Twact or Twiction: (noun) A game of fact or fiction with a Twitter twist. AKA the most fun you can legally have in the Twitterverse.
If I asked you to rate the most annoying elements of Twitter, I bet your list would like something like this:
1. Spam/porno/marketing bots
2. Twitter weirdos and creepers
3. Dumb tweets
4. Excessive #FFs
5. RTs, RTs, and RTs
Am I right, or am I right? While I agree that elements 1-4 are the useless throw pillows of the Twitterverse, #5 is legitimate. RTs are intrinsic to the Twitter experience, so they are here to stay. That being said, we need to find a way to work with them, rather than against them!
Let’s play a game, RT Twact or Twiction?
1. People are more likely to click on a link in a RT. Fiction. You would think that people *would* want to click on a link that has been RTed because it appears to be legitimate, vetted even. However, according to Bit Rebels, people are more likely to click on the original link that was posted. Based on my research, no one seems to know why.
2. RTs are often used as an indication of your social media presence? Fact. The websites that determine your social media influence *do* use retweets (your retweeted content) as an indication of your social media presence. I know a lot of you don’t care what your Klout score (the forerunner) is, but it *has* become a commonplace means to evaluate you. If RTs help you get hired, I say “work” (yep, see what I did there?) for them!
3. I heard that there’s a program that can easily tell me how I compare to everyone else in the RT department. It can show me if people RT me more or less than the average person? Fact. That’s what Retweet Rank is for! According to them, my Retweet rank is 20,451 - approx 99.47 percentile. Not bad, not bad. *Pats herself on back*
Now for RT etiquette:
1. How should I RT? The classic way (writing “RT @Call_Me_Bookish” and then copying and pasting their tweet) or by just clicking RT?
There’s no right or wrong answer here, just preference. I personally go with the second option because it’s faster and I think that all of my Tweeps’ little pictures add diversity to my feed! It allows everyone else to instantly see who is partaking in the conversation.
2. Should I RT #FFs that I’m included in?
Again, this depends. I have more Tweeps than the average person, so this method no longer works for me; I would flood your feeds! If you have a smaller following, then go for it! However, the best way to thank someone for the #FF love is to include them in your #FF recommendations! If you’re already doing that, then there’s no need to RT or send them a thank you tweet. However, I do RT personalized #FF tweets. If someone takes the time to say why I should be followed, then I’m going to RT it. Does vanity have something to do with it? Maybe.
3. How much is “too much” or “too little”?
As I’ve said in a previous “Teach Me How to Twitter” post, you need to have a fairly even mix of original content, @mention convo tweets, and RTs. If someone’s entire page is full of RTs, then they look like you don’t have much to offer. If people barely ever RT their Tweeps, as @lisa_beebe says, “I secretly suspect they’re too self-centered to be worth following.”
Other times, you just need to play it by ear. You may publish a blog post that a ton of people @mention you about in a single day. If they are adding to the conversation or praising you, then those tweets are valuable enough to be RTed. Most of us suffer from RT addiction, so we’ll understand!
Final word: Go with your gut, but be conscious of how your actions impact your relationships with your Tweeps. Find that balance and RT away!
I cannot tell you how relieved I am that someone finally said it – FF# are annoying. I try to RT them or at least say thank you. But I will sometimes wake up to 15-20 of them and to me they aren’t very personal. I would rather get a lovely how are you or give a “you rock” to someone special.
I regret that I don’t retweet enough. There is so much that is worthy of a retweet on my stream. I often set aside time to just do that and I do it better from the actual Twitter screen than Hootsuite. On Hootsuite I can’t see a lot of the really good stuff. And, of course, I try to retweet someone who has RTed me. I actually go to their timeline and look for something they would want RTed. Often, I find that their TL is full of nothing but RT they have sent.
This is another great post. You are the Twitter Maven we all wish we were, Miss Kelley!
I wish I had read your great comments when I first found out about Twitter. It would have saved me from a lot of grief and a lot of mistakes I’ve made.
As always, great advice, Kelley. I’ve learned a lot from you about Twitter, and it is beginning to show in my book sales, so thank you!
Great post, Kelley and some very interesting thoughts. I used to really appreciate the #FFs and #WWs and #MMs and #SOs and myriad other pound-ish mentions. I even used to keep up with (I think) Shoutout Helper, or something like that.
I still admire people who try to keep up with shouting their Tweeps. As you mention, however, once you cross an arguable threshold of followers (and followees) you just can’t keep up. It’s mathematically impossible.
I have to say this for the record, though: every single time I see your handle in my Tweetstream I have this UNCONTROLLABLE desire to reply to whatever you tweeted with “YOU’RE BOOKISH”. I know, it’s borderline creepy but I usually control the urge, so that makes it less so. I think.
Great points, Kelley. Twitter is such a vast space with so many possibilities. There is so much information there but also too much junk. Learning how to navigate through useless tweets to what’s interesting and informative, is not too difficult.
I often RT my friends’ links, if I know the content is good. I never RT, “just because”. After all, I don’t want to send useless stuff to my own followers. As for #FF or #WW, I participate but on a small scale. I include people that I already know – just to give them a small token of appreciation. I also thank those who include me in #FF or who RT my links. But what’s most important to me on Twitter is keeping in touch with friends and tweeps that provide good content. Retweeting, #FF-ing, etc. is not enough. I appreciate those who post simple stuff like what’s going on in their lives, what their plans are etc. After all, Twitter is like a party – if someone runs around, only repeating what others already said, is he/she doing a good job at the party? Soon enough other people will notice that this person is not worth hanging out with. But those who walk from one group to another, shaking hands, exchanging jokes, and simply chatting, appear personable, approachable and people will definitely remember them and want to keep in touch.
I ended up here because of Jeri’s post about the ABC blog award, but it was like I was meant to come here for this post. I’ve always been so confused about RT etiquette, so this post was very helpful. Thank you!
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