Twitter at Velocity

December 26, 2007 · Comments

At Twitter is tricky sometimes, especially when you have a bunch of people added into the stream. It’s something that I will blog about tomorrow at greater length, but I wanted to just jot something, almost as a note to myself, but that might bear some consideration. Twitter, I believe, is two different things depending on how many folks you’re following, and I believe it should be viewed as completely different apps, or at least uses, depending on which way you’ve got it set up. What follows are some facts and information that will be part of a backstory for an upcoming post. You might find it interesting, just to see what Twitter looks like through a different lens. I wonder what Robert Scoble’s take on this is. He’s got a lot of followers, and I know he reads a lot of his threads, too. (No, not searchbaiting you, Robert, but I bet your complementary post would be equally revealing).

Some Quick Facts

  • I follow 2,548 people (as of Dec 26th)
  • I am followed by 3,059 people (thank you!)
  • 1 page of tweets on the webpage, when following that many, equals just under 1 minute of time.
  • 48 pages back equals 1 hour
  • A typical page of @replies to me equals 1 hour.

What This Means

  • I can’t always respond to everyone’s @reply, but I read them all.
  • I don’t read every tweet you send. No matter who you are. I don’t read every tweet I send.
  • I use Twittersearch and Terraminds extensively, and even then, I miss some of what you’re trying to tell me.
  • Twitter has some bugs that occasionally make you THINK you’ve followed someone, but might not notice that it didn’t go through (It took me 4 weeks to add @judell). Sometimes, that’s why I haven’t added you back.
  • Even if I don’t see your every tweet, you’re probably still a good person.
  • Even if I might not have added you back, what you say is still valuable.

Where This Will Go Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Clarence and I will talk a bit more about the “niceties” of social networks, and how these come back to bite us in some ways. We’ll discuss some of the things that people do in the name of being polite, some of what people do to “lunchbox,” and some of what people do to try and stay on top of it all. It will be a complex post, and Clarence and I both have different ways we approach this. I think it’ll be worth checking out.

But for now, I just wanted to blog the background of what it is to read Twitter at velocity. My way is DEFINITELY not right, nor recommended. It’s just what I do. Your mileage WILL vary.

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  • Still trying out this commenting thing... ;)

    Your timing is great, because I am actually right in the middle of a post about twitter/tumblr/etc.

    While I have a 20th of the followers and am following a 30th of the people you do, I use twitter A LOT, and find even at those small numbers, its difficult to keep up with all the other crap (some call it life) I do.

    I tried for the past week capping the number of people I follow at 100. but, it gets really hard when you want to follow a ton (and a bit embarrassing at times).

    The two basic questions for me:

    1) When you are dealing with twitter "at velocity" does it lose its value?
    2) Also, at what point does Twitter become YAEP (Yet Another Ego Play)? (Given your 10K+ updates you certainly are as much a consumer as being consumed).

    I look forward to reading your thoughts tomorrow!
  • I'm looking forward to it, thanks for the heads up.

    I don't follow even a small percentage of the #'s that many do, but one thing I've begun learned is possible is to filter the stream real-time, by turning SMS notifications on - to my cell-phone - for a small number of those whose comments I do not want to miss. So whether it's a tweat from @chrisbrogan, @susanreynolds, @newmediajim, or my high school friend @jeffwilson, I get it, while leaving the rest of the stream for future perusal.

    But as you so rightly state - the uses for this tool are wide & varied, and in fact, serve as a virtually different application for most regular users.

    Again, looking forward to your insight tomorrow.
  • I look forward to tomorrow's post. :)

    Aloha,
    NEENZ.
  • 1.) Yes. Twitter at this speed is far less useful. Someone with 100-200 friends will manage just fine. At this velocity, it's more data than social interaction. You can make it that, but it's harder to stay tied directly to every conversation that might be of interest.

    2.) It's not an ego game to me, insofar as I don't count that number as a good one or a bad one. It just is. (I am egotistical about my blog, but that's another point altogether). And yes, with well over 10K tweets, I love the hell out of the app. I use it LOTS. And I think there's lots to offer there back and forth. But I'm not there to marvel at someone liking me or not.

    I'm there to hopefully have information flow in two directions. If you check my stats, you'll see that I @ about 30 or so percent of the time. I promote my stuff when I have stuff to promote, but I also promote other people and blogs all the time. I try hard to make it a relationship of information, not just a bullhorn.
  • Can't wait to hear your insight tomorrow.

    When I was at 150 I could pay attention to it all & page back. Now at 300 (a small % of yours) my methodology is different.
    - I've been quieter
    - I don't open it when I'm working
    - if I want to see what a certain person has said all day - I click on their @name
  • The power of twitter that I see is when a mass of users has conversations within their community. 1000 people following 100 friends is a lot more powerful than a few pillars (@Scobleizer, @chrisbrogan, @ijustine) talking to the masses.

    If twitter was designed for use of those who are followed by >2000 than it would be broken for those who follow
  • @Andrew- I quite agree. It's the overlapping circles that extend the value of twitter. (That is, if I got what you just said).
  • Comment got cut off.

