Posted by TeamCharlie on January 30, 2009 under Gabe's Twitter Gems, Social Media, Twitter | 
Can someone please stop me from blogging about Twitter? (Actually that sounds like a great idea for a new blog. ) Anyway I digress. I thought I would stop at 10 Twitter gems just because that is a good number. Then I discovered something else – the “hashtag”.
Twitter Gem #11 – Use the Hash Tag
Since I’m slow it took me a bit to understand what the hash tag on Twitter is all about until someone explained it to me (thanks @kmartone). You will notice many tweets that include the number or pound sign (#) followed by an acronym of some sort somewhere in the tweet. That is called a “hash tag”. It serves a very simple but useful purpose on Twitter. It allows everyone to see a “conversation” about the same subject regardless of whom you follow. If you click Search (located at the bottom of your Twitter page) and search for the hash tag you will find all tweets related to that subject. Makes sense, right? Well if you have an idea to start a conversation like this, how do you know if the hash tag hasn’t been used for something else? Or how can you see a list of hash tags in use? The list of hash tags can be found at http://hashtags.org . You can also see if the tag you want to use is available there through their search engine. So, say you’ve found that the hash tag you want to use is available, what next? Simple. Follow @hashtags and then use your tag. @hashtags will follow you back automatically and index your tag.
Ok now that we know how hash tags work, let’s discover how they can really benefit us. Last Friday I had maybe 80 some followers on my KidsAreHeroes identity and had been creeping up on a daily basis very slowly. I received maybe 2 new followers a day. All of a sudden I discovered that I was getting all these followers. I thought it was because of my wonderful tweets, or because I followed a few “big-hitters” on the advice of a friend. Again, I am slow so it took a few days for me to discover that someone had included me in their #followfriday list. (Thanks @DaveWebb!) If you include this hash tag along with “tweople” that you like to follow, it will be seen by everyone who searches this list. I made it well over 100 that day and was pleasantly surprised. (I sure hope someone puts @KidsAreHeroes and @MM4Animals on their #followfriday list today. Hmmm…;) You can also “flatter” someone by putting them on your list. I recommend doing this every week.
The other way to add benefit is to participate in the conversations. There were a couple going around yesterday, one was #IMHO and the other #WhoAmI. For the first, you simply gave a random opinion on something with the hashtag embedded in the tweet. The latter tag urged you to explain a bit more about yourself. I participated in both conversations and plan on doing more. This way you get more exposure than you normally would, plus it supports the person who started the conversation. However I will only join in the ones that reach out to me. This way my tweets won’t be bland and contrived.
Last blog I promised I would send something from a more experienced tweeter. Not wanting to disappoint I have found some interesting tidbits on http://www.twitip.com
Update: March 7th – Defining and Learning Definitions of Hash Tags
What if you create a hash tag and you want other people to know its definition? Or what if you simply want to know the meaning of a hash tag? At the time of this writing this information did not appear on the hashtags.org web site. However, there is a way to do this. There is an entity on twitter called @tagalus. You can tweet to both define and request information about hash tags. To define a hash tag, simply tweet: “@tagalus define <hashtag> as <description>.” Example: “@tagalus define #kah as anything Kids Are Heroes related.” To get the meaning of a hash tag it’s even simpler. Just tweet: “@tagalus define <hashtag>” I tested this and received a prompt reply.
Update: December 11, 2009 As you know this is an older post and some of it is a bit outdated. Although @tagulus and hashtags.org, the important stuff, are still valid. I must admit I do not use hash tags that much, other than #followfriday, even to this day. The other night I bucked that trend by creating a search column in Tweetdeck using the hash tag #topchef. This is related to the TV show, “Top Chef Las Vegas”, in which a local chef was vying for the top prize. This column had comments from everyone who was watching the show and tweeting simultaneously — even Bryan himself who eventually took second place. Anyway this was fun, but be warned that you are seeing “unfiltered” results. When you do a search like this you will see tweets from everyone regardless of whether you follow them or not. I have a thing about profanity and/or vulgarity in a public forum and I was treated to a few unsavory gems.
