Guest post by Brian Meeks
As a rule I like to channel my inner bitterness into lengthy rants about social media transgression. If necessary, I will illustrate by making disparaging remarks about Justin Bieber or Snooki.
Today I am filled, not with howler monkey angst, but guinea pig worry.
Guinea pig worry is the feeling one gets when being judged by a furry little critter and found wanting. These moments can be very unsettling for both the human and the guinea pig.
A friend, whom I have introduced to Twitter, sends me emails with questions about various Twitter tools. Most of them are designed to help a person accumulate a mass of worthless followers, so as to build a false sense of self worth. Some of them are designed to allow one to tweet at all hours of the day, thus promoting one’s awesomeness, even when one is not on the computer.
I don’t schedule tweets, but I don’t condemn those who do. My feeling on scheduling tweets is that if one is well established as an opinion leader, with a massive (legitimate) following, then it is a necessity, because her followers want to be informed.
When someone who is starting on Twitter or doesn’t have much of a network uses them, it tells me several things about them. In no particular order:
7. They aren’t serious about building a strong social network. In a recent study by a group of people (mostly single) with pocket protectors, high incomes, and excellent gaming skills, it was determined that “social media” requires one to be … I believe the scientific term they used was …”social.”
A. They have not read any of my posts about “blocking followers,” why having “follow me I will follow you” in your bio is worse than being a militant terrorist child molester with questionable personal hygiene, or perhaps they are just uniformed. (In the future I will send them a link to this post to aid in their recovery. I am helpful that way.)
3b. They mistakenly think that tweeting offers to win an iPad two, or five times per day, is the “secret” unfathomable wealth.
The problem is this: especially for new users, using automated scheduled tweets means you won’t be there to respond, if someone tries to engage.
Now to be fair, experienced tweeters know that some percentage of the time, their clever responses to question or comments, won’t be seen by the originally tweeter immediately. When I RT or reply to someone who I have known for a while, I am not at all concerned about how quickly they respond, because I already know they are generally engaging. If they weren’t, I would have blocked them from following me.
It is the new people, who if they are only scheduling tweets, and NEVER respond to my brilliant 140 bit of mockery, that make me shake my head like a sad guinea pig … and then block.
This brings me to the point of today’s blog post. Most blogging gurus will tell you that one should get to the point much earlier. Sadly I have blocked all of them. I digress.
The reason I am filled with guinea pig worry today is that there are still people using Twitter for tweeting. The reason it is a mistake, though not a “blockable” offense, is for the same reason new people shouldn’t schedule their tweets.
If one uses Twitter for tweeting, then they have one column showing their stream. If they tweet a question like, “Is there an optimal age for blogging? Do younger people have an advantage?” And then I answer, “I am a 44 y old & an optimist. For me I believe I will hit my peak on or around my 237th b-day.” I expect to receive a COL (Chortle Out Loud) for such a piece of comedic genius, or at the very least the more common LOL.
The problem is that the person doesn’t see my @ reply, because they are still watching their stream of new tweets from the people they follow. They miss an opportunity to shower me with external validation.
The more experienced tweeter will use Tweetdeck, HootSuite, or something similar. I have tried a number of them and find each one to be about the same. I picked Tweetdeck because I liked the colors. Tweetdeck gives one multiple columns. If they had Tweetdeck, they wouldn’t have missed my response, and my world would have been a happier place. It’s really all about me after all.
Most every serious tweeter, no matter how generous with their RTs and replies and promotion of others’ work, still has their own blahg or business to promote. There are millions of people out there and only a small percentage who “get” it. People who use Twitter for tweeting are mostly new, and thus often don’t know about the other options.
So if you know someone using Twitter, please let them know that Tweetdeck is out there, or at the very least send them the link to this post. If they feel badly about abandoning Twitter, you may ease their conscience by letting them know that Tweetdeck was just purchased by Twitter for a metric buttload of money. Use Tweetdeck and join the fun.
Image: WOAW – the world of animal welfare via Flickr, CC 2.0
Brian Meeks used to make his living in the virtual world of Second Life, where he built spaces for corporate clients under the name Ecocandle Riel. When the economy went south, he turned to Social Media and does this to feed and clothe himself. In his free time, he does … well … social media … and publishes the blog Extremely Average. He can be reached by email at ExtremelyAverageOne (a) gmail (dot) com, or by carrier pigeon at the house with the big tree out front. You can also connect with him on Twitter.
I did a little whoop of joy when I found that photo, Brian!
I love the photo you found. It fits perfectly.
Love it.
One, you make me COL as always. 3 subpart C, you are right to block many a #socalledhackneyedsmexpert and Z*, where’s my free iPad?! If not that, I’ll settle for a metric buttload of money.
I use TD b/c I wanted a desktop app, and like the pretty columns so that I can see when all 4 followers and 2 bots celebrate my profundity or mock my lameness. And FWIW I think Twitter bought TD b/c they had to try something; the best way for newbies to ‘get’ Twitter is to not use it but some other app.
