The Rules of Twitter (V1)
King Eljay - Welcome to Twitter. It’s a beautiful place where you can share your thoughts, information, and other random golden nuggets of goodness 140 characters at a time.
It’s a new world out there, so of course you’re going to need a little guidance. I, being a twitter expect now with over 1200 twits under my belt, and being the nice guy that I am, have decided to help you. Feel free to reference this guide as a couple of rules to make sure you follow as you tweet. These are some, but not all, of the things you should keep in mind as you begin your journey.
1) Everything’s Not Ok
You don’t have to tweet EVERY SINGLE THING you’re doing. Some, sure. Most…maybe. ALL? No. You can tweet that you’re visiting a friend. You can even tweet that you’re visiting a friend that lives in Phoenix City. You DO NOT need to tweet that you’re TAKING A DUMP at that friend’s said house on said toilet.
2) One Bird, One Stone
Don’t respond to 3 different people with three different statements in one tweet. That’s lame, and because it’s only 140 characters, it makes you look like you have an Ebonics Major. And if you DO have an Ebonics major…I wouldn’t necessarily advertise that. Killing two birds with one stone does not apply here.
3) Be Careful What You Twit
This is the internet. Everything you say CAN and WILL haunt you possibly for the rest of your life. Maybe not for the rest of your life, but it can most definitely affect you now. If you’re at work, and you send a Twit about the person in front of you being an idiot…and it gets back to the person…and that person’s your boss… OR, if you’re an up-and-coming white rapper and you say the term “Nappy Headed Hoes” in poor taste while you’re visiting the Rutger’ campus… Expect for it to get you blown. Word to Busta, T-Pain, and Asher Roth.
4) Pick Your Angle
If you’re using it to become famous (ish) or to promote your work, don’t use your real name. If you’re there to just meet people, then by all means, use your FIRST name. It’s just not a good idea to put your full name on a Twitter account until you get used to it. That way, you can cover your mistakes if you violate any of the rules mentioned above. Clever right?
I know.
5) Running Journal?
Some people pull a DJDaddyMack, which is basically update Twitter constantly for about an hour maybe every 20 seconds on the minute. Which is completely fine…if you have an audience, and if you don’t do it constantly. If you do this all the time, it will honestly get to the point where people lose interest in you because you moan and complain all the time. Makes sense, right? I’ll put it this way… Running journals are a bad idea (usually)… Get you a following first, and then try it and see if it’s for you. But unless you’re him…it probably won’t work.
Not hating…I just don’t see how he can rant like that and not lose followers. That’s loyalty ladies and gentlemen. And yes, I’m still following him. He’s a cool dude.
6) Stagnant?
You’ll lose a lot of random followers you might pick up if you don’t update sometimes. If you only send out one message a week, you’ll lose them fast. And if they’re ONE WORD TWEETS like
….Tired….
…Come…ON…!!! If you’re that tired, don’t waste my time saying it unless you’re going to say WHY. If not, you could’ve kept that to yourself.
140 Characters. Try to use them.
And make sure you at least update it with some kind of consistency. It helps to be mobile with your tweets… It’s definitely an added bonus….As a matter of fact:
7) It’s Called “Mobility!”
Yeah, if the computer/desktop is all you have to twit, then by all means use it. But if you have internet on your phone, or if you have a smart phone, or if you have unlimited text messaging, you are missing out on the true essence of Twitter if you’re not capitalizing off of those advantages. It makes the much easier to manage/conquer. Besides, you have no idea how funny and stupid your day can be until you get a random tweet from a person you’re following that makes your day. (@ThaQuintessence and @CaliLive excel in this) Be mobile! It’s dope.
8) Lead, and Follow…But Lead More
It’s cool to follow a bunch of people, but if you’re following more people than you lead, some people might consider you a “Twitter-Ho” and it’ll scare off some potential followers. Trust me on this one… follow the people that interest you. Don’t follow the whole cast of High School Musical. If they’re interesting…Follow and interact. Every person I follow, I’ve heard a response from. Joe Budden, Joe Budden’s girlfriend (Tahiry…whoooo…), Charles Hamilton, etc. I’m followin Gabrielle Union right now, but she’s a little crazy…so I might drop her..haha…It’s cool to follow, but it’s better to lead…get it?
9) Spread The Good Ones!
If you follow someone that’s thoroughly entertaining, help them get more followers! ReTweet their funniest statements (people do this for me a lot…thanks), or just do a Follow Friday and shout out your peoples (like @RhymeStyle). The latter requires an audience though… but… I have one more…
10) Don’t Do FOLLOW FRIDAYS…
It’s simple. If you have under 100 followers, don’t do “Follow Fridays.” There’s no point. Get your audience up. Just ReTweet the funny/cool ones and maybe even do the occasional shoutout, but keep it simple. Follow Fridays are for the most part….kind of lame. Sorry.
These are 10 simple rules to help you achieve success in the Twitter world. May your stay here be longer than it was with MySpace…
King Eljay
