YOU’VE LANDED ON PART IV OF MY TWITTER TIPS.
SEE A LIST OF PREVIOUS TWITTER POSTS.
I love Twitter. And I’m big on proper manners. With that said, I am focusing my fourth Twitter tips post on the constant thanking of people on Twitter. In my opinion, our good manners have gone too far, and we all suffer for it.
Not sure what I’m talking about? When I log onto Twitter lately, this is what I see:
Thanks to @____, @_____, @______ for the follows!
Grateful for RTs from @ ______, @______, @_______!
Hugs for blog visits and comments @_____, @_____, @______!
Muchas Gracias for the #WW @____, @_____, @______, @_____!
Right back at you for the #FF @____, @_____, @______, @_____!
Appreciated your congrats today @____, @_____, @______, @_____!
Looks like a whole lot of nothing, doesn’t it? Call me a cynic, but seeing those messages as regular tweets rather than @replies where your entire following wouldn’t have to see them strikes me as suspiciously self-serving. (If you don’t know the difference between a regular tweet and an @reply, I explain it here.) If the goal of your tweet is to thank the people you’re listing, then why do ALL of your followers need to see it? Written as I’ve shown above, I can’t help but “hear” the following rather than thanks: Read my blog! RT me! Congratulate me! Me, Me, Me.
Expressing our gratitude as @replies helps our crisis a bit, but we’re still spending tremendous amounts of time thanking people and reading about other people getting thanked, which gets at the deeper issue. How much thanking is necessary on Twitter in the first place? Where is the line between appreciation and absolute overkill? Can we come to an agreement on how to demonstrate our gratitude?
LET’S ANALYZE EACH AREA OF CONCERN:
Thanking New Followers: This one is easy. If you follow the person back, that’s an inherent “thank you.” If you don’t follow the person back, I don’t think writing “thanks for the follow @_____” does much to compensate. Follow back (if you want to) OR leave well enough alone. Side note: NO MATTER WHAT, do NOT write direct messages thanking people for the follow. A private message saying: “Thanks for the follow. Check out my [novel, blog, tweets]” is an excellent example of disingenuous gratitude. When you truly interact with people on Twitter through their tweets, they WILL likely check out your tweets, blog, etc.
Thanking for Blog Visits: Respond to comments on your blog, or IF you can, try to visit the blogs of the people who comment. A visit to another person’s blog is FAR more useful to a blogger than your “thank you” tweet about YOU and YOUR blog. No matter what, I see no reason to bring this kind of business to Twitter. If you can’t stop yourself from letting people know you’ve answered their comments or appreciated their visits (I realize visiting all the blogs of the people who read yours is a lot to ask), consider an @reply instead of a regular tweet.
Thanking for ReTweets: I propose this: If you and other Tweeters regularly RT each other, then perhaps you can save yourselves some time and NOT thank each other on top of it all. The back and forth RTing, no matter how intermittent, serves as a more useful, “thank you” than a “thank you” tweet. As for thanking in general for RTs, I urge people to wait until the end of the day or the next day, then write one or two tweets (as an @reply) listing those thank yous.
Thanking people for congratulating you, for coming to your event, for helping to promote you in any way: Reread last sentence of the RT category. That advice applies here too.
Thanking for a #WW & #FF: I saved the most complicated one for last. Whether or not to write #WWs and #FFs (Writer Wednesday and Follow Friday) is a separate issue. Personally, I believe the practice has lost its usefulness. Unless you compose witty and gracious ones to individual people in the tradition of author @Jenna_Blum, then those tweets read like this: “Blah, Blah, Blah.” (Cue voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher.) I have a few followers who include me in weekly #WWs/#FFs, but don’t interact with me AT ALL the rest of the time. I’m 99% sure they see none of my tweets, and their #WWs and #FFs are automated. Frankly, I resent having to spend even a second seeing those automated tweets in my @mention page.
If you’re going to thank someone for the #WW/#FF, do not RT the whole list. I’m begging you. Re-sending those long lists of random names clogs up the Twitter stream, forcing many of your followers to see the same tweets over and over. Many times you’re not even following everyone on that list, which only makes the entire #WW/#FF concept that much more pointless.
