Twitter Spotlight: Follow People with Different Interests
Here’s a question that people always ask me: why should I follow so-and-so? His business is completely different than mine! Why would he be interested in what I do?
We Each Know 600 People
Although the number is always changing, the average number of people each of us knows is around 600, according to this New York Times article, The Average American Knows How Many People? And each of those people knows 600 people, too. So the odds of someone seeing your tweets grows exponentially when more people follow you.
We Are Social Creatures
Back in the day, people might find articles and cut them out to send to each other. Now, people share links, tweets, and videos. So if your tweet, link, or video is easy to access, guess what? It could get shared by the right person. If your Aunt Betty sees your tweet about something her nephew is interested in, there’s a good chance she could share it. By the way, although you’re social, you might still enjoy the analytics behind Twitter.
3.435 Degrees of Separation
We all know about the Six Degrees of Separation and the Six Degrees game that came after it. But on Twitter, that six degrees number is smaller. It’s either 4 or 3.4, depending upon who you talk to. There are lots of studies quoted on the Six Degrees of Separation Wikipedia entry. In other words, it’s easier to connect with people on Twitter than elsewhere.
Who Should You Connect with?
When you first get on Twitter, you might only want to connect with a few people. But once you get comfortable, why not connect with more people? For instance, I retweet things about packaging and manufacturing because a couple of people with those accounts have become friends. By the way, you might have missed my article: Twitter Lists for the Power User.
Need to Get Started?
Need to Get Started?
Here’s a good five-minute video by my buddy You Too Can Be A Guru: Twitter in Five Minutes! Yes, it’s from 2011. It’s a classic. And while you’re on Twitter, follow her, too! (@YouTooCanBeGuru)
Who Have You Met Accidentally?
Who Have You Met Accidentally?
Serendipity often plays a role in meeting people. Who have you met by happy accident? Leave me a comment. And thank you.
I agree with this with my whole being.
I advise people to follow folks in parallel industries. So, for example, when I was a contractor, parallel industries are real estate brokers and manufacturers.
Also, if you’re a business who works with other locals businesses, you want to follow people in your area.
Also, you never know who is behind an account and how many accounts they’re also in charge of and who they know. Social media managers are the brokers of the online world.
Another consideration is not allowing yourself to get myoptic. You can get so blinded by your own jargon and being in the inner circle of your inner world that you forget there are other people out there.
There are studies where those really awesome, beautiful web sites that scroll and scroll confuse the average web surfer. They often see the information above the fold and don’t know there is more scrolling. This doesn’t even mention the fact that people scan websites in an F pattern. So if you only talk to your own friends who all love this website design, then you’ll never understand why you’re having a small time on site, UI issues, etc.
Also, thanks for sharing a link to my video.
You have just the right way of explaining things! You and Bridget both – great post.
Thank you, Sandy!
A client asked me those questions this week, so I figured others might have the same questions. Not everyone spends as much time on Twitter as we do!
Thanks again, I appreciate your stopping by.
Sincerely,
Carol
Hi Bridget,
Thank you so much. This post was based on real client questions, and I suppose one client could reflect what many ciients believe. Yes, on following in parallel industries. And as you say, we don’t know who’s behind an account. We are the brokers of the online world, for sure.
I love your point about getting myopic. We need to be able to see us how others see us, and having many different followers allows us to get that 20,000 foot view.
Thank you so much for your comments, and for always supporting and inspiring me to do better.
And you’re welcome for the link to your video!
It cracks me up that 2011 is considered “Classic,” lol! I feel like things change so fast these days that the way we used to think of time is changing—like things decay more quickly. It sure would explain why my iPhone has to get replaced every year >:(
Oh, right, Twitter. You know, I wouldn’t say I’ve met anyone accidentally yet on Twitter (though maybe Robert Nissenbaum counts, but he did that on purpose :) However, I HAVE stumbled across businesses I wouldn’t have found otherwise, and I’ve gotten to know businesses and game developers I admire through Twitter, so that’s pretty cool!
You’re right about time changing and 2011 being “classic.” And Twitter has only been around since 2006, so it’s still a pre-teen! Planned obsolescence is probably at work on the iPhone issue (mine no longer pairs with my car, so maybe I need to buy a new car!).
I’ve met and had so many accidental encounters on Twitter. I love how that works.
Cool about Robert Nissenbaum! It’s funny–seems like he was just there one day. Now I can’t remember when he wasn’t there.
Thanks for the comments.
Carol
Hi Carol
I’ve had a few people get in touch with me via twitter who have subsequently become collaborators. Twitter is a great way for me to get on and staying on people’s radar. It sometimes leads to deeper conversations via email. However it’s not easy. There’s so much noise on Twitter and social media in general.
But that’s marketing, I guess. We need to find a way to break through the noise!
Clement
Hello Clement,
I’ve found Twitter to be like the big, friendly, noisy backyard party where there’s beer, loud talking, and occasionally fireworks. From there, I might meet that person on a chat, move to Facebook, or maybe even meet in person somewhere like a conference.
Yes, we need ways to break through the noise. Blogging provides a quiet space. Maybe it’s the quietest space.
Carol