No one seems to care anymore that tons of folks are following slimeballs on Twitter. I’ll bet you’re doing it, too. But, you couldn’t be broadcasting your disdain for others, and for Twitter, any louder than by doing this.
Most of the people on Twitter who follow idiots are doing it through an automatic follow program. Hey, there’s nothing more “social” than an automated program. Most of these folks argue, “Who cares – it’s all good.”
Well, as we’ve pointed out time and again that’s an attitude that paves the road to viruses, spam and even early onset doofussness. It’s not all good.
The point of this article is to warn you about the growing number of these kinds of lollypop-heads – and hope and pray that you aren’t one of them.
Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow
Let’s take a particular example (which I changed slightly to protect the innocent – namely, me). We’ll call him Bubby Braggadocio (and we’ll say his Twitter handle is @BubbyBrag) Here’s his profile (edited only a tad):
LinkedIn & Social Media Guru, Trainer, Online Optimizer, Personal Haiku Writer, Husband, Father, Son, Follower of John the Baptist, Door Stop and Man of Destiny.
You know the type. He’s used automatic follow and automatic follow-back programs to run his numbers up into the stratosphere.
He follows 52, 142 poor souls and he’s followed by 67,205 even more bereft ones. These are actual numbers from an actual Bubby type person, and there are jillions of his ilk on Twitter (and a good hunk of them are following you if you only take the time to look).
Bubby Billboard
Yes, he’s following you – as are his henchmen, roadies, dope peddlers and suck-ups. But, don’t, for god’s sake, follow him back.
Why?
Well, ask yourself this – can anyone follow 52,000 people? Do you suppose @BubbyBrag is ever looking at his Twitter stream to see what @Slmmbll is saying on Twitter? No, and he’s not looking at what you say, either.
Following 52,000 people is just an advertisement that says, “I don’t give a flying fish about you – all I’m doing in collecting numbers.” So, if you think you might “network” with him, converse with him, joke with him, or in any way interact with him, we’ll, you can just fahgettaboudit.
And, if you were to look, you would find that he’s only ever broadcasted tweets about himself, and he’s never, ever interacted with anyone via an “@ Message.” Also, you’ll probably not be surprised to know that no one has ever sent him an “@ Message” either.
But, here’s the deal – you actually don’t need to check this bozo’s Twitter stream to see if he ever interacts. The number of people he is following means he CAN’T interact, because no one can keep track of that many people.
Numbers Game
These folks have been told that it’s all about having numbers. Which is why they are cynical – and why they threaten Twitter. Currently, well north of half of all new Twitter users show no understanding at all of a reasonably manageable Follow/Follower ratio.
So, if you want to follow people on Twitter who might actually have a “social networking” relationship with you, stay away from these folks. They’re just counting social media coup. And you’re likely to end up scalped in more ways than one.