So group, what do you think? Am I the only one who’s tired of their Twitter feed looking like gobbly-gook? Gratitude is good. What I’m seeing on Twitter these days is too much of a good thing. And it’s really annoying.
With that, I thank you for reading this lengthy post. And for RTing it.
FIND MY PREVIOUS TWITTER TIPS HERE
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Nina (@NinaBadzin)
Latest posts by Nina (@NinaBadzin) (see all)
- The Post Listen to Your Mother Post - May 14, 2013
- When a Friendship Needs a Break - May 6, 2013
- iPhone Diet: Success and Setbacks - April 29, 2013
Welcome! I am a freelance writer living in Minneapolis with my husband and four children. My essays on parenting, social media etiquette, improving my habits, Jewish life and more appear in the Huffington Post, Kveller.com, The Jewish Daily Forward and elsewhere. I'm glad you found your way here!
I’m fairly new to twitter, but you are so right! Thanks for the post, and I really hope a lot of people read this. They really need to! The things you mentioned above are annoying to say the least.
Thanks for this post…. new to the twitterverse and thought I was following protocol….
I’ll probably be saying this a lot today . . . there are no real “rules” for how to use Twitter. The issues I discuss here are a matter of what I’ve seen over a year. Some people do the thank yous as @replies, some as regular tweets. I can’t help but notice how annoying they get as regular tweets, especially when you’re following a lot of people. But it’s not like anyone has broken a rule!
Thank you, thank you, for this Nina! As someone who is still getting myself sorted-out on Twitter, I was thinking all this abundant thanking was a step above obnoxious. But still, as an unpracticed Tweeter myself I also wondered if maybe this is just the norm and I needed to get with the flow of things. So glad to have the inside line on this, since I really truly don’t want to be “one of THOSE people!” LOL
Hi! So, you’re right, I think it IS the norm. And I want it to stop!!! I’m hoping this will spread and make Twitter more interesting to read for all of us!
But Nina, don’t you remember? The internet is all about me, me, me!!!
On a more serious note, I agree, especially with the thanksgiving for visiting/commenting on a blog post. Even at a relatively modest 300+ following, my feed is clogged like the 1st floor toilet of a frat house – I can’t imagine what it’s like for those with 1000+ following.
But personally, more than the “Thanks! RT @Tweep: Go read @Tweep2′s blog! IT”S WINNING!!!!” I find the “:) RT @Tweep: Go read @Tweep2′s blog! IT”S WINNING!!!!” more egregious. At least in the 1st case, the person is giving a cursory thank you, the second tweet reads like: *happy sigh* Yup. I am that awesome!
Very true. . . egregious indeed.
Hi Nina,
Whenever I get a new follow I try to check out the website that they have and READ some of their posts. If I find one I truly find interesting, I post it. If someone leaves a comment on my blog, I do write back a thanks with a LINK to something I found interesting or helpful to theirs. I try to put links on all my thank yous, RT’s or #FF or #WW. This helps people check out what this person is all about. I try not to #WW or #FF that much because if you truly like what a person tweets, you’ll be checking out their timeline and who they follow anyway. Common interests, common ground.
I think most people are just trying to be polite, but I am more likely to check out Tweets with links to blogs, articles or pictures than I am to scan through someone’s #FF list. I have followed two people, maybe, from a big #FF list. I go with genuine gratitude that has taken the time to look at a person’s website or work. That’s what it’s all about, right? Connecting in meaningful way, 140 words or less. Being insightful and witty is helpful, but genuine always shines through. Great post, you can thank me later.
Jen–I’m not just saying this, your twitter profile page could read as an example of how to Tweet. You are always graceful and genuinely informative, interesting, and thankful in the best way. I’ve often followed your links to interesting posts! And you’re so sweet and charming–all in 140 characters. People can learn from you!!!!
Had to laugh at this: “In my opinion, our good manners have gone too far, and we all suffer for it.”
!
