Keeping retweets real

Twitter retweets are something I covet. There I've said it...

They're a great way to get your information out to a whole new set of people that might be interested. There's also that rather contented feeling of having said something that people value enough to share with their followers!

Some of the most interesting feeds I follow consist almost entirely of retweets. Where there is an effort made to select relevant and good quality information, I'm happy to carry on following and letting someone else winnow through the mass of information on the internet to find me something interesting to read.

However, some folks are retweeting anything and everything in their feed. When someone repeatedly starts retweeting the autotweets from their feed (see my previous blog) then you know you're only seconds away from an unfollow - or at least I am.

Then there's that really annoying habit of retweeting any and all follow friday mentions.

Or the one where a person retweets the fact that someone retweeted them.

How about the people that just can't keep their mouse off the Twitter retweet button?

Sending out some good quality retweets is vital when using twitter for business. They help us show what we find interesting and important both as a business and as a person. Retweets demonstrate our values, our expertise, our humour and much more. Your reputation as a business on Twitter will be greatly enhanced if you actively consider the content of retweets as part of your overall strategy.

So, next time you're reading your feed - think about what you choose to retweet. Keep those retweets real!


Edit: Since I first wrote this blog Twitter has introduced a feature whereby you can turn off retweets from specific accounts. It's useful to keep your feed manageable. It's also worth trying to be the sort of person that doesn't get their retweets muted!

Tarnishing the Twitter glitter

One of the main strengths of Twitter is the access you have to so many people.

However, the obvious counterpoint to that is that they also have access to you! (Unless you protect your tweets.) I use Twitter in a business/social hybrid model, so I prefer to have an open feed.

Good quality retweets are the gold dust that makes Twitter glitter.

I've found you need to be selective in what you retweet, but also be fair and return the retweet favour where possible. Receiving genuinely interesting information from your followers is part of the pleasure of Twitter, as is sharing your information with them.

However there is a dark and unpleasant entity lurking in the shadows - the auto retweet bots. These beasts hide in the "cloud" and pounce upon unsuspecting tweets and take them over for their own ends.

Some retweet bots are relatively harmless, like the "knitting" or "coffee" ones. (Don't ask!)

The ones I really have a problem with are those that add their own link to your original tweet and make it look like you endorse them. How many people would bother to check the original content? For example: One of my tweets was hijacked to direct people to a video of someone performing a very bad cover of a rock classic.

I particularly dislike it when bots pick up on my fibromyalgia and then purport to offer a "cure". Peddling nonsense has always been an internet speciality and Twitter is an ideal platform to promulgate the genre!

I know that by choosing to engage on Twitter that I take have to take the rough with the smooth. However, that doesn't stop the intense irritation nor the righteous indignation flaring up on occasions.

All I can do is hit the block button and hope my Twitter glitter isn't too tarnished.