Twitter streams, the Meaning of Life, and Mr Creosote syndrome
I really like Twitter. It was one of those apps that I’d observed from the sidelines for some time but it was only when I started using it frequently that I finally got it. I just checked in with When Did You Join Twitter and was amazed to find I apparently signed up for it nearly 2 years ago – my how time flies when you’re having fun.
Anyway, there’s much I’ve learnt, some of which I really should have figured long before I did, and much still to get better at. One of those things that will never be perfect – and that’s part of the fun of it – is deciding who and how many to follow.
How much is enough?
I’ve known for some time that, unless you’re a Scobleizer (following c. 18k) or the luminous Mr Fry (following c. 54k!), the quality of attention and conversation is inversely proportional to the number you follow, but as John Cleese’s Maitre d’ might have said…
Ze Twitter sauce is very rich with twuffles, anchovies, Grand Marnier, bacon and a-cream
…and when you’ve had your fill it’s tempting to help yourself to…
Just one more waffer-thin, mint-fresh follow.
And sure enough, despite a fair amount of restraint, that’s what I find I’ve done.
The meaning of Twitter
I don’t get the curious game of following to collect followers seemingly as an end in itself. The joy of Twitter for me is as a tool for learning and forging relationships that would be less likely any other way. Now I’m not sure what the ideal number for that is but I know that for me it’s less than the 460 I’m following as I write. There’s just too much good stuff being said by people I definitely intend to keep following that I’m completely missing.
In nearly 2 years I’ve unfollowed remarkably few people but in the last day or so I’ve been doing some trimming. So, rather late to the game, I’m now getting my head round the etiquette of unfollowing. Sean Bonner has written entertainingly about this in why Qwitter is bad for everyone, and CIOonline have quite a nice piece on Twitter Etiquette: The Polite Way to Take a Break, Ignore or Unfollow. Using their guidance and my own intuition, I’m slimming down on my follows some more over the next few weeks – possibly quite drastically but we shall see.
It’s me, not you
If you find out that you’re one of the ones I’ve shed – I’ll try and send you a message but I can’t promise to – then don’t take it personally. Maybe I’ll be back for more another time.
Now if only a leaner me in real life were as easy as a leaner stream on Twitter. That’s another spring project.
