Last night, during Obama’s (un)State of the Union Address, I noticed people getting snitty about being unfollowed on Twitter. (Example: “Why did you unfollow me? Was it because of my comment about Bush?”)
Listen: you can not take unfollowing personally. And, unless you’re selling something or Tweeting on a business account, you shouldn’t alter your Tweets to please any one segment of your audience. Part of Twitter’s beauty is that we can converse and be ourselves in this chaotic back and forth idea-and-information dance called the Twitter Stream. Don’t screw it up by being a jerk. (Example: “I’m going to unfollow @some_poor_Twit because they said ___.”)
If people unfollow you, assume they realized you weren’t a good fit and let it go. There are several folks who have followed me that, when I read their profile, I thought, “Uhhh… this won’t last long.”
There are other followers who, in my opinion, are obviously hoping I’ll blindly follow them back and/ or follow links to their site where I’ll fall all over myself buying whatever they’re selling.
But, maybe those Twitterers read some Tweet I sent out into the Twitterverse that resonated with them. Maybe they know something I don’t know. Maybe they are more open-minded than I am and want to include me in their nest despite the fact that we don’t have diddly in common. But, still, when some Twits stop following me, it’s not a surprise and my feathers don’t get ruffled because it’s obvious we were not compatible from the beginning.
Don’t let yours get ruffled. I repeat: don’t take unfollows personally– and definitely don’t chastise anyone; you must not forget that Twitter is an open forum. We’re not meant to follow everyone, nor should we expect everyone to want to follow us in return. It’s O.K. for people to be selective Tweetie Birds– I mean, aren’t you?
If you really want to keep up with who is following you, and why, there are two of my favorite Twitter services can help:
SocialToo: They send a daily list detailing who started following you, who stopped following you along with the Tweet they think caused all the commotion.
TweetLater: In addition to helping you manage your followers and those you follow, they also help you keep up with responses and will allow you to schedule Tweets for later.
There are more services like these– and, I’m sure, more being created every day.
Read about how to better manage all aspects of your account in Twitter Power. (Read my review here.)
I realize humans will do damn near anything for things like points– or followers– but, why not relax a little instead? If you’re a Tweet-a-lot, like me, or opinionated (check) or selling something, you’re going to chase a few people off. That’s O.K. Wouldn’t you prefer to be followed by people who are more likely to be interested in your Tweets than a mass of followers who ignore you?
Have fun Tweeting, leave your ego out of it.
