This may be hard for some to understand.
But, I am going to stop following everyone on my main Twitter account.
There are a number of reasons for this and a number of advantages.
Of course there will be some disadvantages
- Some people will get the hump and stop following me
- I might miss out on a tasty morsel of info
- I get behind in SEO gossip
I don’t mind if some people stop following me, as I will be using my Twitter account other than to get people to follow me on Twitter. As I have numerous searches and lists running on Tweetdeck I can still be plugged in to needed information whilst reducing distraction.
I use RSS feeds a lot and use Reader on my iPhone to make sure I get enough tasty morsels to keep me fed.
SEO gossip, doesn’t pay the rent and it can seriously suck up time.
I think I joined Twitter back in 2007, and to keep using it in the same way I used it then is nuts, because my business model has changed. And so the way I use Twitter must also change. I now run a large team of link builders and offer a specific link building service to clients which takes up a lot of time.
Distraction is a big problem for me and I score high on ADD tests, so I have to work hard to reduce the possible distractions and get RUTHLESS.
As tweeting is no longer something I need to cultivate to generate new business or do a spot of brand building, it diminishes in its ability to justify itself in the current form I use it.
So, I am going to dump all followers and use it in a more focussed form, which will probably be more conversational and reach out to new networks and new people.
I would only advise others to do this if it fits with your business model.
My tweets will be ripe and full of juice and if you are in the business of SEO, online marketing, social media etc. It will still be worthwhile to follow me.
But if not, no probs.
After all, it’s only business 😉
ps. If you think it feels like you work for Twitter, rather than getting Twitter to work for you, you may want to have a long, ruthless, think about this.