You can get new followers this way. If someone who is doing the same thing sees your tweet and enjoys it, they may follow you. I think this is a personality thing for me. I may try it again but do not typically use Twitter this way.
Enjoy!
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 29, 2009 under Gabe's Twitter Gems, Social Media, Twitter |
Twitter Gem #6 Let’s Keep it Clean
As always, I might be faced with arguments on this one. But after all, isn’t that what discussion and debate is all about? Twitter is a very public place. It is similar to being in a VERY crowded ampitheater. The only difference is when we speak, EVERYONE cam hear us if they choose to. So, if you are at a networking party, would you stand up on a table and yell out profanities? In my mind it is the same if you utter them on Twitter. If your goal is to cultivate business relationships (let’s face it – most of us on Twitter are attempting to do just that) then act like it. I am no prude, but I certainly don’t use vulgar or offensive language at networking parties with people I just met. So please keep that in mind. Also think about my daughter who comes in my office regularly and has a 10-year-old’s curiosity as to what’s on my screen each time she visits. It’s just about being civil and polite.
Twitter Gem #7 – Don’t Be Political
If you are trying to cultivate a business relationship with someone, the worst thing you can do is crack an Obama or Bush joke. You have a 50/50 chance of losing that relationship. Why anyone would cut out half their potential network base is beyond me. There is a store in our local town that is quite popular. He has just brought his store online so that now the masses can purchase his goods. He has a blog of his attached to the store’s site that rants on Bush and uses quite a bit of profanity. This makes absolutely no sense to me.
Twitter Gem #8 Retweets are Great but Only if they are Meaningful
You will hear over and over again from experienced “Twitterers” that the best way to “share the love” is to retweet someone else’s anecdote. I retweet things that reach out to me. They might be quotations, humorous quips or tidbits of good infromation but I do not retweet because I was simply asked to. That gives my tweets more credibility in my eyes.
Twitter Gem #9 Not Everyone is Into You
There are several Twitter tools out there to show you what causes you to be “unfollowed”. Which tweet was it that offended or bored someone so much that they unfollowed you? I use none of these tools. I notice sometimes that I have a bunch of new followers, then a few moments later half of them are gone. Part of the reason for this is because Twitter will not allow the number of followers to be that much lower than the number the person follows. This supposedly cuts down on spam. What the spammers do is follow someone with the hopes of an automatic or quick follow. Then they unfollow so they can follow someone else. I could care less about these “followers”. Other people might not care about what you have to say <period>. Shocking isn’t it? But certainly nothing to worry about. Twitter is about making connections with people who do care about what you have to say, and vice versa.
Twitter Gem #10 Brand Yourself
This one is really interesting to me. I’ve heard many people say not to hide your persona on Twitter. A very well respected source has said she would rather see a person’s face as an image as opposed to a logo. I agree with this in most cases, except for mine. Not that I’m hard to look at or anything, as a matter of fact in my day I was quite the catch with the ladies. ;) It’s just that I have branded myself with my dog’s image for years. Although I am still quite a handsome guy, he’s better looking than me and attracts more people. So my @TeamCharlie account uses him. I think this is a way of showcasing that part of my personality first. My @KidsAreHeroes identity uses the picture my daughter drew of herself on the globe – it is part of the Kids Are Heroes logo. I think it conveys better what this Twitter account is trying to promote. Now I make no effort to hide my real name in any way and I believe this is important. When people click on my blog links they will indeed see the “full monty” as it were (although I assure you I am always fully clothed.) I think arguments could be made both ways, so think about what is best for you.
In my next session about Twitter I will try and bring you opinions only of those that have more experience than I. Happy Tweeting!!
