A Letter To Those Of You With 1,500 Twitter Followers Or Fewer
Yesterday, shortly after the events in Boston started to unfold, a person who is very well known online still had their automated posts flowing into Twitter. One such post mentioned something goofy or something seemed inappropriately light-hearted for what was going on at that time. A person retweeted that post and mentioned that it was inappropriate. “This is why you shouldn’t automate your tweets” was the message with the shared post.
Shortly thereafter, the well-known person issued a pithy, not automated tweet. They said, “I love how people with under 1,500 followers are telling me how to tweet.”
To me, this means that this well-known person not only was taken off guard by a very appropriate criticism, but then they looked at how many followers the tweeter had before responding. Would this response have been different if the critique came from someone with 100,000 followers? Logic seems to indicate yes.
I have never wanted to write a “call out” post so badly in all my life. There is so much wrong about this exchange, especially during a time when people need love, support, and a sense that the world isn’t falling apart. But I don’t want to use this time to rip someone up. Instead, I want to build up those of you who may have seen this comment from someone you may look to as a role model, from someone you felt you were learning from, and I want to tell you that these words are not anything you need to pay attention to.
Some of the most amazing people I know have 1,500 followers or fewer. If they don’t know, they did at one point. I still remember (with the occasional nightmarish flashback) how frustrating Twitter was when I first got started. More than 1,000 followers? Are you kidding? I couldn’t get anyone to talk to me. I was stuck at 67-75 followers for months, and each follow or unfollow was ludicrously meaningful. When I got to 100 followers I felt like trumpets should be blowing, although I was sort of ignoring the high percentage of spam bots that made up my following. Details, details.
Anyway, the number of followers you have on Twitter does not matter. Certainly it does not pertain to your value as a person or the value of your advice. In the above scenario, who do you feel was more right in their actions? Who do you feel is more attuned to what is appropriate during a tragedy? It’s not about the number of followers. And clearly, how many followers you have does not improve you as a person. A person who is truly confident in themselves can accept criticism with grace, no matter how many followers or “fans” they have. Followers, like money, can’t buy you love.
When I follow people, I don’t look at how many followers they have. I look at how they interact with the people who are following them. I look to see if they are trying to use this online world to communicate, not just promote. I don’t care if you have 16 followers or 16,000. I’ve been at point a. I’ll probably never be at point b.
Does that matter to you?
Hang in there. Don’t let the big cats get you down. And to that person who called out the big guy – good for you. You did nothing wrong. The Emperor really isn’t wearing clothes.
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22928412@N05/4892486499 via Creative Commons
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Good god, seriously?! Who even does that? I guess I missed all such mention because well, I just couldn’t take it and took my kids out for a walk. And hoped we wouldn’t get heckled or something. (Can’t help being a touch anxious, you know?)
@sohini I’m so sorry that even had to cross your mind =/ But yes, it really happened. Unfortunately.
@margieclayman I do remember someone immediately saying that now was not the time to trumpet Pulitzers. In fact I saw that first and then saw the rest of the tweets. And I just couldn’t take it. Ordinarily I’m a newshound. But for some reason, yesterday was not the day.
Just awful.
One day, maybe people will slowly start to grasp the concept of quality over quantity. I would rather have 100 quality followers, people who engaged with me and shared meaningful information than 100,000 followers with no interaction. Great post Margie.
@John_Trader1 I think people forget that “followers” are people…or bots. And some people are great people to know. By using the ambiguous “follower” nomenclature I fear we dehumanize people.
@margieclayman Why can’t we call them “friends” instead of followers? Perhaps a loose interpretation of the word “friend” but it certainly gives us something to strive for insofar as a mission to learn more about that person via quality interaction.
@John_Trader1 People take issue with the use of that word on Facebook. They feel we use the word too freely. Which may be true. But it is a more human term, to be certain.
@John_Trader1 @margieclayman THAT is exactly right! My friends. We are connected, can we be friends? I am here to learn, to laugh and to help.
I have never been a fan of numbers but I had mixed feelings yesterday when the sad and horrible news was shared about the attack.
I saw many people telling others that they needed to do this and that. The problem was that the incident being a horrible one was in Boston. But horrible incidents like these happen all over the world every day and nobody is telling others to stop tweeting or stop automating tweets etc.
That said I think that people need to focus on how these things can be stopped not on how people communicate when a situation has happened.
Living in a colony like Puerto Rico where the U.S. makes the ultimate decision for us we are surrounded by crime and many horrible incidents daily that take the lives of innocent people. We end up having to move out of our Island that was invaded in late 1800’s with our hands tied because there is very little we can do. The relationship with the U.S. also makes us a prime bridge to have drugs brought into the U.S. from other countries. I could only hope that we had all the liberty in the world to implement laws that would fit Puerto RIco well but since we are only a Colony the U.S. decides for us.