    ... who follow under 100, and as the twitter demographics change, I see more
  • @chrisbrogan it would be interesting in your post tomorrow, that if you are using twitter as a data stream versus a conversational medium, that you outline a couple of your tricks/tactics.

    Also outline a bit WHY you think so many people follow you (meaning whats the value people get from your tweets - for example, I know that the primary value of my tweets is pure fluff and humor with the occassional interesting piece of information).

    Plus, given our quick back and forth around the value of comments/response posts, does twitter extend the conversation that begins on a blog, and if so, does it do it effectively?

    My feeling is that twitter is actually a replacement for comments, and that if there was a way to capture the twitter datastream about posts, it would be highly interesting. (For example, in my world, there have been 4-5 tweets about your post, almost the same number of comments here.)
  • @Micah - No idea why so many people follow me. Because they think my tweets are nice? I really don't know, and it would sound egotistical to ask.

    I would hate for Twitter to replace comments, because they're so ephemeral. I want blogs to own comments, because that's where the conversation can stay recorded.

    But interesting to note. Hope it's not that way.
  • I'd LOVE to have 1,000 real life friends. Assuming each friend requires 5 minutes every week, that's 5,000 minutes (or around 100 HOURS) per week to devote JUST to meet 'minimum' friendship standards.

    How much time per week do you spend today with your real friends? I daresay it'll be more than an average of 5 minutes per week!

    So how does this change in the digital world? Humans are still humans. We want (need?) to feel special. The only way I can make you feel special is by treating you personally, recognizing and acknowledging you, interacting one-on-one with you - and that takes time. Energy. Effort.

    It simply is NOT realistic to devote that much to just sustain friendships - and neither is it realistic to expect real friends to settle for less from you... at least unless you have invested a GREAT deal more into your relationship in an earlier phase.

    Coming at it from an email marketing perspective (which is something I've done for a decade now), I have 2 groups. One is a 'one to many' communication group, where I send an email blast to a crowd of interested prospects. The other is a 'one to one' communication group which I count as friends.

    On Twitter, I pruned down from following over 200 people to just around 75 now. Of the 75, almost 60 never (very rarely) tweet - leaving me just 15 frequent Tweeters to keep up with and network with. More personal. More meaningful. More enriching.

    When someone new joins my tweet-stream, I follow them for a while to see if I can keep up with them. If I can't, I stop following them - because that fits my idea of how a relationship develops... TWO-way interest, contact and communication.

    It's also why my email lists are measured in hundreds or low-thousands while others in my niche boast of mailing out to over 50,000 leads. The difference however shows up in RESULTS and RESPONSIVENESS. The owners of 'big' lists often envy my response rates in excess of 25% - while I wonder why the OTHER 75% didn't respond, and whether I need to invest more into our relationship!

    Like most decisions in business and in life, the bigger question in managing a crowd of Twitter followers is NOT to ask how to do it more effectively - it's to ask whether you should do it AT ALL!

    All success
    Dr.Mani

    P.S. - It's for the 'one to many' style Twitter user that I planned TwitZine - http://www.TwitZine.com - and will share some thoughts on that Twitter stream in 2008.
  • I am approaching 500 followers and the weight is finally starting to buckle. I am starting to create a feed of my most valuable twitters, and currently read and reply to most @'s and all DM's. Google reader, yahoo pipes, twitter tracking, twitter search & terraminds. I don't have all the answers either and will definitely be following and participating to this conversation as it's very important to me.
  • Its interesting that you use the word "ephemeral." I was asked today why I have a blog, a tumblog and use twitter. I replied that a blog is long form (more traditional writing), tumblog (short form / random thoughts), and twitter was ephemeral. That rarely do I favorite tweets in hopes to keep them for prosperity.

    So the value of tweets must be in their immediate information?

    Plus, I would ask why people follow you on twitter (an anonymous blog poll? - how retro!) it would be really interesting. I might do the same. I imagine its a mix of: "because you are following me"; "you are funny"; "because you are my real life friend"; etc.
  • Chris,

    Since you are too modest and humble to answer the question why people follow your tweets, I will do the honor.

    I assume most people follow you because you provide mostly interesting and/or useful information. Point blank. It isn't just "brushing my teeth with my other hand as I type this" schlock! I just started following you last month and I look forward to a daily digital nugget from Chris every day.

    Not blowing smoke or kissing tuccus...just being honest.

    Pai
  • It's partly because you are interesting, but it's also because you are generous. You point us to other people we might not ever get a chance to notice by ourselves, people who are interesting, knowledgeable, who enrich us. Your function on twitter is part catalyst, part knowledge broker, part social director (and probably other things to other people).
  • I think one of the reason why Chris has many followers on Twitter and elsewhere is that he's a super-connector. I don't mean to say this to blow smoke up anywhere; it's just a role he's decided to fill.

    I don't this it's right to criticize anyone's approach to using a social media tool. I think when we do that - and I have - we're projecting our own insecurity/fear/shadow/etc. onto that person.

    I strongly believe that we need to let one another play on the new media playground in a manner we each choose to. What works for one won't work for another.
  • Forgot to leave my Twitter URL: http://twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr
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