Thursday

Confessions of a Twitter Junkie

When I first signed up with Twitter (find me here)I didn't consider the repercussions of what I was doing.  At first it seemed like a popularity contest: how many followers could I collect?  So I started to follow people in hopes that, in true Twitter-karma fashion, I would receive followers and perhaps drive traffic to my Etsy store.

Indeed, I sowed... and I reaped.  Slowly my followers grew, and I grew... excited.  50 followers.  Hey, that's neat.  100 followers.  Ooh, I'm in triple digits.  298 followers.  Come on baby, need to get 2 more for an even 300.  400 followers.  Right on!

Then all of a sudden my offline life superseded my online life, so I neglected to participate in a few #FF (for you non-tweeters, this is Follow Friday, the day of the week when you mention your friends and spread goodwill around Twitter, with the general expectation that harvest principles, aka karma, will come back to you in the form of more followers).

So anyway, after a week or two of non-activity, I discover I have 478 followers.  Hey, cool! I think.  Not too shabby, especially considering I've been schizo lately that I haven't really been able to nurture my online friendships in light of my offline life.  I decide to DM my new followers (this, again for the uninitiated, means to send a Direct Message) with a "thanks for following" message.

In the middle of my process of thanking my new followers, I suddenly notice that I am at 477 followers.

477 followers.  That's one less than 478.

That means *gasp* I have lost one.

Panic begins to set in.  Where could that follower have gone?  Where did I put him (or her)?  How could this have happened????

I begin to look at the list, as if somehow I would be able to tell which username out of nearly 500 was suddenly missing.  What did I do?  How did I offend?  How can I get them back???

This is, of course, a ludicrous train of thought.  I remind myself that I have un-followed people in the past, realizing that we don't share the same goals or interests.  For instance, in my naivete I have discovered that "Retro" does not always mean 1950s kitsch.  Sometimes a search for #retro conjures up foul-mouthed rap artists, and more often than I would have expected.

So my advice to all of you Tweeters, including myself... stop tweaking!  If someone stops following you, consider it a blessing that your network consists of discerning people who are not following you only to inflate their own numbers, but because they actually share common interests with you.

Tweet you later!

6 comments:

  1. Very cute story, I had the same experience =0) I still gasp a little when I see a few add me and then... five minutes later they are gone.

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  2. How funny. I came by to check you out because you, , my dear, are my 2nd follower! Woot! So if I lost one, that would be soooo sad. I'm sure it isn't anything you did, just a case of mistaken identity. Now I gotta figure out how to get more.

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  3. Leona aka Leona's Olde Linens8:50 AM

    How do I add your blog to my rss feed? Do you not have a link or am I just missing it?

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  4. Anonymous3:08 PM

    Hello Ladies!
    Something is wrong with my notifications or I would have responded to each of you sooner!

    Rachel and Sonja, hang in there! I still have those freak-out moments when my numbers rise and fall, but I don't worry about it anymore! If anything, I am now more choosy about who I follow, and I take time to get to know them and make a comment mentioning them and promoting others instead of myself! I am up to 645 today.

    Leona, I am a dork and somehow left the rss feed link off my blog, but you should see it to the left now! Thanks for letting me know! You have such cute things in your shop...

    Thanks again and have a terrific day girls!

    Liz

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  5. I love it...inspiring me to do more with Twitter...

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  6. Haha I loved this and all so true! You've got great writing skills! Thanks for the follow and so you don't think I didn't follow in return (gasp ; ) I was following you already. See you on twitter and etsy!

    Smoochies!
    MFR

    www.mrfilthyrotten.etsy.com

    ReplyDelete

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