Sitening: Rules of Twitter Engagement– http://sitening.com/blog/rules-of-twitter-engagement/

Twitter Math

Participation

significance

authenticity

community