PCmag.com article 04.15.09

Top 13 Twitter Don'ts
Want to keep your Twitter followers happy? Avoid these microblogging faux pas.
by Sean Ludwig


The number of new Twitter users has soared over the past few months, as the microblogging service has taken the media by storm. If you're one of those new users, you may be baffled by Twitter's peculiar culture, or nervous that you'll commit some kind of microblogging faux pas.

Don't worry, we're here to help. While there aren't specific rules for how to use Twitter, avoiding these 13 Don'ts will help you fit right in—and may even gain you some adoring new followers.

1. Don't live-tweet TV shows. @CorinneIOZO warns that lots of people use DVRs or watch shows on Hulu these days, so spoiling big moments ("OMG, the smoke monster was actually from outer space! No way!") is a major no-no. As an alternative, tweet an inside joke that the show's viewers will get, but that doesn't give away any important details.

2. Don't say anything that could get you fired or prevent you from getting a job. @JoelSD points out that if your tweets are public, they really are open to everyone, as has been demonstrated time and time again.

3. Don't be boring. A simple rule that @kmonson follows is "Never tweet about food or the weather." If your friends see one more "Good morning Twitterverse!" or "I had some awesome corn flakes for breakfast," you're getting un-followed.

4. Don't forget the Twitter lingo: RT is retweet, and @name is how you respond or give props to someone. Feel free to be generous with both your RTs and your @s.

5. Don't tweet more than ten times a day, or more than five times an hour, says @JasonCross00. It gets annoying and takes space and attention away from other Twitterers' links and observations. If you have that much to say, maybe it belongs on a blog.

6. Don't reply to every single tweet. As @seanludwig points out, it gets old fast.

7. Don't tweet drunk, cautions @whitneyarner. Just like in real life, your followers might get a kick out of your drunk tweets, but you'll probably regret them in the morning.

8. Don't tell us about something cool or life-changing without a link or picture (use a service like TwitPic for your photos, and a URL shortener like TinyURL or is.gd for your links).

9. Don't retweet something and leave off the original Twitter poster. Always give credit to those who wrote it first.

10. Don't ignore people who send you a direct message or a reply, says @LanceUlanoff. Part of the Twitter experience involves conversing with your followers when possible.

11. Don't #hashtag every topic. After a while, your topics will be ignored.

12. Don't whine about people not following you, pleads @SaschaSegan. If you're good at providing interesting stuff and you're patient, you'll get the followers you crave so badly.

13. Don't tweet your bathroom habits. Seriously. Just don't do it.

Thanks, this will actually help me built up a good follower group. A group that ill be able to advertise you to

I like what you said about don't ignore a direct message you receive. The whole idea about twitter is to respond. You got my vote!

That's a great list, although I must confess - I do tweet about food/weather and tweet more than 10 times a day

I am just getting used to Twitter and it still baffles me how people with thousands of followers just keep up with @ ing every one who @ s them.

I think mostly they just reply to tweets that catch their eye. Some of the celebrities on there must be getting thousands of replies for every tweet they post, pretty daunting but very flattering too, I would imagine

I like it. I have just started using tweeter for advertisement and I will keep these in mind. Thanks

lol.. I agree - great information but Twitter still gives me a headache I simply can't shake. Very few things confuse me - Twitter is one of them unfortunately.

All points are good BUT the last point is really good one.
We should be very alert.

Nice list. will keep them in mind. still a noob in twitter.

Thanks for posting this! A lot of them seem obvious but you'd be surprised how many people still do them.

Oh and another one to add: don't send auto Direct Messages to anyone who follows you. I usually unfollow these people because it's annoying, impersonal, and spammy.

-Danielle

haha i dont have twitter acount but rofl these tips are useful and kinda funny, i'll check this again if ever i will have twitter account

Hi!
Some of these twitter tips sound like simple common sense, especially the last one! lol I don't have a Twitter account although have seen alot of information. I'm considering it, but suppose it would help to have my own blog (which has been also considered but seems too time consuming) on there. Has anyone heard of Tweeter or Tweets Online? It was very interesting and looked better than Twitter Submitter.
Good luck to you all!

I`ve noticed a lot of people using URL shorteners, but why is that preferred?

I think it's only preferred if the URL would be too long to fit in a tweet.

-Danielle

Ah, because of the limit on number of characters per tweet? Ok, thanks.

Nice pointers, you should add some more! Really helpful!

I could not have said it better myself. The final one made me laugh. My one to add is don't tweet out of anger, you might regret posting it later. To many cameras or ways to save those things these days.