A forum for discussing matters of moment, from a curmudgeonly perspective. (The ideas posted here do not necessarily represent those of any organization with which I am a part). Rude and insulting remarks will not be published, but civil disagreement is welcome.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Twitter Query
How do people--I mean non-celebrities--get these huge numbers of Twitter followers? I only have about 140.
I've a large, not huge, following (just under 700), which I got by following nearly anyone I could find in two communities I'm involved in: #tcot and #primal. Most folks will follow back.
I think--and this is an educated guess--most folks with thousands probably use some sort of tool.
Or, people care more about celebrity and gossip than they do truth, deep philosophical discussion, etc. This is the same reason why Douglas Groothuis makes a modest income for doing some of the most important work on earth, and Paris Hilton gets paid tens of thousands just to show up at parties.
Persistence is definitely a factor. If they've been on Twitter for years, a cumulative effect is natural. Early adopters also have an advantage.
Some people also have sites with readership in the high 1000s, giving them another way to boost their follower count.
I think some are also just good at networking. The successful user follows and promotes the popular Tweeters in his niche areas, both because he likes their content and because he hopes to attract their attention and their ReTweet power.
(Did I just use the phrase "ReTweet power"? Internet lingo is still generating the weirdest phrases.)
I think you should take it as a compliment. I take twitter to be the equivalent of expressing ones belief system on a bumper sticker. The majority of your readers are deeper than that.
I signed up for your Twitter. I have been reading your blog for awhile on my Google Reader. Some bloggers include a Twitter icon/link for readers to sign up to their accounts,
I've a large, not huge, following (just under 700), which I got by following nearly anyone I could find in two communities I'm involved in: #tcot and #primal. Most folks will follow back.
ReplyDeleteI think--and this is an educated guess--most folks with thousands probably use some sort of tool.
@tangentrider
Or, people care more about celebrity and gossip than they do truth, deep philosophical discussion, etc. This is the same reason why Douglas Groothuis makes a modest income for doing some of the most important work on earth, and Paris Hilton gets paid tens of thousands just to show up at parties.
ReplyDeletePersistence is definitely a factor. If they've been on Twitter for years, a cumulative effect is natural. Early adopters also have an advantage.
ReplyDeleteSome people also have sites with readership in the high 1000s, giving them another way to boost their follower count.
I think some are also just good at networking. The successful user follows and promotes the popular Tweeters in his niche areas, both because he likes their content and because he hopes to attract their attention and their ReTweet power.
(Did I just use the phrase "ReTweet power"? Internet lingo is still generating the weirdest phrases.)
@kevinjjones
I think you should take it as a compliment. I take twitter to be the equivalent of expressing ones belief system on a bumper sticker. The majority of your readers are deeper than that.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for your Twitter. I have been reading your blog for awhile on my Google Reader. Some bloggers include a Twitter icon/link for readers to sign up to their accounts,
ReplyDelete