Funny again that a place that has freedom of speech has so many issues when people express or share things that don’t go in line with their value systems.
I only hope these incidents of hate and violence stop. But people need to focus on going to the root cause of what causes that not what people are tweeting or sharing on online platforms.
@RaulColon You raise a great point. I remember the first Olympics after 9/11. The American press made such a huge deal. “We’ve been through a terrorist attack and we’re still here.” And you know, as an American it felt almost good to see that. But then you saw countries like Israel march forward, or so many other countries perpetually ripped apart by violence – so much so it doesn’t even make the news here. And I got to thinking, “You know…we’re really spoiled.”
In this particular case, I think the “big name” is in a role of showing people how best to use the tools we have. They have built their reputation on doing that. If you build your professional reputation on doing things in the best way possible, people are going to dissect everything you do, just like an Oscar-worthy actor will get ripped to shreds if they give a crappy performance in their next role. To that extent, I am not bothered by the exchange.
On the other hand, you make a great point. If we were really attuned to what was going on in the world, we’d never want to do anything apart from hug our loved ones all day. It’s a tough world we’re living in.
@margieclayman thanks for understanding what I wrote previously. The words and some of the situations I have gone through have taught me I have to be aware of everything around me.
People should be glad that this only happens as an isolated incident and that in a large country people can walk without major fears for the most part.
Great post, Margie, and handled with class.
I was really disappointed with that comment yesterday. My first thought was “oh no, a social media manager just lost their job”. :/.
Regardless–you’re right. Everyone starts somewhere, and “Internet fame” is not a goal. It’s the very definition of vaporware.
@cynthiaschames Thanks Cynthia.
Agreed. Silly to measure someone’s worth by that number. You need look no further than my absurd follower count to realize that this is not a merit system.
I thought it was a tasteless response, but I think also that it’s no one’s business to tell others what to do, no matter the follower count. Respect people’s choices.
@chrisbrogan I can see how a lot of people would think the critique was out of line. But one could also argue that they were trying to look out for the other person’s welfare. If you are posting about really goofy things while other people are posting about explosions, it can make you look insensitive or uncaring. If I am doing something that makes me look that way I’d want to know. I don’t know if that was the person’s motivation or not, but it’s worth thinking about.
@margieclayman @chrisbrogan I agree with both of you. I feel the response was tasteless. And while I would want to know that people felt that way, I also agree that we all have our own way of handling these situations. I think telling everyone what to do isn’t the right approach either. This is so tricky because there is a very fine line between the two.
@lauraclick @margieclayman @chrisbrogan I cautioned my followers on my FB page to think about turning off automated tweets…and if I was going to critique the person we are talking about, I would have done so privately – just like I do for typos etc. I send a personal message. But he should no better than to respond like that – YES, I’m judging him for being rude and condescending…. in general, I like the guy, but I don’t like that kind of response.
@AmyMccTobin @lauraclick @chrisbrogan It was not a shining moment. I think we are all agreed on that.
@chrisbrogan What does that mean – respect people’s choices? I’m not being contentious by asking. I’m just curious.
Aw, Margie, this was an awesome post. You have a sweet heart, thank you. 🙂
@ifdyperez thanks, lady 🙂
I will never understand how people can buy into their own hype. I just don’t understand it, and I never will.It’s all i can comment right now. I didn’t know that exchange took place but as we enter this medium, and connect with people with such vast experience outside social media, how can any user think anyone with expertise about good conduct has already joined and created little empires (as i trail off into a ranting, raving, mumbling tangent…) ??Bringing it back to the point – I just don’t get how people get convinced that their own hype is true and genuine? It’s just a number beside your name. Settle down.
I will also never understand how to format a comment on Livefyre without losing my line breaks…
@OneJillian I feel ya…I feel ya…:)
Margie – What I love about you is your innate ability to love people no matter what. You see past labels, numbers and stereotypes. You have one of the biggest hearts on the web and I appreciate how you focus on the good in the wake of so much darkness. I hope people follow your shining example after events like yesterday and every day.
@lauraclick Aw. Thanks so much, Laura. I really appreciate that. ((hugs))
@lauraclick Laura, I am so glad you said this! And THIS is the point. She is a shining beacon of hope and class.
“…the number of followers you have on Twitter does not matter. Certainly it does not pertain to your value as a person or the value of your advice.”
Amen.
@Faryna thanks Stan. 🙂
Great job of keeping it classy by not calling anyone out by name. I saw the tweet as well and was surprised at that reaction. I don’t think that follower count reflects who a person is and they should not be judged that way.
@CarrieJKeenan I was surprised to hear about it as well. Perhaps they were just caught up in the moment.