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 28, 2009 under Wags for Hope |
This is the second post of guest blogger Judy Gooding. She is one of our Wags for Hope volunteers who partnered with Eva, a sweet Doberman Pinscher, who sadly passed away in 2008.
Mrs. G especially loved her visits with Eva, so we made a point of dropping by her room during each trip to the nursing center. On one visit, she greeted us with her same beautiful smile, but her heart didn’t seem to be in it. She was sitting on the side of her bed, so I knelt on the floor beside her and Eva cozied up to her for her usual scratches and pets. Mrs. G and I had been chatting for a minute or two when she picked up a framed paper that looked quite old from her bed, handed it to me and asked if I could tell her what it was. She seemed sad and frustrated that she didn’t recognize it. As I looked the paper over, I told her it was a poem, a beautiful poem, about a person. She was still drawing a blank. I turned it over, and, on the back, there was a note from the poet, dated in the 1960’s, saying that the poem was written in honor of Mr. G. At the mention of her deceased husband’s name, Mrs. G hung her head and quietly began crying. Now, I had trained Eva to not lick people, and she was very good about following that rule, no matter what the temptation. But on this day, she knew that the right thing to do was to reach her face up to Mrs. G’s and gently lick the tears away. Mrs. G laughed softly as the tears flowed and hugged Eva, her spirits visibly lifted. She talked a few minutes more about the poem and her husband before Eva and I said our good-byes. When we were finally outside, I showered my sweet pup with my own hugs and tears.
Mr. B had spent 30 years training seeing-eye dogs and had been a judge for obedience trials. He enjoyed putting Eva and me through our obedience paces from his wheelchair in the hallway of the nursing section. One day I was laughing with him about Eva doing a lot better if he were her handler because I was such a novice. It turned to a more serious discussion of dogs and handlers, and he said something that day that was so profound that I found myself wishing I had had these words of wisdom for Eva’s entire training experience….. “It’s never the dog!”
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 27, 2009 under Gabe's Twitter Gems, Twitter, Twitter for Beginners |
Twitter Gem #3 – Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
As one starts to see the value of Twitter one imagines what would happen if an “uber Twitterer” (one with TONS of followers) liked one’s message and “retweeted” it. One would think that’s the ticket to more followers, more business than one can handle, etc. This is not necessarily true. For my @KidsAreHeroes identity I have been chasing those uber-twits since the beginning. At the moment the KidsAreHeroes identity is trying to promote the Kids Are Heroes web site as well as MaryMargaret’s Music for Life program. We have quite a bit of funds to raise, so we have to get creative. I always imagined that one “tweet” from an uber-twit and that would be it – we would get many more followers and raise quite a bit of money in a very short time. Well we got our “uber-tweet” but the results were a bit different.
Yesterday I read a request from a gentleman that asked for someone who was capable with graphics to superimpose his head on another’s body as a joke for one of his blogs. In return he would give a free gift of some sort. I looked at this guy’s profile and saw he had over 15,000 followers! That was my ticket. I told him I wasn’t a graphic artist but I felt I could do it, so he gave me the opportunity. He liked the result and asked what I wanted in return. The almighty tweet of course was what I was looking for. He gladly obliged. Here is the text of the tweet: PLEASE RETWEET – HELP KIDS WITH CANCER http://tinyurl.com/bfcb34 (for more info >> @KidsAreHeroes) He actually did this twice.
