Me, I’m trying to find a balance. I see it as a source to meet new people who have new ideas and concepts that I may have not been exposed to before. Then, by scanning their tweeting activity, I can quickly get a sense of whether or not this person and I have mutual interests and value systems.

If we do, I usually follow them. I’m pretty lenient, because I like to be exposed to a broad array of ideas. I see Twitter as a place to meet people, while relationships can be built by email, video chat, and in person meetings.

What’s most amazing to me about this post is that it assumes that everyone on Twitter is there because they’re somehow involved in social media and/or using it as a business tool.

Which is not really the case and will become much less so as more “regular people” discover it and use it in a way that makes sense for them, e.g. an asynchronous version of IM (Sort of how FB has changed over the past 2 years.)

I’m with you GS, it’s laughable/pathetic when adults are begging for followers like that. (And NB: HAVING lots of followers is very different than BEGGING for lots of followers.)

Oh, and finding out that at least a third of my followers care more about my chihuahua mascot than what I yap about all day long. That’s always sobering.

While I still believe that Twitter — and social media, in general — is overrun with those whose primary goal is self-promotion, I no longer hold steadfast to the absolutes of what that means for the community overall. But I do hold true to my belief that the community would be better served if those who comprise it would put the collective good, and value for all, above forwarding their own agenda. And I still contend that more meaningful — and sustainable – advancement will occur when there’s harmony within the community; and when you take the time to get to know the people in your network — and yourself – in the process.

I have achieved amazing things through Twitter from wonderful new friendships to forging successful business partnerships; but I never once asked for any of it to be bestowed upon me, or actively sought it out. And I find that the opportunities that have resulted are the best suited for me because they were brought to light through genuine interactions, based on my thoughts and values, and through which I’ve been able to discover new things about myself — and my interests — that I hadn’t even realized. Things that have led me to exciting initiatives in which I would not have engaged otherwise. And smart, insightful people with whom I likely never would have interacted.

So, above all, this discussion has brought to light the importance of remaining open-minded, and as my followers continue to increase, I believe that lesson is more important then ever with the growing number of divergent views and perspectives that will now be entering my daily purview.

Through this experience, I have also learned that:

1. People value passion – even if they disagree.
2. Communities thrive on challenges, not mandates.
3. The only thing worse than having an unpopular point of view is not having one at all.
4. A strong voice can inspire someone to find theirs.
5. Letting others speak is not the same as caring about what they have to say.
6. There is greater wisdom in criticism than praise.
7. Saying the same thing doesn’t always mean the same thing.
8. Courage of conviction is meaningless without courage of heart.
9. If you believe in yourself, others will too.
10. There is a time to lead and a time to follow.

And, most importantly, debate with an open mind but listen with an open heart.

I don’t know anyone who calls themselves a “rockstar”, people call other people that I think in an effort to flatter them or kiss up or as a joke to a friend. Some Twitterers with tens of thousands of followers might have ego problems but part of that is do to the way others treat them, as if getting a reply back is a sign of their importance or that they are their friend. That is hardly the fault of the Twitterer they are trying to get attention from.

I agree that blog entries with titles like “How to get more Twitter Followers” border on a ridiculous obsession with numbers. But numbers don’t necessarily mean popularity it means people want to hear what you’re saying. But most of the people with a lot of followers have their share of people who criticize them mercilessly. They still want to read what they are up to though.

I wonder how your view might change if your numbers suddenly doubled. I’ve found that it’s easy to criticize those who have more than you but when you are in their position, you act exactly the same. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I don’t think anyone is saying that if you merely mention numbers, you are dead to me. Personally in any case, that is not the reason I might choose not to follow a new follower or eventually unfollow someone I did follow. I have mentioned my own numbers in tweets in the past so that would be pretty hypocritical of me.

But I do place a lot of importance on at least minimal interaction with those in my network. With a few exceptions which I knowingly chose to have in my stream, I have exchanged tweets with most of my followers or those I follow myself. Not all of them are “close” to me, but none of them are there just to inflate my numbers.

But with that said, I also don’t think anyone here is saying that those using Twitter just for numbers are jerks. If that is what they want out of this that’s fine by me. But I don’t have to follow them in return and my motivations are different that’s all. That doesn’t mean I think anyone else not doing this for the same reasons as me are wrong.

Sent this tweet as a subtle message to my friends who I thought were focusing on their numbers too much. Yes, my friends. People who I know well offline. So, although this behavior indicates to me that someone is possibly missing the point, because I know them well I can’t just assume they’re jerks. I know they’re not.

Face it, we live in a competitive world. I think that many new to twitter bring that competitiveness to twitter and with that scoreboard right at the top of the screen can easily get carried away.

There are many smart people with great content who we don’t yet know. That unknown content provider for the first time, with social media tools, has an outlet. Hard to blame them for wanting to get heir content to more, faster. Don’t we all.

I’d like to make an easy rule for myself that says if you mention your numbers, you’re dead to me but that’s just not realistic. My nose will be gone and my face spited.

I agree with everything you said here and then some. I found a quote a couple weeks ago that sums up exactly how I feel about Twitter, and all the rest of social media:

“It isn’t kind to cultivate a friendship just so one will have an audience.” – Lawana Blackwell

It’s as simple as that. Numbers don’t mean squat if you don’t interact with your followers. I have 700+ followers and I honestly have no idea how I got so many, but I try to follow just about everybody back and have an almost even ratio. I try to engage in conversations I find interesting, and as Amber said, Tweetdeck is a Godsend for that reason.

But I do notice some people will follow me, I’ll go to their profile, and they’re total broadcasters only talking about themselves and not interacting, so I won’t follow back. A few days later they unfollow me, and it’s obvious they were only in it for the numbers.

I can’t pay attention to every single tweet in my twitterstream, it’s simply not possible. But every time I do see a person say, “I’m almost up to X number of followers,” I unfollow them immediately just to crush their fragile sense of self-esteem because they’re obviously on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.

here’s where i’m at…kinda new on twitter…reading a lot…adding slowly…and at the honeymoon period of figuring out who i want to interact with and who i want to just observe. reading a lot and jumping in to comment infrequently. it’s difficult to feel out who i might vibe with on a more frequent basis.

but as i tried to get to “know” people through their posts and interact with folks that i may want to build a kinship with, i realized this last week the same exact thing: “And the only way you could truly have a relationship with thousands of people would be if you had thousands of years to nurture them, and last I checked, that’s one thing the Internet can’t do.”

so…i’m changing my focus a bit. moving from making staetments to asking questions. using people’s specialties as a resource to enhance my education. and in turn, trying my best to be a resource to others. in this collaborative learning environment, we won’t be sharing house key copies but we certainly will become better versions of ourselves. life learners always need more teachers and more students.

and so my question today: what was one of the most valuable things you have learned from twitter? not about twitter. but through twitter….about you, life, or something that enhanced your life…

My sister in law calls many of these people her “fake friends.” In my estimation. I’ll be fortunate if a mere 5% become valuable friendships and another 5%, valuable business contacts. The rest I equate to meeting someone at a party with whom you can interact for a short period of time.

This is not to say, however, that I’ve not gained valuable knowledge from engaging in Twitter; indeed, in the short time I’ve spent tweeting, I think that it’s added much value to my knowledge base and ability to maintain fluidity in my work and life.

I want to thank you for having the courage to draw attention to this and also, for the wonderful insight you lend to the twittersphere.