I agree with a lot of this — even thanking with an @reply can clog streams because often your followers are following a lot of the same people, so will see the conversations going on. I sometimes will thank people with direct messages for this reason. Still, there are some tweeters who are so kind and sincere –you just gotta love them for their twitter hug fests.
Good things to think about, Nina.
I try to keep the back and forth thanking to a minimum (as well as the RTs and #FF and the other points you mention). When I do thank someone for an RT, it might be because it’s someone I haven’t interacted with before, and I want them to know that I noticed. But usually, even just starting an actual conversation is a better idea. It’s also not possible to thank every single follower, RTer, etc., especially after you’ve been on Twitter a while and have a substantial amount of followers. The best you can do is try to reply when someone mentions you directly, and RT the tweets you’re genuinely interested in.
If I lose a follower because I haven’t thanked them for an RT, then it makes me question if they’re on Twitter for the right reasons. Twitter isn’t always about equal reciprocation because someone I follow might not necessarily be interested in following me back. I’d rather they follow because they want to, not out of obligation.
Great points, Nina!
Such good points and I wish I could go back and add them!! I don’t thank for every RT, etc. I agree with every word you said!!!
Great post, Nina! As you know, I suffered from not only thinking that the incessant thanking was “protocol” (in fact, I believe I read it in a Twitter how-to book), but ALSO from what Natalia mentions above: the feeling of a need to reciprocate on EVERY little thing on Twitter. I’m glad to see this topic being discussed & I hope your tips spread like wildfire (you should link to this post from your upcoming WU post). Agree w/ all your points that these thanks clog up the stream. And my apologies for being a hard-core abuser in that matter up until a few weeks ago
.
Melissa,
I think there are no rules on this stuff, but I agree that it’s great to get the conversation started. I hope the tips spread too! And thanks for your help in brainstorming this post. I appreciate the time you put in to help me!! Natalia’s point was so crucial . . . if we could all give ourselves a break on the need to be so tit for tat, I think Twitter would be easier and more enjoyable for all of us!
It had to be said, and you said it. Well done!
I think part of this comes from the reciprocal nature of Twitter. People publicly thank those who retweet and mention them in order to return the favor of promotion. But I agree with your post, all of this over thanking leads to noise and makes it more work to see the good stuff on Twitter.
I think this thinking adds to the problem though. True reciprocity for an RT or any kind of favor on Twitter is not a “thank you.” It would be promoting the person back whether via a link to their blog or some other personal tweet about THAT person, not as a thank you, which still goes back to your post, book, or whatever. I’m not suggesting every RT must be reciprocated with an RT, but we should all stop thinking that a “thank you” tweet helps to promote anyone. I know . . . Twitter has made me grouchy.
Yes, I agree. And I don’t think that Twitter necessarily should be reciprocal. Let each tweet stand on its merits.
I LOVE THIS POST!
I have been guilty of all of these abuses, not because I found most of them valuable or necessary but because I thought they were MANDATORY.
(I also engaged in the auto DM when I first came to Twitter because I saw other people doing it and assumed I was supposed to…)
I sometimes RT someone’s tweet of one of my posts to increase the exposure without it always being my own tweet…but I suppose overdoing it is annoying and it is definitely self-serving, I’ll admit.
I REALLY don’t like the group #WW’s and #FF’s that appear to be automatic and not meaningful. I have felt obligated to thank (and the worst is when you don’t wish to reciprocate) but I will now think twice.
I tweeted this post and hope everyone takes heed.
No need to thank me
Hey Julie–there are no real rules . . . I’m coming at all of this after being on Twitter for a bit over a year and just seeing what seems to work and what doesn’t. I think RTing someone’s tweet about your post is totally fine, especially when the person described your post in a funny or interesting way. It’s not something I’d do all the time, but frankly, I find it a more upfront honest approach than some of the other thank yous I see out there.
I don’t think it’s necessary to reciprocate WWs/FFs nor do I think it’s necessary to thank people every time–ESPECIALLY for those automated ones.
Like Julie, I thought some of this was required, and here I’ve been feeling guilty not doing it. So thanks for relieving the guilt burden.