The link points to a web page where people can “tip” us money and all of that goes to the program. We suggest small amounts to make it easy for people because we want a lot of people to donate just $2.00. With that tweet from a guy with over 15,000 followers one would think that would be a home run – wouldn’t you? I counted and a total of 58 people retweeted this tweet with a grand total following of just over 58,000 people! I was one of the top three people to be retweeted at that time according to RetweetRadar which is quite an accomplishment based on the total size of Twitter. Since that happened (which was last night) I have gotten a handful of new followers (no more than I would have gotten anyway really) and the total donation count from that session was $19.00. One would think that would be discouraging but it wasn’t. Twitter, at least to me, is not a platform of instant gratification although it surely appears to be. This just underlines my original feeling that it takes time to develop relationships and build up a following of people that care about what you have to say. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
This also illustrates another gem:
Twitter Gem #4 – Twitter is a Platform Where we All Help Each Other
I’ve heard it said, “You have to give something to get something” which is basically the same thing. But I would rather think of it a bit differently. If you see a need and you can fill it, do it. This is regardless of what you may get in return. If you see an opportunity and you can help that person, jump to it, regardless of the number of followers they have. This is the way I intend to link with people. Just by having done that one thing for that “uber-twit” he now knows me rather well, at least comparatively. He has sent me another task which I gladly did. You never know who is the next person that will help you achieve something.
Twitter Gem #5 – Seek out Experienced Twitterers for More Info
One could argue (and rightfully so) that why should I listen to someone who has less than 200 followers and has only been “twittering” for one month? That is up to you whether or not you agree with my postings or feel that they have any merit. I have read many other blogs about how to get more followers on Twitter. None of those in my mind were worth repeating until I found one yesterday. Kevin Rose is an amazingly successful young man with over 90,000 followers on Twitter. He founded Digg.com and Pownce among others. It is not this reason alone why I recommend listening to him. It is because what he says makes sense to me. Here are some practical tips on how to gain more exposure on Twitter. I plan to utilize them myself. Enjoy.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/25/kevin-rose-10-ways-to-increase-your-twitter-followers/
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 26, 2009 under Kids are Heroes |
Meet Finn Case. He is 7 and in the second grade. He hails from Alberta, Canada. He is receiving a check from the Westglen school in Edmonton, tomorrow. This is the speech that he wrote which he intends to deliver:
Finn Case Westglen School January 27, 2009
Hi everyone. I am Finn Case, I am 7 and in Grade 2.
I want to say thank you for your donation today. I was so surprised when I heard that you raised so much money so quickly. It’s really great. When I was 4, I found out that people in the world didn’t have clean water and were getting sick. I was so surprised that I kept talking about it and asking my mom about it. I feel bad for them because it just isn’t fair. We have all clean water here in Canada and so I thought I can do something to help..When I was 5, I started to raise money to build a well in Africa. I built a little well in kindergarten when I was doing a project about pulleys and levers and started collecting money in it for a real well. I also started doing lemonade stands at my house before I went to kindergarten in the mornings. Then I talked to my class and my kindergarten class did a lemonade stand at school and we raised $77!
I went to McNally High School and did a presentation. They decided to have a hot dog sale and donate money. I did a presentation to some adults where my mom used to work and they gave me donations. My first big donation was from Sid and he gave me $500! When I was 6, I decided I wanted to have a Benefit Concert to raise money. I talked to my principal and she said I could have it at the school if I organized it and played my guitar. I said “of course!” I talked to my guitar teacher and a guy in his band and then I phoned some other musicians. I got a band of 8 people and me and then we had a benefit concert at my school and over 300 people came. We raised 3000$ there. I wrote more than 65 letters to people with businesses and to big companies too asking if they would donate, and some did.
I did a presentation to 120 investment bankers at CIBC Wood Gundy in December and they did a raffle and made a donation. Also Nick Lees donated a story about my well in the newspaper and then even strangers just started to mail me some donations. And I did a talk for the grade 6’s here and then they decided to raise money too! Your donation will help 6,100 people in 3 different communities in southwest Uganda Africa. I wanted to help kids and families. There is an orphanage and schools there so lots of kids and adults will be helped and even all the babies born after. They will always have water once their wells are built. Right now the kids and ladies walk 6 hours to a dirty water bog to get their water. They don’t have a choice because it is the only water there is and they have to have water to live. They spend most of their day getting water so they don’t have time to work or go to school or play. They even get so sick from the dirty water that they sometimes die.
