Twitter Follow-Back Decision Flowchart

by Charles Lim on March 4, 2010

FLOWCHART_TWITTER

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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Yaser Alrefai March 6, 2010 at 4:34 am: You just got it RIGHT.
I will tweet this excellent Flowchart.
Many Thanks.
2 sandesh March 6, 2010 at 4:42 am: ha-ha… interesting..but i don’t follow people using this diagram…
3 marco cosimi March 6, 2010 at 2:51 pm: I really hope for an USA Government PEACEBUILDING: to care peace with the reason of the “political mind” and of ” heart’s feelings” near the reasons of common people without different reasons of races, religions or other questions: all togheter to increase humanitary justice for the world:
a new archetype for a new development of Humanity .
To increase reason of respect, freedom, humanitary social development, for a future of freedom. Thanks of your gentle ciberspace !
Dott. Marco Cosimi
4 Diane March 6, 2010 at 3:29 pm: You have created a great flow chart that had me going yes and no to the different aspects to the ” follow” question.

Personally I also look to those people who will answer any of my questions or comments that I make to fellow tweeters.

This may sound a bit iffy to some, but I have noted, that some people are saying things, people respond, but then they think they are too good to reply or is it that they are so into tweets that they forgot that this is about conversing and it helps to respond?

Anyways, that is a very important criteria for me personally.

Thanks for the food for thought and I really got something out of your chart.

eh2 quality following

@blogneta
5 Charles Lim March 6, 2010 at 9:57 pm: Diane,

Thanks for your reply! I’m glad you liked the chart. Definitely the chart is only a simple representation of how we make our follow-back decisions. People use Twitter differently , of course, as some use it to broadcast, to comment, to retweet, to engage, to teach, and to learn. The only rule is that you can’t expect anyone to act in any sort of expected way.

Looking forward to your tweets!
6 Charles Lim March 6, 2010 at 9:59 pm: Thanks Yaser!
7 Brian March 7, 2010 at 12:58 pm: I usually take no more than 10 seconds to vet a new Twitter follower – and I tend to either follow back or block the user.

I use the mnemonic V-I-P when looking at someone’s profile. First is V, “vitals” – looking at their following and follower numbers and number of tweets. Second is I, “interaction” – I look first for replies and second for retweets. I also see if the user’s tweets consist of engaging other users and not just spouting quotes or links or promotional pabulum. Most of the time, I’ve decided “yay” or “nay”. If I’m still undecided, I look at the “P, the profile information and (maybe) their web site.

I can sum up in four words how to get me to follow back a Twitter user: “don’t be a blowhard!” This is the term I use for spammers and others who just broadcast on Twitter and don’t interact with others.
8 Tilla Torrens March 7, 2010 at 9:50 pm: Charles – I just thought of something to add that I check for in someone’s Tweet stream before i decide to follow: do they ever Retweet and do they engage with others in conversation, because that means they are paying attention and not just emitting a constant stream of outbound tweets
9 Charles Lim March 8, 2010 at 10:52 am: @Brian @Tilla I think both of you have brought up great points about the amount of time that a Twitter user engages, RT’s, responds and replies to other users. Definitely seeing someone who merely tries to push out their message without any regard to interaction is gettin an immediate NAY!