Kristen Lamb also has a post today about #FF and #WW abuse. I’ve never done it because those long lists don’t do anything for me. She agrees that #FF should be genuine, and suggests you include only one @ address and give some reason to follow.
The only thing I do is thank for RTs–not everybody, but if they’ve never RT’d me before, or they give a recommendation “This is brilliant: check out @annerallen’s blog….” I thank.
I’m faced with a whole bunch of lovely RTs today, but maybe I’ll save my thanks and do them all at the end of the day. But that’s a lot of work, since you have to copy and paste each one. Twitter makes it much easier to thank individuals.
But I agree that those thanks for follows are redundant.
I agree that thanking someone new for an RT or for an unusually kind one is a good idea. I do that as well. You really don’t have to acknowledge every RT (in my opinion). Let’s decide right here and now that you and I can skip the thank yous for each other as we both RT each other from time to time and comment on each others’ posts often.
Sounds like a good plan, Nina. If I’m overflowing with gratitude, I can always come over here and gush.
Almost two years ago my lovely and talented daughter began helping me to set up a blog. It took a while before I got the hang of it and began to find other bloggers. “Comment on other blogs, ma.” Okay, so I learned the ins and outs … learned how to put in photographs and video in the text of the blog.
Then she said, “Mom, you should also have a ‘twitter’ account.”
I wrote to a good blogger friend, Christi Corbett and she said, “I just got into that this week. It’s great.”
Okay Nina … this is the skinny. I don’t know what to do with it, have not given it enough time to learn about hash marks or how to negotiate around to find people of liken-types and so on. For a long time all it was for me was a place to click and leave a “tweet” about my posts. Using one form of social media to shout out the other didn’t sound right.
I’ve been reading your posts about proper “tweet-ness” and manners.
I promise to copy all of your tweet instructions, as well as a post by Nathan Bransford, which I am told is great and learn wht the heck I am twittering and tweeting about.
Love your attitude and the positive way you present yourself and your work. I #amediting? Well, I am editing a WIP being sent to my BETA readers on June 6th. I am a believer in deadlines, those set for me and those I set for myself.
I do promise here in public to learn to tweet … cell phone language is something my daughter and granddaughter can do as I absolutely draw the line at calline anyone over the age of reason my BFF.
Thanks for another informative post
Listen, all of this stuff takes a long time. And there isn’t just one way to do things (despite my bossy tone in these Twitter posts.) I’ve been on Twitter a bit over a year and I’m just truly feeling like I have a handle on it. I used to feel like I had to reciprocate everything, but I’ve relaxed. And I let days go by without looking at Twitter. It makes it all more manageable. I think you’re doing great! With the blog and Twitter!
You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’m afraid I’m often an offender (guilty of all of the above), thinking I was being genuinely appreciative. However, if that’s not how the tweets are viewed by receivers, then I need to reconsider whether I should still do it. I appreciate the reality check!
Julia, there’s no right and wrong here. I’m sure the people you have been thanking (“the receivers”) DO appreciate it! It’s the other 600+ followers who don’t need to see it (in my opinion). It don’t mean that just for YOU . . . for anybody! Promoting someone by RTing or writing something personal about them is one thing, but the simple thank you can go out as an @reply/@mention or DM (in my opinion). But more importantly, read Natalia’s comment from earlier today. She makes a great point about the need to let go of feeling like we all have to acknowledge every single gesture on Twitter and on our blogs. It’s too much for all of us!!!! And most people understand that nobody can spend all their time thanking people or acknowledging. Right? Anyway, I no longer acknowledge every RT, WW, FF, etc. I try to be generous through RTing posts, commenting on posts, and more meaningful things like that. You do such a great job of that too! You should give yourself a little break, hon.