My project is to build three wells; three sets of latrines and hand washing stations; and to give them education about clean water chains so they don’t get sick anymore and can be safe. Then the kids can go to school and the adults can work or stay home with their kids instead of spending so much time getting water. My brother and I have 2 pen pals there that live at the orphanage where I am building the wells. They are really excited that they will get to have clean water and go to school! There it is a treat to be able to go to school.
I am building my project through Ryan’s Well Foundation.
I researched when I was 5 who could build my well. I found out that there was a boy just like me who had started building wells when he was 7 and that he had made a Foundation. His name is Ryan. He lives in Ontario. He is 17 now. So we called Ryan’s Well Foundation and asked them if they could build my well and they said yes! I got to meet Ryan and his mom and the director when they made a special trip to Edmonton to visit me and my school in November. I know that some of you came to meet him too and the pictures you showed today are from Ryan. Ryan’s Well Foundation has already started building the first well. Right now for two weeks, the director of Ryan’s Well Foundation and the program coordinator and Ryan’s dad are all there visiting my well sites to see the construction. They are taking lots of pictures and maybe even a video of it and will give that to me when they get back. Maybe later I can show you these then you can see where your money is going and how it’s helping 6,100 people there.
So far I have raised $22,924.00. With your donation of $1,250 I will have $24,174. My total goal to finish my project is $28,750. So now I only need $4,576. to finish!! I am getting so close now. I will keep on trying to raise enough money to finish my project. Thank you to the Earth Patrol group and Mrs. Hut the teacher who does it with the kids and all the students, teachers and families who helped raise this money.
And thank you to Mrs. Lundell who has helped me too. Even her mom and aunties helped with donations. You are making a big difference! And all the kids and moms and dads in Uganda will be so grateful.
I am so touched too and happy. Thank you.
To see more about Finn Case and other kids like him, visit KidsAreHeroes.com
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 25, 2009 under Gabe's Twitter Gems, Twitter, Twitter for Beginners |
This is the first in a series of posts that will include my take on how to best leverage the use of Twitter. In the interest of full disclosure, I have three Twitter “identities” so far. One is @TeamCharlie, which is my outlet for all things related to Wags for Hope, dogs, and anything else I would like to tweet about. My second personality is @KidsAreHeroes, which I usually post all things related to the Kids Are Heroes web site. The Kids Are Heroes identity is also trying to raise funds for MaryMargaret’s Music for Life program, so it was suggested to create a separate ID for that which is @mmsmusicforlife.
Now among all three identities as of this writing I have a total following of 249 followers, some of which admittedly are duplicates. So with that relatively small number of followers why should I be considered an expert on the subject? I probably shouldn’t. I have seen my KidsAreHeroes identity almost double from 82 to 154 in just the last few days, however. (I will discuss how that happened in a later gem.) I have discovered in my relatively short but intense relationship with Twitter that there are many people with lots more followers than I that claim to be experts but they are not either. If you search the web you will find thousands of tips about Twitter and how to get more followers. What I have also figured out is there are no definitive answers. You need to decide on your own what is the best course of action when planning your Twitter Empire, based on the experiences and ideas of others AND your own.
Twitter Gem #1 – Don’t Get “False” Followers
I listened to a gentleman speak about how he got over 1000 new followers to a new account in just two days. His solution was rather simple – follow as many people as you can. Twitter has an upward bound of 2000 followers – you apparently cannot follow more than 2000 people above the amount that are following you. This is their effort to prevent “Twitter Spammers”. So his way was to simply follow as many people as he could in hopes that they would follow him back automatically. Although this effort was successful for the gentleman who did it, I will not use that advice. When I see a distinct difference in followers to “followees” with the heavy part being on either side I do not follow them. The first scenario is when someone has many more followers than those he is following. Here is a guy who thinks he cannot benefit from the ideas of others. I don’t follow him because he is someone who obviously likes hearing himself talk. Then there is the opposite case – a person who has way more people that he follows than those that follow him. This is a person who is looking to beef up his following without making the relationships first. I don’t follow them either, because I call the people that would follow this person back “false followers”. Just because someone follows you doesn’t mean they care about what you have to say. I would rather have one person follow me who is listening that a thousand who aren’t. I like to get followers by building relationships. These people (usually) care what I have to say. If they care enough they will “retweet” or even suggest to their followers that they follow me which has happened to me a few times already. The people I follow usually have a reasonable ratio of followers to followees, regardless if the number is 25 or 25,000. These are the people that engage with others. I look at their profile first. If I see that we have any interests in common, or if they seem interesting I will follow them.
