MUST READ!
Twitter CAN be a good way to keep up with where I am and what I’m doing on many fronts without having to look around too much. Even if it’s a passing fad, so what?
Before you follow me, you should read my Artist’s Statement and bio. You should follow me only if you are really interested in me and what I do.
Twitter isn’t a marketing tool as far as I’m concerned -it shouldn’t be that for anyone, actually. Ideally, Twitter is better thought of as a place where you can keep up with with friends and share a conversation without boundaries.
In keeping with my philosophy I have RULES for Twitter followers! Yes, even on Twitter, you can have rules. Mine are designed to make sure we can actually have a conversation. I don’t want to be speaking to nothing! These rules aren’t that hard and they represent a formula for acting courteously even in the context of a free-range nut house like Twitter!
If you follow me, I will look at your postings to see if they fit in with my ideas about Twitter. IF they do, I’ll probably follow you back.
‘NEW’ RULES
(Of Twitter Courtesy)
1) Do not spam my timeline. Seriously, people who post 30 tweets a day are too desperate for attention. I want to hear from you but that’s too much. Someone who tweets that much makes it impossible for me to keep track of what my OTHER friends/followers are saying!
What’s the right amount to Twitter? Nobody knows, but I’d vote for somewhere in the range of 1 to 10 Tweets a day or so, not counting @replies and retweets. More than that is hardly ever justified — unless you are at ground zero for Armageddon and you have real time information to pass on. The flip side is that if you only tweet once a week (or less) I won’t even know you are there!
If you are following me but I never follow you back, it may well be that I think you just tweet too much as this is the most common reason why I don’t follow people
2) Don’t just be there to advertise your stuff. This is related to spamming. Spamming on Twitter means tweeting too much without having anything of substance to say. And if all you ever have to say is some variation on “please read my blog” then you really have nothing to say. Oh, and I’m not saying that you shouldn’t post about your stuff! I’m just saying that your tweets shouldn’t only be blog ads and if you tweet blog postings (as I do) there should be something in the way of real information/substance in that blog post – not yet another ad.
Related – what SHOULD one talk about on Twitter? Many things. Think of it as a place to express your deep thoughts as well as letting friends know what you are up to. Tell me what you are thinking about right now. Tell me a good joke. Tell us all about your hopes and fears. If you come across a great saying or have a great idea -share it! That’s a real conversation.
3) DO respond to some @replies. Yes, from time to time I may reply to one of your tweets. Often, these are just idle comments that require no response. HOWEVER, if you never respond to my replies, I will almost certainly unfollow you at some point. By failing to respond, you have shown me that you don’t really care about what I have to say and that you probably only followed me so you could try to sell me something.
4) DO read links – and retweet good stuff. Yes, I do tweet about art shows and new art projects of all kinds, as well as pieces of philosophy and even sometimes a ubiquitous “what am I doing right now” tweet. Some of the tweets will have links: If you are interested in my work, it is polite to at least take a moment to view the links I post and occasionally retweet the good stuff. I usually don’t post more than one or two links per day… often none. So this isn’t asking a lot. If you don’t want to offer this minimal courtesy, please do not follow me.
If you actually enjoy my work, an occasional RT (retweet) is a nice gesture. I never hold anyone to this rule, btw – it’s more of a polite request. If I am following you, you can be sure that I return this courtesy by looking at YOUR links, too!
THAT’S IT! Now that wasn’t so hard, was it? It’s all about politeness, courtesy and mutual respect. You could call this a Jedi-style respectful friendship… honoring each other as masters of our own lives and destinies: It is something we owe to one another as members of the human race – in my personal philosophy.
Thank you for visiting my Twitter page.
Places you can find me:
Abstract Art and Outside-The-Box Philosophy: ChrissPagani.com
Street Photography Projects: The Roadside Artist Gallery.
Representational/Landscape Art: PainterOfOregon.com, OregonPainter.tv
Cartoons/Retail Art: ToonZ.Me
Posters & Prints: CafePress Store, Posters, Framed Prints
Other stuff: My Feral Cat Rescue Project - Documenting my work with feral cats, a photo documentary blog. This one is very important to me and I hope you will visit there.
I appreciate the fact that you took time to read this… Thank you.
REFERENCE: About what to do with Twitter that is NOT from me: Havi’s blog.
