I’ve been using Twitter for a couple of months  and in fact I  have a couple of Twitter accounts for other web sites. At first I wasn’t too sure about Twitter…what was all the hype about? Twitter what? Now I love it!

Finally I decided I just needed to develop some sort of  Twitter policy or philosophy and take some actions on my accounts.

First off, I think I did what most people do (affiliate marketers) – followed all the “big name” SEO, SEM, internet marketing, affiliate marketing and social media gurus. I’m not trying put down ALL the “big name” gurus but, I began to notice a pattern. (There are some exceptions.)

1. They weren’t following me
2. They tweeted amongst themselves mainly with occasional tweets to others
3. The quality of their tweets weren’t that great
4. Some of them just aren’t very “nice” (so much for personal branding that they are always  touting)

The next thing I did was unfollow the “gurus” and took a long serious look at why I was on Twitter.

Why I Am On Twitter

1. To network
2. Socialize (yes, this is social media)
3. Learn something
4. Self Promotion
5. Amusement/Boredom

First I was blindly following EVERYONE, then I stopped.

After careful thought, I came up with the following personal Twitter policy:

How To Get Me To Follow You

1. Follow me
2. Be nice, funny or informative (or all three)
3. Be patient while I check you out and decide if I want to follow you

How To Get Me To Unfollow You or Not Follow You

1. Be argumentative
2. Belittle people
3. Rudeness
4. Send me spammy DMs
5. Excessive tweets trying to sell something
6. Follow me (to increase your numbers), then unfollow me
7. Excessive vulgar language (My ex-husband was a biker/musician and trust me I can “hang” with the boys. Some of the language is enough to make a biker blush..insert disclaimer here —> Not all bikers curse.)
8. You post in a foreign language

How To Get Me To Block You

1. Be Rude and Crude
2. Follow and Unfollow, Follow an then Unfollow again (If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll do it for you.)
3. If you follow just so you can shoot off a couple of spammy DMs my way in an effort to sell your latest product and then unfollow me (this is an absolute sure fire way to get blocked)
4. Personally attack me online (I’ll block you, it’s not worth my time to deal with you ’cause I’m busy.)

My Views On Other Twitter Practices

Answering @replies

1. I do try to answer @replies in a timely manner but there are times when I am away from my computer for extended periods. I most always try to reply back…if I have something to say.
2. If I miss you please don’t be offended. There are times when I have a lot going on.
3. I think it’s just good manners to acknowledge someone when they have taken the time to speak to you (I grew up in the South and my granny made it very clear, “Hon,when someone says something to you, you are supposed to say something back. Don’t be rude now.”)

Handling DMs and Auto DMs

1. Well I don’t normally answer DMs since most are “Thanks for following me, download my free report on how to make $1,000 a day on Twitter” plus a link to their site.
2. Once in awhile I do get a good DM and I respond.
3. At first I did try auto DMs, your typical…”thank you for following me blah blah blah.” This is another practice I have discontinued. They clutter up your inbox. I don’t want my inbox cluttered, why should I clutter someone elses

Retweeting

Some things I have observed about those who are retweeting.

1. The same people get retweeted over and over (referring to gurus again)
2. Most gurus retweet other gurus tweets primarily (Insert Disclaimer Here —> There are some super helpful and friendly gurus who retweet others

Why  would I  retweet your message?

1. If I thought it was amusing, funny or informative
2. If you are following me (Why would I want to retweet some gurus tweet who has 10,000 followers and is only following 125 people and I ain’t one of them. What’s he/she gonna do for me? Retweet my next message? I sincerely doubt it.)
3. I would prefer to retweet a tweet of the lesser known person, who happens to be following me and who quite often has something to say that just as important as the above gurus.

Following & Unfollowing Issues

You know life changes and your interests change and that leaves you perfectly free to follow and unfollow anyone you choose to reflect those changes. Of course I am free to do the same.

Do I get upset when someone has unfollowed me? NO. This is not grade school. It happens, get over it, and move on.

Though I am an affiliate marketer and webmaster I do follow people that have no interest in what I do but they are following me. I’m an equal opportunity Twitterer and I embrace people from all walks of life and all ethnicities. Some of the people I’ve followed, I have done so simply because their tweets brighten my day

What Am I Tweeting About

1. I’m still playing around and trying to find a healthy balance of personal and business related tweets
2. You will probably never see me tweet about politics or religion (I think of  Twitter as a great big bar room, plus as a retired bartender, I’ve seen more fights break out over politics, religion or a pool game. Thanks goodness Twitter doesn’t have virtual pool.)
3. Some self promotion
4. Helpful information that I have found relating to computing, the internet, social media, affiliate marketing
5. Plus I don’t mind jumping in and answering a question or offering assistance to other Tweeples

I hope I haven’t missed anything. If so, leave me a comment about your Twitter Philosophy.

You can follow me on Twitter @reneethronson.

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1. How Not To Win Friends and Influence Followers on Twitter
2. New 2009 Free Copy of Social Media Daily
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