I decided to have some fun and produce this video parody of “Johnny Come Lately” style Internet marketing in conjunction with my new book launch on Monday. It shows various wrong ways to do things, and then makes a statement about building relationships and the importance of growing a social network based on friendships and trust. If you will take the time to watch this video and get to the core of the message, I hope that you will appreciate it enough to help me spread the word.
I know you appreciate a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is article. Most of us appreciate a straight message. If you have read my blog before, you probably came back because you know that I will tell it just how I see it.
I know another guy who does this. I do not know him very well, personally, but I know his work. I respect his work. His name is Chris Brogan (Twitter Chris Brogan), and he is a man with a powerful message of building your networks and building trust.
Chris Brogan’s message of building trusting networks of supporters is valuable, and I believe it can benefit you. I believe it enough that when he asked others to help him to spread the word, I did just that. I was not singled out and approached for it, I was not cohersed, I was not bribed, I was not paid, and we are not in cahoots. I believe in the message he delivers, and I know that it works because it is precisely why I am writing this to you right now. This is my testimony that his hard work deserves merit.
I want you to check out his new book. Even if you think you do not want to buy it, I would like you to look at the reviews. The outstanding reviews of this book, alone, should give you confidence to recommend it to others … even if you do not think it is for you.
Maybe you are saying, “Oh, so you are peddling another book, huh Mark?” Yes, I am, and just as I have said about my own book, “Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends”, I would never do so unless I strongly believed that it was done with value to the readers. In fact, I believe the two of these books are great companions, and should be a part of your reading plan. Click here to order “Trust Agents” and Click here to order “Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends”. If you order them together on Amazon, you can save on shipping and have some excellent professional help at a cost far less than having either of us come directly to you, and much less than the cost of lost opportunities.
It used to be that the big fad was to go “follow” a bunch of people on Twitter with an expectation that a majority of them will “follow” in return. I watched it and cringed, because I saw that there is a point when it totally comes undone and all of Twitter becomes deaf. It is still a pretty strong fad, but a newer fad is to go and unfollow everybody and start over.
Bulk Unfollow: A New Fad
Let’s face it my friend, you can only follow so many people before it becomes no more than a courtesy to show that you are “following” them, while the truth is that you only see .0001 percent of their messages. I mean, really, how many hundreds of Twitter updates per minute do you think any person can read?
Now a bunch of Twitter users are up-in-arms about this latest trend of people with massive numbers of followers who decided they wanted to hear Twitter again. You know, the way it used to be.
A lot of the people taking this route brought it on themselves by trying to play the game of following massive numbers of people just to be re-followed. Then there are people like me, who just thought it was courteous to re-follow people who followed my Twitter feed, just in case they ever wanted to address me with a direct message (which, by the way, is where 90 percent of my tweets are sent).
The message that I hear over and over regarding people bulk un-following sounds something like this:
“Oh, this stinks … you mean you are going to unfollow me? That would be like taking away a birthday gift. Are you saying that we cannot be friends anymore? Boo hoo, pout, sob, sniff … I am going back to bed and pull the blankets over my head.”
I have not done this, but I can certainly see why some people would. First, let’s get these couple of things clear:
A “follow” is not a promise!
A “follow” will not make you a better person.
If I do not follow you, I can still hear you, and we can still chat.
An Alternative: The “Real” Follow
I use Seesmic Desktop to manage my Twitter, which allows me to put my closest friends into groups so I never miss their tweets. This is the true “follow” that we should all be seeking … somebody who actually pays attention and wants to hear what you have to say. So I guess you would call this the second-layer-follow. Just because Twitter says that I am following you, it does not mean that I see your tweets. In fact, I spend a relatively very small amount of time looking at my main public Twitter stream. I spend a lot more time reading messages that I have filtered out with advanced searches, groups, and @ messages. This way, I have tidy little columns of information that is sorted nicely for my reading pleasure. Are you in one of my advanced searches, friend groups, or sending me an @ message? If so, that is a real follow.
The Truth About “Followers”
The majority of users subscribed to your Twitter feed are not following what you have to say. They are just giving you the nice warm feeling of another “friend”, and extending you the awesome gift of their return-follow. Do not take it to mean that each of those people following you will show up at your next tweetup, or that they would ever even hear about it.
I remember back when it seemed that people would respond and start a conversation with every other “tweet” and you knew they were paying attention. Today, that is rare, and you must actually make an effort to reach others and build your communications. Yes, that means paying attention, which is so hard for most people who sit at a computer all day to “tweet” crap to all of their oh-so-treasured fans.
Twitter Fame can come from tweeting frantically, as if your butt is on fire and Twitter will bring you a bucket of water to put it out. If you have not already learned this tactic, I will explain it. According to many estimates, there is a very small percentage of “power users” who send the majority of all updates on Twitter. How extreme is it? As a Harvard Business study pointed out, 10 percent of Twitter users account for 90 percent of Twitter updates.