I schedule. I read in clumps and don’t want to blast 17 links in an hour, then have crickets orchestrating my Twitter stream the rest of the day. I only schedule when I am semi-conscience, have only a tiny hangover and/or am around to maybe @ reply or thank for a RT once in a while. It’s not that I’m against automation.. find a way to automate folding the laundry and putting it in the drawers, you’ll find a way to my wallet. Automating being social, networking? Not for me. FWIW.
@ExtremelyAvg Honey Badger is #winning! @NancyD68 I think there is a “mute” option in TweetDeck. But I switched over a while back to HootSuite and really love it.
@ExtremelyAvg How many screens is your next computer going to have?! @jennimacdonald I too schedule a few tweets, though not nearly as many as I could. I have to, sometimes, but I do try to make sure that for the most part, my tweets are “real,” as I said to @HowieSPM as well. I don’t think I could do 100% scheduled tweets… though I suppose for people who represent media organizations, that’s perhaps a different story…?
@HowieSPM I schedule some tweets – like if I’m trying to help someone promote an event, etc., but I usually don’t do more than 2-3 at a time, and I try to spread them out. Scheduling tweets can be a huge timesaver, but I think they have to be mixed in with the “real” ones.
@ExtremelyAvg @bdorman264 I used to be a huge phone tweeter, now, not so much… maybe I’m growing old? Though since I’ve started using HootSuite for iPhone, it’s definitely easier.
@ExtremelyAvg You are the one person I would never edit down for word count… oh, nittygriddyblog as well.
@jennimacdonald @ginidietrich
All the cool kids meet through Gini. :-)
@ExtremelyAvg I use dual monitors as well. When Social Media is your job you find ways to somehow make it all work. : )
I really appreciate your kind words. Im so glad we connected, another connection that I owe to @ginidietrich. : )
@BestRoofer
BestRoofer,
Yes, my posts tend to be on the long side. I am pleased you stuck it out to the end. :-) If I were to write a blog post on proper blogging, I could easily use myself as an example of everything NOT to do. I would definitely advise people to keep them around 500 words. Of course, I would do so using 1200.
Brian
@bdorman264
I don’t do much tweeting from my phone, but I have taken to using Tweetdeck on the ipad. It is pretty good, though a bit slower. I know a lot of people who are avid phone tweeters. I suspect that you and they are quick texters too. I am not. I need to practice my thumb typing. :-)
@jennimacdonald
I think you make a valuable point. I have 4 twitter accounts and I have let 3 of them sort of die. When I managed the Twitter account for a company in VA, I only focused on theirs and my ExtremelyAvg account, so I didn’t need to schedule tweets. That being said, If I was managing more than 2, then by all means, I would need to pick one of them to have a good portion of the tweets scheduled.
I also have 3 computer monitors, so I am able to work on one while having Tweetdeck up on one and Hootsuite up on another. I should probably write a blog about the evils of having only one computer monitor. (My next computer will have more.) In all seriousness though, having multiple monitors does make life much easier. I digress.
I would also add that you are one of those people I follow, you are engaging, and you ‘Get’ Twitter and know how to use scheduled tweets properly.
@NancyD68
Hootsuite and Seismic were more muted when I gave them a try. I am so pleased you mentioned the Honey Badger. You get two bonus points Nancy.
I am going to tweet this post, because it brings the awesome I was seeking. Many times I have something brilliant to say to someone, and I get no response. That makes me a sad panda.
I need to get the hang of Tweetdeck. I have it, but I don’t use it that often. It is kind of loud. Is there something that can be done about that? Hmmm….inquiring minds want to know.
Now that you have mentioned animals, I am thinking about Honey Badger. Honey Badger don’t care…
Brian one quick question. You say that you do not believe in scheduling tweets. My argument against that is for those who manage multiple accounts. There is no way to remember all of the information you absorb in 24 hours and want to share with 4 different communities. For me my only option is to schedule tweets. I just wanted to mention that for those reading this article who might be new to Twitter. Thanks!
Yay Brian came into the house! Love this post. I am more a chipmunk type myself.
I think scheduled Tweets should be left 100% to business. I do this for a client. I don’t want to remember to have to announce where they are today and the next few days on memory (they are a mobile gourmet food business). And we have a community that talks a lot. So I prefer to get the schedule in and focus on the community.
But for a person to try scheduling their tweets thinking it will be of conversational nature they should get voice recorder and record a one way phone call and send it to a friend see what they think! LOL
BTW as long as the blog post has a point I am all good!
Hey Brian, as usual a very well written but w/ an offbeat twist kind of post.
I use HootSuite and one of my friends did inform me on the importance of ‘lists’. However, it’s not as easy on my phone to pull up the lists but it can be done. But if you @ me it will show up in my e-mail and I will respond. Otherwise, a random but albeit witty tweet might not catch my attention.
I have devoted the majority of my time on the blog side (thru Twitter) commenting and replying and sometimes it takes me away from Twitter for long periods of time. Like you, I don’t automate anything (yet) so I try to promote my friends as I can.
Slowly but surely I am finding what does and does not work for me and it’s now always pretty, but I am a lot farther down the road than I was only 2 months ago.
Good to see you at Shonali’s today; hope all is well.
Great article Brian. It thought it a little long, but read it all because I was engaged by your writing style. And I got to this post from a tweet on my tweetdeck!