Recently I posted this question on twitter “What would you say if I said don’t follow me?” which garnered a fair amount of subsequent questions. Let me start off by apologizing as this is a slightly loaded statement. I don’t mean loaded like a new sports car with all of the options or even like potato skins fully loaded with bacon 5 cheeses and chives. No I mean loaded as in a trick question.
It is a trick in that I honestly would appreciate it if you did follow me. The issue I have is when people just click the follow or perhaps I’ve said something that triggered and auto-follow app and now you are in my stream. I really do not want these people following me because they have little intention of interacting with me. I want the retweeters, mentioners and conversationalists to follow me. Honestly follower numbers is all well and good but if you are not interacting with me then I am not receiving the true benefit of this relationship.
I want the interaction because the truest value of this medium to me has come through the conversations that have developed as a result of a single retweet. I want to be able to drop a question into my stream and have numerous people scoop it out into their baskets. A question unanswered is as good as a question never asked.
The best days I’ve ever had on twitter or even my nemesis Facebook have been a result of constant interaction. People laughing at my absurd jokes. People retweeting my articles, or notes about technology and social media. These actions all start conversations that have in turn sparked new articles, jokes and discussions about other technologies.
Ultimately I gain nothing because I learn nothing from the just followers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mikel King has been a leader in the Information Technology Services field for over 20 years. He is currently the CEO of Olivent Technologies, a professional creative services partnership in NY. Additionally he is currently serving as the Secretary of the BSD Certification group as well as a Senior Editor for the BSD News Network.
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