I keep going back and forth on this issue. Do I automatically follow everyone who follows me on Twitter? Or do I study their profile and tweeting habits first?
There are some people that I respect that say the nice thing to do is follow back everyone who isn’t a blatant spammer.
There are others that I equally respect that say you should make sure you really want to hear what they have to say before you follow someone back.
Mike Dillard caused somewhat of a stir when he reversed his original decision to follow back everyone who followed him. He unfollowed around 10,000 people in the matter of just a few days. I was one of them.
And, I didn’t feel angry at Mike. My life or business wasn’t negatively effected in any way by Mike Dillard unfollowing me.
Mike Filsaime will follow back anyone who follows him. He advertises this fact to help him get followers, I suppose.
But I gotta ask myself, why should I care if he follows me? Let’s face it, he’s not going to read my tweets.
Obviously, if he follows me it increases my number of followers. And I guess lots of followers makes me look more like I must have something good to say since so many people are “listening” to me?
Most likely, I want Mike Filsaime to follow me so that people will think I must be someone special since someone as special as he is follows me.
I have problems with both of these reasons. First, it’s relatively easy to get a lot of followers. You can do it “legitimately” by following lots of people you’re interested in and having many of them follow you back.
You can use more questionable methods of finding out who the “autofollowers” are and following them, whether or not you’re interested in what they may have to say.
Anyone who knows anything about Twitter knows that having a lot of followers might mean you’re “important.” Or it may just mean you work at looking important.
Second, just because someone who has a big name is following me doesn’t mean I’m someone special too. Again, anyone who knows anything about Twitter knows that many people, including “famous” people, will auto follow you.
To use the Mike Filsaime example, most people wouldn’t be impressed that he was following me, because if you know Mike, you know he’s an autofollower.
I’m realizing I’ve done nothing to answer the question of whether you should be an autofollower. I’m trying to be more of an autofollower by following anyone back that I share an interest with. But it takes time to read all those profiles.
I think it’s personal preference. Personally, I don’t care to follow someone who shares no common interest with me. And I don’t care if they follow me. I’m still naive enough to believe it’s about creating relationships, and not about numbers.
JENNIFER HERNDON has been working at home for over 11 years. She is a work at home mom with a passion for empowering you to success through positive mindset and consistent action. Jennifer’s “Twitter interests” are working from home, personal growth, natural family living, and the environment. Follow her on Twitter if you see any common ground. Discover the Seven Simple Success Steps for free in Jennifer’s new mini-course.