Good point, and I try to thank everyone via DM. But when you are fortunate enough to get tons of #FF’s, etc. Sometimes it is expeditious to do it publicly en masse. I feel very strongly that if someone mentions you, it is essential to give a thank you. And Rting mentions also gives publicity to those who mentioned you. Sometimes the world just creates this kind of “busy work.” Just as probably what I am saying has already been said in the other comments, but I was too busy to read them! *sigh* molly
Hi Molly! A few things . . . I think the en masse thanks are totally fine. But I don’t understand why people do them as regular tweets. Those thank yous don’t really give publicity. It’s not like people read others’ tweets like that . . .really only the people being thanked notice that tweet. The only true publicity, in my opinion, is RTing someone else’s post. Thanking people for our own is a nice way to say “I noticed your RT, WW, etc.), but it’s not publicity for other people. I think it’s important people realize the difference and therefore maybe can feel less pressured to thank every single mention. I’ve definitely stopped thanking for every WW/FF as many of them are clearly automated. You’re right about the busy work–part of the landscape here. I’m hoping to lessen it a bit for all of us!
Hi Nina! I’m so trying to figure all this out! The hardest for me is the #WW #FF thing. Really, I feel like I have to reciprocate! So hoping I get the idea and try to @reply rather than spew it all out there to everyone…whew…tweeting is more complicated than just 140 characters. Wondering if others are writing posts talking about rude people who don’t thank enough? Can’t win! So I will just do as my grandma would have advises and hush my mouth.
Hi! Listen, so many of those WW/FF are automated or part of giant lists. I think if you’re one of those, you can skip the thank you. Or thank people for them every so often, and do that as @replies, not regular tweets. Or even DMs? But it’s not a black/white thing. (There are no rules, I just pretend there are.) I think in general if you acknowledge people from time to time and try to reciprocate through RTs of their links or good news then that’s so much more meaningful than the weekly “thank you” or the weekly WW/FF tweet. Maybe I’m delusional . . . this is all my opinion anyway and nothing more.
Thank you! Not doing the #FF or #WW thing, trying to keep my RT to a minimum, and only if I really have something to say. Totally in agreement re: Charlie Brown’s teacher. I know I’m a newbie, but still don’t feel I need to copy behaviors that annoy me.
Hey, I know you! RTing. Quite the rabbit hole, no?
This post knocked my socks off, Nina. Incredibly helpful! (Dare I say thank you?)
Like many of the posters above, I thought I was following Twitter protocol by thanking everyone and her brother. But after weeks of thanking a slew of random people, I – like you – had had enough. Unfortunately, before I read your post, I didn’t know what to do about it. I didn’t want to appear rude. (This is coming from someone who wrote thank you notes on her honeymoon!)
Perhaps if we all established some kind of “You-don’t-have-to-thank-me” policy, the Twitterverse would become a more manageable place.
Thanks again (oops, I take that back…).
Melissa–I’m all over the thank you notes too, which is why I consider the thanking issue on Twitter to be a “crisis.” It feels so wrong to not thank everyone BUT . . . it’s becoming hard to find the true content on Twitter, which means we ALL have to relax a bit on the constant thanking. So glad you liked the post! Yes, I appreciate the warm thank you. I do!
#WWs, #FFs, #MMs, etc are the equivalent of chain letters. It’s Twitter pollution. The practice must die. I think we should all take a pledge to make it stop now.
I constantly agonize over this. Sometimes public thank you’s seem appropriate. Sometimes, not. I used to thank people publicly for RTs and WWs/FFs to get them some more followers if possible. Now it does seem a little out of control.
I just take it on a case by case basis and try to thank via @mention for the most part.
Great points to consider.
Hi Erika, so this issue of thanking someone to help THAT PERSON has come up a few times today. I honestly think the only true publicity for a person is an RT of their link or their good news or whatever OR a very personal #FF. But I don’t really see how thanking the person for RTing you will get that person more followers. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never followed someone simply because they’d RTed someone else. You know what I mean? And yes, it’s all out of control now!!!
Well…it is called a social network. If it were LinkedIn, I could see it being annoying.