Twitter Gem #2 – Don’t Follow Everyone Who Follows You
I have read blogs that say just the opposite – that it is courteous and/or fruitful to follow everyone who follows you. The argument was something along the lines of “Hey – they think you are cool enough to be followed, so why not follow them back?” When someone follows me I look at their profile. I use the same logic I just spoke of if their following ratio is not relatively even. If I see that they engage with others then I will follow them if I think they are interesting. This turns out to be most of the people that follow me, but not all of them. If I see that they have very few updates and are following a lot more people then that really raises a red flag. Their few updates usually relate to the item they are trying to hawk. Sorry, not interested.
(To be continued…)
Ok that’s my two cents. What’s yours?
Posted by TeamCharlie on under Wags for Hope |
This morning I have a guest blogger named Judy Gooding. She is a member of Wags for Hope under the name of “Team Eva”. Sadly, Eva passed away last year but her memory lives on in all those that met her, especially the residents of the nursing homes that were graced by her presence. She sent me several stories, so I will run a series of blogs written by her because the stories are very powerful. They are not only a tribute to Eva, but they are also an inspiration to others. Judy writes:
When Eva started visiting at the retirement center, she was about a year old, still very young for a large breed like a Doberman, and still very energetic and rambunctious. But, I had worked with her in obedience and had had her around my parents, who are in their eighties, so I was confident that she would do well. I wasn’t prepared, though, for the instinct that she had for this kind of therapy work. On one of her first visits, we were taken to the assisted living apartment of Mrs. D, a diminutive woman in her nineties whose weight was comparable to Eva’s. She was standing by the windows on the other side of the small living room when we came in. She didn’t have her walker with her but took a few careful steps without it to meet us in the middle of the room. Eva went to her, took a position standing in front of her as though she had been trained specifically for this very event, and, for the next several minutes, this lively pup was perfectly still and calm. Mrs. D used one hand on Eva’s back to steady herself and scratched and stroked her ears with the other while telling her what a beautiful girl she was. I was speechless with pride but could take no credit. I discovered that day that my dear Eva had a special gift that she was willing to share, joyously and wholeheartedly.
We first met Mrs. S when she was a resident in the assisted living section of the retirement center. She loved dogs and was always excited to see Eva when we came to visit. As the years progressed, Mrs. S’s health declined, and, when we came to her apartment and, eventually, her room in the nursing section, she was invariably lying down. I would knock and ask if she wanted a visitor, and she would wearily answer not today, I don’t feel well, until she realized that the visitor was Eva. What a transformation! She would slowly sit up with a huge smile on her face and make Eva very happy with hugs and words of endearment and praise. When we left, Mrs. S would tell us that we had made her day. What a small thing to do to make such a difference.