I had the same thought about my Triberr approvals. I had approved a bunch of Triberr tweets and then Boston happened. Automated, scheduled tweets can be a problematic. So I made a few manual tweets which I rarely do.
@margieclayman I really love this post…I want to say more, but my mind is a jumble of today. I totally see why so many of my sm friends adore you!
@lizreusswig Aw. Thank you!!! 🙂
@margieclayman Oh and thank you for sticking up for all of us in the “Under {enter # here} Followers” Club! 😉
@lizreusswig I was there for a long LONG time. And I know too many great people who are there now. Numbers are truly inconsequential. Probably 25% of my followers are spambots anyway. Nothing to brag about 🙂
Hello, Margie
Great article, done with class as to not out anyone (+1 internets for you today).
What I fail to grasp – and this may be my own issue – is how one wrong is less than the other. Both persons publicly “dissed” each other…I fail to see the distinction between one with a higher follower count Vs a lower follower count. Certain actions yield certain responses.
Ultimately, the person could have kept their composure and not fired back at the little guy, but, why should the little guy poke the bear in the first place, when you obviously know it’s automated.
How about something helpful “Hey Homeboy/Homegirl…you may wanna check your autotweets” instead of uninvited criticism of how they handle their stuff.
Meh – either way, I’m not critical of you or your article (of which I like very much) – but how could whomever judge what the person with the automated tweets was doing at that second – what if they were stunned by the events like everyone else, and forgot that their autotweets were going?
Just a different perspective perhaps.
And – thanks again for the article.
Best, Carl G.
@Fat_Head_Carl That’s true. I can 100% understand that perspective. While I agree with the criticism, it is not my style to publicly “out” people. If I was a friend with the big name in question I might have sent them a DM to say, “You might want to turn off your auto posts – they’re making you look bad. It’s also entirely possible that the “little guy” was trying to just get attention, which is certainly nothing to be proud of.
My greatest concern is that I didn’t want people to see the big name’s comment and think, “Geeze, my opinions aren’t worth a grain of salt online.” That’s what I’m worried about.
@margieclayman @Fat_Head_Carl Ha – “Options are like _____ everyone has one.” One has to believe in their own self-worth, and take people at face value.It’s obvious that the little guy has worth…but politeness is a two way street. It’s a learning experience, especially for the jerkface called @Fat_Head_Carl
@Fat_Head_Carl You’re a jerkface? Who said?
I agree with you. Both people could have handled things better.
@margieclayman I know what I am.
*opinions*
@Fat_Head_Carl Great response Carl. Lend a hand before you slap it, you may find that hand reaching out in a welcome grasp someday.
Amen Margie!!!
@kevjkirkpatrick Thanks Kevin 🙂
I don’t think any of us should judge any of us for any reason. The only issue that I had with people and their posts yesterday were when they tried to take advantage of the situation. I’m even okay with those that continued to post as they normally would once the initial reaction and follow up posts were sent. If an auto-tweet wasn’t caught before it went out, it’s not worthy of crucifixion.
And as for snubbing someone for their “lack” of followers. Shame on him but I think almost everyone knows that 99.9% of the tweets that come out of that account aren’t him to begin with. There is nothing wrong with 1500 followers.. matter of fact – that’s a good number. Not everyone is on Twitter because they are trying to be the next “him” 😉
@KristenDaukas I don’t think anyone is “crucifying.” However, as I said below, this person presents themselves as an expert at using these tools. Given that, it’s natural (I think) to be taken aback by a faux pas of this nature. A person that experienced on Twitter should either hire better people or step away before saying something so regrettable. I learned that latter lesson awfully quick when I jumped into the online world!
@margieclayman I apologize – I wasn’t saying that “you” were, but there are so many people that judge others way too harshly on how they do social media. I agree with you 100% that what Guy did was wrong but I still am not sure if it was even him . He doesn’t tweet for himself. However, regardless of WHO tweeted it, it was a bad move and “he’s” definitely taking a lashing for it today.
@KristenDaukas Fair points, across the board.
@KristenDaukas Kristen, you are right, of course, but here is another angle as well… even if it isn’t “him” posting, they post in “his” name. This is what being a leader is all about.
Great article, Margie. Right on, as usual. The whole exchange was just wrong but I agree with KristenDaukas that an auto tweet is not worthy of crucifixion–there were probably a lot that went out as scheduled yesterday. I was buried in my office on a time-sensitive project and sadly, didn’t even know about the bombing until I left my office. If I had had any tweets scheduled, they would have gone right out with me none the wiser.