I thank people a little less than I used to, for some of the reasons you mention, but if they compliment me, I thank them, and if they are someone who doesn’t follow me yet but have RT’d something from someone who does, often times, I find, a simple @reply thanking them earns me a follow, which I’m grateful for, and I follow back on those occasions—and I can’t DM someone who isn’t following me, so a public thanks is required. But also, as @EdanL has noted, sometimes Twitter feels too much like everyone talking and no one listening, and even a short thank you can break up the robotic intensity of people building their brands relentlessly and remind you that they’re human. And a thank you between folks can begin conversations that go somewhere—they can be icebreakers. I can understand you find it annoying, but I’d say, that moment you speak of is a short one usually, and it doesn’t last long in your life. But the relationships that start out of those moments last a lot longer.
I hear you, and I agree with some of this. I always thank for newer RTs and particularly kind ones. (same goes for WW/FF). But I maintain the best way to truly thank someone is to eventually RT something about them, visit their blog, etc. Of course there is no perfect system and it doesn’t have to be so black and white or tit for tat. With SO MUCH thanking happening out there though, I disagree with you that it comes off like a nice break. It feels more like an interruption and it becomes hard to find actual content on Twitter–especially on Wednesdays and Fridays. I agree that it often feels like everyone is talking and nobody is listening . . . I think the constant thanking adds to that feeling rather than alleviates it as you’re suggesting. I guess we have to agree to disagree here!
I am now un-RT-ing thank-ing you.
Agreed on all points. I frequently return RT’s by RT’ing and most of the time #FF the ones who #FF me or thank them at least. However, sometimes it feels rude NOT to thank for the RT’s provided someone has RT’ed something yu are promoting. I don’t get thanking new followers or RT’ing tweets that contain your own name, with few exceptions. So I try to stay away from those myself. But overall, I don’t mind the self-servitude too much because everyone is just trying to do what they have come to do on twitter, apart from meeting new people obviously: promote their work or their hobby or whatever.
I guess it all comes down to balance, right?
I just joined Twitter a couple of weeks ago and have been trying to figure out how to use it appropriately. The first person I followed sent me a thank-you message with a link to her blog and I really appreciated that, whether it was automated or not. Personally, I like all the public thanking (which I think is sadly lacking in our offline lives these days!) and I do check out who people #FF and have followed a few. Similarly, I enjoy the RTs because they often introduce me to new people or information I find interesting. However, I don’t have very many followers right now and I suppose these practices could become annoying to someone who receives a lot of updates.
Hi! I have to single out one thing in the list you wrote . . . I have no problem with RTs! RTs are the main point of Twitter. If we all just tweeted about ourselves Twitter would be FACEBOOK. The RTs are for sure what makes Twitter go ’round. Imagine though, you were following 500 people and each of these people publicly thanked EVERY person who RTed their link or added them to a WW/FF. Then you’d find yourself having to sift through tweets to find those good RTs and Tweets. See what I’m talking about? Thanks for the comment here!
Once again, Nina Badzin for the win! Nina, where were you when I joined Twitter a year and a half ago? Your tips have changed the way I tweet. This series on thank you’s, in particular, is so great—and such a relief to read.
Just remember . . . this is all MY opinion, I’m not an expert. But many people on Twitter comments today and in the comments here seem to agree. So it’s a relief for all of us.
Well, you do seem to know what you’re doing, and judging from the crazy number of RTs I just got after RTing your post, I’d say you struck a nerve. I don’t mind the occasional thank you, but the constant stream of it does get tiring, and fast.
I enjoyed your post- very helpful and as a relatively new tweep, confirmation of some things I’ve questioned on protocol. Of course, then I retweeted your blog link and said I agree with you. So now I think I’ve inadvertently done that which I shouldn’t be doing.
Ah Twitter, you rascally devil.
Hi! I think you’re misunderstanding! RTing is the bread and butter of Twitter. If I now went and spent my entire day writing thank you tweets to every person who RTed this post, I’d be clogging the Twitter stream. But I can send all the tweets I want promoting others. See the difference? Constantly thanking people is still really about ME. RTing other peoples’ posts is the whole point of Twitter!!!! (Otherwise it would be Facebook.) And . . . thanks for the RT! It’s OKAY to say thank you on Twitter too!! I’m just advocating we find ways to not make Twitter all about thank yous to the point where it’s annoying.
I don’t spend much time thinking about how people use Twitter. If I don’t like how they do it I simply unfollow.
