Tweeting is the “thing” to do. It seems as though everyone tweets, and for all kinds of reasons. We are living in the electronic age where communication between “friends” and “followers” is rampant. However, just as there is etiquette when we communicate face-to-face, there is also etiquette when it comes to the cyberworld.
Here are just a few types of tweets you should stay clear of if you don’t want to be dropped like a hot potato by your followers.
- Tweeting a random thought. Who really wants to know your every “deep” thought? Besides, they make no sense to anyone but you.
- Negativity. When you’re feeling down, don’t bring everyone else down. Keep it positive.
- No Twitter fights. The rule to Tweeting is to never being offensive or defensive. Golden Rule: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
- Do not gossip. It’s just not nice.
- No inappropriate pictures. Twitter is not a porn site. Keep it clean!
- Do not Tweet every time you work out. It’s ok to do once in a while, but to tweet every single time you go for a run or lift a 10-pound weight may make your followers feel lazy.
- Do not promote yourself too much. There’s nothing more irritating than a column of Tweets all from the same person posted in three minutes.
- Do not abuse the hashtag. The “#” symbol is an effective way of tracking events and conversations. Before you post your Tweet, search your hashtags to make sure they are applicable to your message. A ton of non-relevant hashtags will confuse your message and make your Tweet difficult to read.
- Do not subtweet. If someone wants to criticize a person with the username @JaneSmith without that person seeing the Tweet in their Twitter timeline, they will leave the “@” symbol off of the name so the Tweet would not appear in @JaneSmith’s Twitter timeline. The problem is, the person you’re criticizing usually finds out.
Do not be an Egg. In other words, post your own profile picture. A good picture sets the tone for your content.- Do not Tweet where you’re vacationing. You are inviting thieves into your house.
- Do not Tweet every minute of every day. No one wants to read about the nap you just took or the cake you just baked…. or your last bowel movement. Boring….and gross!!
- Keep your Tweet at 140 characters. Twitter is not a blog.
- DO NOT Tweet your personal information. You are at risk of someone stealing your identity.
- Do not Tweet anything that could incriminate you. This should be self explanatory, but in case it’s not… don’t Tweet anything that is illegal.
-The Alternative Daily