@KimStebbins It can seem neutral as an action, I agree. However, I saw an autotweet go out around 4:30 yesterday titled something like, “Boston Marathon: Everyone Wins.” Now, on a regular day, that would have been perfectly timed, but yesterday, that tweet came off totally wrong. It brings me back to my general worry about automation – letting your social media presence take care of itself all day is putting your own reputation (ostensibly) at risk.
@margieclayman
@margieclayman tried to post from IPhone unsuccessfully: AGREE 100%. I keep trying to convince the boss that auto-tweeting/posting pretty much sucks…
Thank you, Margie for your insights and integrity.
@margieclayman @KimStebbins very good point and reminder, Margie… thank you for saying that.
Dear Margie,
Just like money can’t buy class number of followers can’t buy the right to talk down to those with less followers. I remember when I was new to Twitter and you were one of the first to actually engage with me and said “come on talk to her!” You taught me the ropes and cheered me along every mile marker of new followers. Quality not quantity is what matters. People out there actually buy followers and never engage with them. I noticed in chats some chat participants only chat with the headliners. They miss out. What if some one is just new to Twitter?
Thanks for reminding Twitter Big Shots to check their ego at the door.
Susan Fox
@gagasgarden It’s a mystery, isn’t it? I’ve never understood those approaches to what is the giant online world. But we know we’re weird, right? 🙂
@gagasgarden A secondary lesson shouldn’t be ignored: Twitter Little Shots, be sure check your egos too.
@gagasgarden This said it all…”Money can’t buy class…”
And why are we afried to call the person out…. So His Name is Guy Kawasaki…. Here we go I call him out….
@jureklepic It wasn’t a matter of fear. I just didn’t want this post to be another “trash this person” kind of post. I’m after something else 🙂
@margieclayman i know u are always after something bigger and better! I just read his rules of engagement based on follower count… makes me sick even more…
Hi Margie,
The followers comment sounds like middle school behavior. Silly!
I like to play this game with my family and ask them if they know … fill in the blank with any social media / blogging superstar … And Katy Perry, Oprah, and Bieber don’t count either 😉 They stare at me blankly.
Follower count doesn’t matter and if you’re basing your value on that, well …
But I also agree that it’s not our business to police others and tell them what to do. Reminds me of the cringe-worthy jokes of many comedians. It’s their job to test these comfort zones, but whether they’ve gone too far or not … so subjective.
Thanks Margie – I join you in solidarity. You have truly encapsulated the social responsibility issues we should all understand about the purpose and use of social media and the wonderful communities of which we are all a part.
People who place that much value on follower count are probably the same ones who purchase followers. YIKES!
– JOSEPH
It’s sad to see how the ‘big shots’ easily make light of issues and then respond in that manner. If that’s what it takes to be big then it really has no meaning at all. Oh well, I’m one of those with 1,500 followers and below so I’ll prolly keep quiet now 😀
Superb post @margieclayman , your heart is always on your sleeve and you wear it beautifully. All the commentary that follows your post is all the quantification necessary to understand the essence of social media etiquette and respect. In any time of crisis or tragedy it is fine to feel with emotion but lead and act with your head.
Yes, it is very hard to have those 1000+ followers. But if you have that, it means that you have perhaps a very meaningful and interesting twitter account. It means you are great at “tweeting”. Maybe you have enticing posts that people love. For us with few followers, we have a long way to go. 🙂
People who look at that person as a role model could find better role models. I’m just sayin’…
Follower counts do matter do publishers, whose business is “mass communicating” and “content distribution.” The follower counts of those followers is not important, however.
Follower counts do matter do publishers, whose business is “mass communicating” and “content distribution.” The follower counts of those followers is not important, however.
Follower counts do matter to publishers, whose business is “mass communicating” and “content distribution.” The follower counts of those followers is not important, however.
Great point about how people measure value. It isn’t about Klout scores or number of followers. Thanks for keeping it classy. I don’t know that I would’ve resisted the urge to rant. It’s true that people look up to Power Players and think their behavior and technique is the benchmark.
[…] This post kicked it off: Guy Kawasaki is too ‘popular’ to stop autotweets during Boston bombings. This post reinforced the point, with kinder language, but with words that bite: A Letter To Those Of You With 1,500 Twitter Followers Or Fewer. […]
[…] you have been on Twitter over the last week, I think you probably all know what I’m talking about. This is a time when the nation should be supporting one another and doing our best to help the […]
[…] you have been on Twitter over the last week, I think you probably all know what I’m talking about. This is a time when the nation should be supporting one another and doing our best to help the […]
Fast twitter followers…
A Letter To Those Of You With 1,500 Twitter Followers Or Fewer…
[…] Perhaps we had all held our tongues for too long while tensions mounted over the tragedy in Boston; Steve was not alone. Margie Clayman wrote a softer, more thoughtful post about the subject on her blog. […]
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