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 21, 2009 under Wags for Hope |
I have the privilege to meet a lot of dog lovers as president of Wags for Hope. Two weekends ago was no exception. We held our bimonthly orientation at the Holly Hills Country Club with over 50 people in attendance. This was by far our biggest turnout to date. It is always wonderful to see the expressions of anticipation on so many faces. Two people introduced themselves as friends of one of our best teams – Team Eva. Eva was a Doberman Pinscher. When I first heard about her I thought that this might not be the best dog suited to be a therapy dog, but I couldn’t have been more in the wrong about her. Her owner Judy had such a great relationship with her dog and Eva was as calm and as sweet as she could be. She was one of the pioneers of the R.E.A.D. program which brings our dogs out to schools and libraries. Sadly, Eva passed away in 2008. So I was eager to get Judy’s friends involved as they had an air about them – one similar to Judy’s. I just sensed that they would be a wonderful therapy team. They have a Golden Retriever named Crew. They told us all about Spencer, another Doberman who is Judy’s new team mate in training. We will gladly welcome them when Spencer turns one year old.
I received a phone call yesterday from the new couple who was scheduled to be evaluated this weekend. They told me that they were at the vet’s and that sadly the doctor had found a tumor pushing up against poor Crew’s heart. They were calling to cancel their evaluation for this weekend. I was speechless as I didn’t know what to say. I was wondering if I were on the same side of the fence if I could hold it together like she was. I was just imagining being in their shoes as I expect they were about to have to make a devastating decision. At the end of the conversation she told us we could keep the registration fee as a donation and I thanked her. That’s when I heard her break out in tears as she hung up the phone.
Sometimes we grieve over animals more than we do family members. If you have a dog or cat, then you understand that concept. I really cannot imagine what’s in store for us because I have never been closer to an animal like I am to Charlie. And not surprisingly Lily is right up there too. There can only be one message here – go find your pet(s) and give them a big hug.
Our thoughts and prayers are with “Team Crew”.
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 19, 2009 under Just for Fun |
This is Frederick’s real first taste of snow this year. As you can see MaryMargaret is very excited about it!!
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 14, 2009 under Gabe's Twitter Gems, Social Media, Twitter, Twitter for Beginners |
I have yet to realize the full potential of Twitter, but at least I can see that there is a lot to be gained, if it is used correctly. There are A LOT of blogs about “How to Get Recognized”, “How Not to be Ignored” and “Proper Use of Twitter” – all you need do is search for social media on Twitter and you’ll find many experts that will give out helpful information. It all makes sense, but doesn’t really ring true until you experience it for yourself. Now as you might know from my (lack of) followers that I am new to Twitter. But I am learning more and more every day. I just had a notice in my email that someone new was following me. At this point that is an exciting event, since my following hasn’t even hit 100 yet. My immediate reaction is to see who this person is, so I click on their link to see if I want to follow them. Every single post was self promotion. Even though it is a non-profit and the cause is good, this was a big turnoff for me. They even capitalized their last entry which makes things worse. Believe me if you think that is how to gain friends on Twitter you will be in for a big disappointment.
When I started I read many of the blogs about etiquette and getting noticed. Many suggest that you comment on other people’s blog and “retweet” which simply means to repeat interesting entries from other people. For example, if you see a tweet from me that says something like “I hate goat cheese”, to retweet that you could write something like: “RT @TeamCharlie I hate goat cheese.” Now I don’t know if I’ve even had goat cheese before and I’m sure you wouldn’t retweet that anyway because who cares – but I trust you get the point. So anyway I commented on one person’s blog who had over 4700 followers. I mentioned Kids Are Heroes because it was appropriate for the conversation. He tweeted “Wow everyone should check out KidsAreHeroes.com!” (Thanks @KyNamDoan). Now I thought that was the coolest thing ever – now I was going to get hundreds more followers instantly! <cricket sounds>
It doesn’t work like that either. My experience with Twitter tells me that it is just like anything else. If you do not have celebrity going for you, then it takes time to develop followers. Focus on the relationships and the followers will come.
Oh and for all you real newbies that have followed me recently, check your @Replies folder. I have sent you stuff and haven’t heard back. To reply to someone preface the tweet with @UserName. i.e . @Team Charlie I hate goat cheese too! It doesn’t work if you simply put their “handle” in the text of the tweet. When people do that to you it ends up in your @Replies folder.
Happy tweeting!!
