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If Twitter isn’t getting filled with noise like spamming quotes, dumb links and self-promotion then it is getting just as filled with the noise of everyone’s conversations.

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If you have been looking forward to my next installment of social media riffing, then you remember when

I first went off on a  riff on follow back courtesy.

After that, there was the need to write about Social Media’s noise and the need for white space.

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Now it’s time to make the “Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver” apply to social media. My view is that it doesn’t matter whether it’s gold, silver, bronze or pink, shut it or get a chat room. There are two parts to this.

Content, Not Compliment: Tweeters feel they are playing their part and promoting those who sent a compliment tweet to them by sending a tweet back saying thanks or wishing them a great day. Lovely. Sincerity and manners is wonderful, but it’s not a promotion, nor is it  meant to be read by all the other people following them. It’s supposed to be personal. Send it in a private message or get a chat room to talk more about how thankful you are. It can stay out of everyone’s Twitter feed.

@@@@@@@@@@@: Responding to a compliment often leads to this: the entire twitter feed is filled with @’s. It doesn’t need to start with a compliment though, it can be catching up with a friend, it can be responding to someones tweet and finally connecting with a tweeter. As I mentioned in riff on follow back courtesy, interaction is the goal, it’s essential. That doesn’t mean you should be constantly tweeting your interactions. You destroy your credibility of providing rich content that way. “@you Thanks for rubbing it in my face that I am not involved in your discussion” If you want a conversation with a potential client, partner, old friend or a new friend – if you are just there to talk, get a chat room will you?

 

Stay Positive & Interaction Is Personal, Content Is Public

Garth E. Beyer

If you are going to tweet someone “thank you”, send it to someone who knows how to use Twitter to provide content and use a chat room to talk about it