I have had a few people complain about my use of it and asked them who was holding a gun at their head because I certainly am not forcing anyone to follow.
AutoDMs are obnoxious, they make me crazy.
I don’t mind #FF where one person is listed or a link to a blog post is provided. That makes sense to me.
Twitter is just one big conversation and as long as people engage that is cool with me.
I *strongly* dislike the RT’ing of #WW/#FF lists. Okay, folks, I saw the list the first time, why do I need to see it a second time?
I know I tweet a lot, so I very consciously choose when to publicly tweet and when to do the @reply. Probably about 60-80% of my tweets are @replies. I thank others for linking to my posts, but I *always* do it as an @reply. I don’t want to annoy my followers, so using @replies is good manners. Thanking with public tweets is using bad manners to show off your good manners.
I completely agree with you about not thanking for new followers or blog visits. The only time I do either of those is when I have something else to say, and in that case, I use the @reply again.
Jami! This was great! I LOVE this line .. . you need to tweet it or something! “Thanking with public tweets is using bad manners to show off your good manners.” GENIUS.
Thanks Nina for posting this. Even as a twitter newb I was overwhelmed with all the thanking, feeling I wasn’t doing enough and that it seemed like a pointless tweet. Your post helps to clarify people’s intentions and etiquette. Nicely worded! I’m going to tweet about it for you. LOL.
Jess–thanks for making this point. Yes, I think most people have good intentions. And if you’re only following 50 or so or even 100, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like to follow many more and keep saying the same kind of generic tweets. So hopefully people have other ways to think about thanking others now. It’s not that I think we should STOP thanking people . . . let’s just reign it in a bit!
[...] Badzin addresses the “Twitter Thanking Crisis.” (I try not to fall prey to the behavior cited, but I know that I’ve been guilty from time to [...]
First off I love the new look of your blog!
Second I have a different “agenda” when it comes to twitter than you and most of your followers. So I’m tickled pink anytime my phone dings and tells me I’ve been mentioned on twitter LOL. I agree Fridays are annoying as I have to scroll through the same tweet RT’ed by 50 different people because they were all mentioned on the same #FF but it doesn’t bother me that much. I really love and appreciate the thanks and any mentions I get so I just assume others feel the same. I’m probably going to continue as I always have but I’m not an egregious offender of the above mentioned crimes
I admit I came here first thing this morning because you mentioned that you thought you lost followers over this and I can’t really understand why. You made your case clear and it made sense – even if I don’t plan on following it – why would people stop following you over this? Seems silly. As always another great post. I will be tweeting this as I know a LOT of other people who could benefits from the @reply instead of RT.
Hi Tayna! You’re the only one who noticed the new look. Thanks!
Let me be clear about the thank you stuff . . .there IS a place for gratitude on Twitter. It would be read to NEVER acknowledge others. I’m simply trying to make sure people get that all those thank yous can be done in other ways some of the time (like @replies instead of regular tweets). But yes, we should continue showing our gratitude and mentioning people. But doesn’t it feel 1000% times better when someone mentions you in an interesting way rather than a list of #FF? I think so! I’m thinking nobody minds being thanked, but many of us don’t like seeing constant thanking going on in the stream. @replies would help!
Yes you’re right I prefer that someone’s mentioning me for a specific purpose. And I think #ff has run its course, we can all stop now LOL. I love this series and I really like – and noticed – how you started thanking everyone at one time at the end of the day. I hope my friends read this and understand. I’ve already had one person appologize to me for “messing up your timeline”. LOL that wasn’t the purpose of me re-tweeting this it was just to give them something to think about.
Oh dear, I am so guilty of this and you have made me see the light! I’ve always hated FF’s that don’t explain them but I do send out a “thanks for the RT” tweet weekly. Ditto FF. Never again. Thx for the reminder!
Delia Lloyd
http://www.realdelia.com
Wow. This is great. I’ve been bothered by these practices for a while, and have been guilty of several, myself. Thanks for putting it all together so neatly. I will try to be a better Twitter citizen in the future.
Thank you thank you thank you for another interesting post. Too many thank you’s?
