Smith-Harmon - Make It Pop!

From: Twitter
Subject Line: "Fake Name" is now following you on Twitter!
Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I'm sorry... I know it's not a very nice thing to say, and I'll probably catch flak for it, but I am simply just not feeling the love for Twitter. I have an account for purely professional purposes, but I'm having a hard time getting over the lack of "real" connection, and it seems like every time I get a new "follower", it's some creep or weirdo that I don't know. It makes me wonder what it is about my profile that is attracting these people! Even though I have the option to block them, it's still annoying to have to take the step to do so, plus there is the time in between when they start following you, and when you block them that they can be checking out your profile. In addition to my privacy "issues", I just can't get over the hump with feeling comfortable about Tweeting - like it's too self-important.

I will say one nice thing about Twitter: in comparison to the ho-hum Friend Request emails from Facebook and Yelp (which was my last blogpost), Twitter at least has has a pretty looking one with a picture of your new "follower" (about which fellow Smith-Harmon blogger Darah MacLean commented here). I guess it just bothers me though that one gets "followed" on Twitter as opposed to "friend requested" like other social net working sites. In my mind "follow" has a sort of a stalker-esque connotation.

I'm very curious to know how others are adjusting to the Twitter world, and welcome any comments here! :)

Comments

I think there are definitely a few groups of people when it comes to these things. There are those that are open to divulging their personal info. There are those that are still on the fringe of opening up. And there are those who simply don't like it. Even though there are spammers who have exploited the openness of the service, if someone is so worried about who is following them, then why not just make their account private? Then you can approve who follows you, and not worry about blocking any one.

I have used the service since 2006, and will say that it did take some time to open up, but now, I couldn't have it any other way. It has been a way to improve my personal brand and business.

As far as the "real" connection, I have met many people through tweets that I never would have before. And it has opened up what I think are real connections, but to some, maybe a virtual connection through words and imagery isn't real. But isn't that what we try to do with email?

I'm a proud twit.

Posted by: Ryan Keiser | August 6, 2009 5:01 AM

Thanks for the comment Ryan! I've been trying to take your advice, and make my account private, but Twitter is having a bad morning... :)

Posted by: Lyla Reinero | August 6, 2009 9:53 AM