How YOU should tweet

by tdhurst · View Comments

Just kidding. You can use Twitter however you want.

Like to write bad poetry? Go for it. Need to tell us about your kids? Feel free to do that to. Just don’t expect anyone to care.

Twitter is now mainstream. It’s getting more users by the day, yet 10% of the users are responsible for 90% of the traffic. @GuyKawasaki is one of those people. Is a recent post, he shares his methods for using Twitter, including the use of ghostwriters, his massive need to share links he likes and his admission that he doesn’t reply to anything that doesn’t have GuyKawasaki or AllTop in it.

WHY THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE FOLLOWING HIM? I’m curious as to what you’re looking to get from it. What’s the point of using a two-way medium to only communicate one way? Do you feel good that you’re a part of some group (which is no longer even kinda of exclusive)?

Get all yourselves. Stop following the popular people because you think it’s cool. Follow the interesting ones. The world has enough Guy Kawasaki, what we need is more of YOU.

{ 8 comments }

Rail Life July 6, 2009 at 8:39 am

Hey, man… Why don’t you care about my kids? I thought we were friends!

I find that many of the “big” people on Twitter bore me to tears. I am not a huge fan of one way streets.

jose July 6, 2009 at 8:43 am

“The world has enough Guy Kawasaki, what we need is more of YOU.”

I think that’s one of my favorite things that I’ve read about interacting on Twitter.

If more people spent their time & energy on being themselves (which you think would be simple) rather than worrying about who they’re following, who’s following them, and in what quantities, they’d get a lot more out of it.

Anthony Argenziano July 6, 2009 at 9:18 am

Agreed 100% Great post! I could care less what Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, or any other celebrities have to say on Twitter. One way communication belongs somewhere else, anywhere. Just not on Twitter…

WesleyTech July 6, 2009 at 9:33 am

I follow Guy Kawasaki briefly. I found that his constant stream of links added nothing of value to my Twitter stream, so I unfollowed. No idea why he is so popular.

Katie Charland July 6, 2009 at 11:54 am

It seems like those that are new to twitter don’t have enough direction, just a lot of noise. Unfortunately they are going to follow the ones they hear about. I remember when I joined Twitter in November, all I heard about was Guy. Luckily I was smart enough to read his tweets before deciding against following him, but I think mostly it’s just people wanting to feel part of the game.

Dinx July 6, 2009 at 2:04 pm

Very well-said! Thanks for sharing . And I do hope more of the ‘common people’ (like me) take heed! :) Celebrities slay me with their constant patronising attitude and stream of twittwat.

Mike Smith July 6, 2009 at 4:51 pm

“Stop following the popular people because you think it’s cool. Follow the interesting ones.”

Thats my fav piece from this whole article. However, the whole article is spot-on.

I follow some of the bigger names like Guy Kawasaki and a few others only because I enjoy checking some of the links they post – However, I vary rarely (if ever) even try to talk to them since it’s more than likely not that person anyways.

I’m busy following awesome people like @tdhurst ;)

Chris July 6, 2009 at 5:12 pm

I followed Kawasaki for about a day. Talk about overkill!!! It’s like he was deliberately hogging my Twitter feed. He’s a smart man, but I’ll consult his blog or whatever else he writes on an as needed basis. The folks who apparently are OCD with respect to sharing what they know quite frankly WEAR. ME. OUT.

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