Allow me to shock you for a moment with an observation.
Twitter Politics, Pandering, and Popularity
Some of the most powerful Twitter users are using old school tactics of politics, pandering, and heavy handing to get their word out. When this happens, they throw the great notion of transparency and dignity out the window.
Why do they do this? Power is the best answer I can find. It is a power that is largely more about ego than money … it is a power that some hold dear as they seek to be “King of the Geeks” or “The Most Popular” on Twitter. To their regret, it still does not return all that they hoped. They just find a few pea-brains to clap their hands and make them feel important.
Sure, you may not see this behavior, but it is just another part of my job to tell you it is there, and that it is quite pervasive. It has an impact on the whole community, and I hope you can see why it matters.
When considering that “other” 90 percent of Twitter users, I find it tragic that so many people have not yet found the great enjoyment and value of reaching out and joining the great conversation of Twitter. More tragic than that, is that it can lead to an ever greater opportunity for the “power users” or “Twitterati” to influence Twitter with a narrowed view designed to suit their agenda. Sure, you can say that it still allows for the voice of the people, but when it gets too carried away with chasing an algorithm to appear as the most popular, it is still a deception in many ways.
The tactics that some seemingly “valuable” Twitter users will use is to play a role to make others believe “how Twitter really works” and what is “important” to the Twitter community. Fine, call them “leaders”, and in some ways, they are. I want to remind you that it is easy for many people to fall into a bad habit and think it is the right thing to do because “everybody else is doing it”. Your parents surely posed the question to you something like: “If all of your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you do it, too?”
Some of these “valuable” users (often called Twitterati) try to promote getting more Twitter followers, and others will try to manipulate and even threaten others to promote their message. I saw the latter in a really ugly way when somebody who previously unfollowed me and blocked me then joined into a petty power play asking people to unfollow my Twitter feed, hoping people would stop listening to me. It was totally political and childish, and it was not because I was poaching whales or beating up little kids. I was simply being honest, and being me … many people sent me messages of respect after that rant.
It was not too long before this person came to seek me out and talk up their respect for me while asking for favors again and asking me to retweet their latest promotion. I guess my retweet was valuable, but yet, not quite valuable enough to treat me like a real person, but rather a megaphone.
Quick, Twitter … Get Me a Bucket!
The type of user I am talking about will often tweet like their butt is on fire and somebody should bring them a bucket of water. They try to send enough Twitter updates to be sure that everybody will see their name, without regard for whether it is good, bad, or indifferent. I would never complain about somebody tweeting a lot, because I do that, but I try to keep it interesting, relevant, and a two-way communication. However when people just send a rapid-fire barrage of popular links from Google Trends, Digg, Stumble, and Alexa Hot Urls with some advertisements for their clients who hired them for their amazing social media acumen mixed in there, and sent with hopes and demands for others to retweet it for popularity, the relevance and value of Twitter suffers. Then they will retweet some random thing that you sent, just to remind you that you should be retweeting their agenda, and if you do it, you may get even more of their favor of retweeting something you sent that they never even read or cared a damn about. It can even be worse with an innuendo that if you do not cater to them, they will badmouth you and tell people to unfollow you. It all gets far too High School-like. Now, I have a different reason for asking for a bucket … See the video below. 😉
Do you have a Twitter success story, or do you know somebody who does? If the answer is yes, I want to hear about it.
If you have heard something that gave you a smile, made you cry, or just made you think about why you use Twitter, you are not alone. Every day we see “tweets” that reinforce our belief in people and prove that we are not alone. It may be a story of a restauranteur who was able to bring more smiles with their culinary delights, or the person who found a job and saved their home and kept their family secure.
Some success stories are more profound than others, but they all count. Some of the success stories of Twitter have changed the world for a few, and others have changed the world for many. I want to hear about all of them.
Please take just a moment of your time to tell the story of how Twitter has changed your life, or forward this article to somebody who will. Your story may be submitted as a comment to this blog post. You may also reach me to discuss the story by phone at my direct line, toll free, *REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE* (*REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE*) or by Skype (username murnahan).
I will select stories to be included in my soon to be released book, “Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends”. If I select your story, I will credit you in the book, and your copy is “on the house”.
Please be sure to include your Twitter username in your comment in the form of http://twitter.com/yourusername.
I do not often push my readers to retweet things, but in this case, I am asking you to spread the word and help me to find positive stories to show the readers of my new book positive and uplifting examples of what can happen when we work together.
Please help me to uncover the Twitter success stories that prove that Twitter really is the great social media resource that so many of us have come to enjoy.