THANK YOU (not a tweet). I follow a few people who grossly overuse this
thanking, thanking blah blah blah
and it is SOOOOO annoying.
The earlier post you link to (twitter tips) is uber helpful. I’ve only been on twitter a little while, and I needed that info!
I agree. I don’t think a thank you is necessary for a RT of a blog post but if it’s am engaging convo or something funny that was RTed the author should attempt to thank.
Too many tweeters out there who live in their own social bubbles.
Hi Leighann! I know what you’re saying. I don’t like it when, for example, someone (like an author) asks a questions like “Did people use the expression make love in the 40s?” then doesn’t acknowledge the people who answered . . . even with a simple thanks en masse. In that kind of case or in others it’s not a “thank you” I’m personally looking for, but perhaps an acknowledgement of some kind . . .a “hey, I know you’re out there and exist.”
What I generally object to is what I’m seeing overall: The same WWs/FFs and thank yous going on all the time. All this recycling of the same names just seems to redundant and a waste of everyone’s time. Reaching out to new people though–yes, in the form of thank yous, is always a good thing though.
This is a great post(which I happened upon due to a RT
)! I was wondering if I missed some memo when I signed up for Twitter about polite RTing/thanking. Good to know there aren’t some rules I’ve been missing. I have to admit, I’ve done the thanks for the #FF RT the whole thing a couple times. I stopped because it felt a little dirty. My philosophy, if it feels self-serving and would be annoying to see in your own Twitter stream, it is, so don’t do it.
Hi jessica and welcome! I think the most problematic part of RTing the whole list of the #FF is that more often than not, the person sending out the RT doesn’t actually follow everyone on the list. But yes, the worst part is seeing the same list of names over and over again in the Twitter stream. So glad you found me! I should probably thank the person who sent you via the RT!
I totally agree, Nina. I think it’s better just to @ reply that person and thank them, rather than clog up everyone else’s stream by thanking each person publicly. It also annoys me when people #FF or #WW EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR 300 FRIENDS and clog up my stream that way, too. I mean, #FF or #WW a select few this week if you want, and then move on. Also a little annoying when that person NEVER chats with me or @ replies me, checks out my blog, or anything and includes me in the list. That’s great if you pay attention to my tweets, but let me know every now and then or something. I love your Twitter Tips! Hope you’ll continue to bring ‘em on (should the need arise)!
Yes–the bit about the person doing the FF never chatting with me any other time, visiting the blog, replying to a tweet, or ANYTHING is the most annoying part of the FF concept. Why are they suggesting their followers follow someone they don’t “really” follow?
Thanks for the excellent post. I agree with you completely on the random lists thanking new followers, and #WW or #FFs. I never click on anyone in those lists. It’s like spam.
I do, however, thank people for RTs (using @reply so that it doesn’t clog up everyone’s feed), and it’s fun to be thanked in return. I think it let’s people know you appreciate them taking that time and builds a sense of community. As long as you use the @reply, I don’t think it’s a problem. Twitter moves so fast that the message is gone almost immediately (except to the person you addressed).
For me, the key to DM thanks to people for following is to not promote yourself and to not automate them. I only send a DM to people I follow back, and I do it because when I was new to Twitter, those DMs from other people helped me feel welcome to a new social media forum that I was very uncomfortable with.
Hi! Yes, I think thanking for RTs is great–AS @REPLIES. I also don’t take it personally when people don’t thank me as I know that spending all of our time covering every person who RTed us, etc, would eat up way too much time. I much rather see someone RT something of mine some other time in return or visit my blog or something like that. BUT, of course a thank you is a nice thing too. As a side note, remember @replies are an improvement but they go to anyone who follows both you and the person you’re mentioning, not just that person.
As for the DMs, I believe advice out there exists to do that after someone follows you, but I’ve never seen it myself, I wonder if it’s older advice?? Everything I’ve seen emphatically says not to. A better way to thank someone for the follow is to respond to a tweet they wrote. (In my opinion.)
And you are right–this is ALL opinion!!! There is no true right and wrong in the Twitter game.