How to Spot a Twitter Idiot
If there’s one thing I loathe, it’s lazy Twitterers. I spent an hour or so at the weekend un-following about 100 people I spotted using Twitterfeed.com to populate their stream ad nauseum.
This technique of automatically Tweeting content from blogs or news sources other than your own is one of the scourges of Twitter.
It’s perpetrated by clever clogs who are desperate to be seen as never sleeping, thinking they’re doing their followers a favour and hope the constant churn of mostly irrelevant content will glean them extra followers who either auto-follow or trawl Twitter search for like minds.
In my opinion, if you’re an individual, it’s fine for you to set up Twitterfeed from your own blog or your business, but using it to spam people with ill-thought out and lazily delivered drivel just isn’t on.
If you see a feed like this, check how many clicks they’re getting on the link. If they’re using Bit.ly it’s really easy. Just stick a + sign at the end and you’ll see all the click data and retweet information.
So – http://bit.ly/coOUVN+ – copy and paste that into a browser.
By taking a look at a couple of these reports, you can soon tell if someone’s got a shed load of followers but they’re all pretty much redundant and don’t click or interact.
I know someone with 1.5 million followers who gets less than 100 clicks everytime they Tweet.
To be effective on Twitter, you need a mix of automated, retweets and your own nuggets.
Don’t mix it up, and you run into the possibility of losing or, at the very least, snoozing your followers.
All Comments
The misuse of “their” throughout this article destroys all credibility in calling other people idiots.
Well Said
I’ve edited the one instance Andrew but disagree it destroys my credibility. On the contrary, it shows I’m transparent, authentic and fallible, which the Twitters I talk about are not
Type’o = “copy amd paste that into a browser”
Andrew – I’ve been over this article and I can see no improper use of either they’re (ie they are) or their (belonging to)…. so not sure what you’re referring to? Have they updated it since your comment?
I have edited a couple of typos yes – rattled this one off a bit too quickly!
Great tip regarding the +sign after bitly links, I didn’t know about that!
We only have a few followers at the moment, and also only following a few. Of those the ones who just constantly fill up my timeline with junk don’t remain followed for long.
Thanks for the post.
Kind regards
Rob
Still a typo in there – can you spot it?…
Its good that you brought this up – starts a debate. I for one, make use of auto-tweets and find them useful. And talk about too much time on one’s hands – who goes and looks to see how many times a link has been clicked?
@ Poor Concept – Ditto!
Hey Thomas – do you not find it interesting to see what kind of content resonates with followers? Too much influencer emphasis is put on the number of followers and not the quality. Quality to my mind is a reasonable click to follower ratio plus a mix of interactions and auto-feeding. Reach is key obviously, but reach is no good if no one clicks on your stuff.
now thats lazy posting if I have ever seen it… ha ha. I agree, I have stopped following Brand Republic and the Guardian for the over use of automated drivel that they post. If I want that service I will subscribe to their RSS feed, not expect 8 posts one after another on “news”.
Automation is greta for syndicating great content, but it has to be timely and mixed with more personalised tweets too!
Atta boy Mel, great conversation starter. I don’t think it’s a black and white issue. I find nothing wrong with the use of auto tweets as long as it’s relevant to your world, not too frequent, and mixed with human powered tweets as well.
Interesting points, but I agree with Jason. Some automated feeds have their uses. I don’t mind the New York Times automating its feeds — I want the news from the site as soon as it’s posted. And some smart aggregation on a specific topic is worth a follow.
Yes, Twitter is primarily for conversation, but a wisely selected news poster can add value to the overall stream.
The beauty of Twitter is it has myriad uses. Each user can tailor it to his or her needs. And for some, a news stream is useful.
Totally agree Jonathan. I relish news feeds as long as they don’t dump 20 stories in my feed at once. I’m talking about individuals who use the tactic and aren’t in the spirit of engaging or at least looking like they’re interested in anything other than broadcasting.
Really good tip re adding + after a bit.ly link I didn’t know that one! Oh and for god sake people don’t be so pedantic.
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