As I continue to consider the most effective application for each of these platforms, my thoughts have been on what I am looking for when I visit each.
I recently posted that about 50% of what I get on Twitter has no value to me, and a friend asked me to describe my criteria. At the time, I didn’t have one – so here is where I am in the process. Before I decide what types of tweets are valuable to me, I need to filter out those that have low value:
16 – There are some people whose Tweets are seldom anything but a retweet (RT) of someone else, or the URL to a site with no comment on WHY they posted it – LOW VALUE.
17 – Tweets that are a random quote from a noted author or speaker usually lack the context necessary to give them real meaning – LOW VALUE.
18 – Some users will dump a half-dozen or more tweets all in a row. That’s like a conversation with someone who won’t shut up – LOW VALUE.
19 – Those whose tweets are never anything but an advertisement for their service or product tend to become an annoyance – LOW VALUE.
20 – Tweets with too many abbreviations show the person needs to distill their thought a bit more. A few shortcuts are OK, but don’t overdo – LOW VALUE.
So, I am trying to be a multi-dimensional Tweeter, with a mix of personal and professional content. If I forward a URL, I will always add my comment. When I send a RT, I’ll almost always say why, or add something.
If you want to follow me – http://twitter.com/jimseybert
This helps me too, although it makes “Tweeting” more work…for the better. It takes more work to frame a “Tweet” to be focused more on the reader than on me, the writer.