Seth Simonds - Latest Comments in Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

sethsimonds — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:28:17 -0000

Hi Keith,
I'm glad I have the opportunity to throw a few questions into the mix every
so often.

If somebody provides content that you find valuable, I think the discussion
of whether or not they follow you on Twitter is of little use. If you can
find value that is based on reality and not just the presence/absence of a
direct message option, I think the end result is more sustainable and
perhaps even a bit more fun!

Once you've switched things around and had a chance to get a feel for your
new Twitter space, drop me a note? I'd like to know how things work out for
you.

Thanks!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

@keithprivette — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:39:36 -0000

Seth your perspective is dead on. I have struggled with this one for a while. There are people that dont follow me, but I follow them because of the valuable information they share with their list and afraid I miss out by not following. On the other hand if they dont want to engage me what value is happening between us. I think I am going to take some of your advice and get back to a manageable community of push and pull engaged participants!

It is great to see lately the thought leaders out on twitter taking the lead and really shaping the direction this and all the micro-communities that can be formed and engaged with a more powerful message.

Once again thank you for sharing your thoughts and perspective these are priceless teachings you can not learn in the book, only from livin it in the streets of Twitterville!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

sethsimonds — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:18:21 -0000

I think that definitely works and is a better reflection of how social
interactions work in our day-to-day lives. Best of luck!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

sethsimonds — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:35:25 -0000

I agree with most of what you've said. You left nothing for me to be snarky
about! =)

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

netadept — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:47:59 -0000

I started following a large number of people so that I can see what some people have to say, my thought is to keep following the ones I find interesting.

http://twitter.com/netadept

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

SunnyBuns — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:26:46 -0000

Interesting addition ~ I still follow you because I enjoy reading what you have to say. I have no clue if you still follow me and frankly, it doesn't matter. Everything I read or find interesting does not have to respond to me. I almost never look at how many people are following me and the numbers mean nothing. I have been unfollowing random people recently because they are boring and I generally skim past their tweets. I also unfollow people that annoy me (ie they do nothing but whine). I started using Twitter for one reason and it evolved into something else ... I find that changing once again. Twitter is a virtual microcosm of society and yes some people are *nice* and some people are not. As IRL, different personalities, different agendas, and varying intelligence levels play a part. I am looking forward to a snarky reply :)

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

monedays — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:18:13 -0000

I have always followed the people I find interesting. Some people find I don't follow and unfollow themselves. That's OK too! I hope my tweets are useful, fun, enlightening and interesting to the people who follow me. That means, if they have any content at all, they will probably turn out to be dull, silly, stupid or just not interesting to other people. Fine! For me, it is a lot about engagement. I want to see real people on the other side of tweets that I can talk to, smile at. I call this TWEETING WITH someone as opposed to being TWEETED AT! Twitter should be a way to let your personality shine through. You can't be "nice" all the time, sometimes you just cast a message in a bottle for anyone or no one to see! I have found connection, friendship, info, work projects, cameraderie and wisdom in this media I never thought I would be so interested in. If people take the connection seriously they will, like Seth, find ways to make it meaningful. That can only be a good thing!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

sethsimonds — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:41:27 -0000

Thanks! Knowing that it's okay to be yourself is a huge step forward in
one's social media experience. I'm glad Twitter is really being of some use
to you now!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

bagsnshoes2 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:16:53 -0000

When I first signed up for Twitter, I had a "guru" say, follow everyone that follows you. As a result, I have all but abandoned the account and started a new one. This is bad advice, with the new account, I am quite picky about who I follow. I also signed up for friend or follow and found that I would lose followers if I spoke my mind, I would have never thought this would create a small amount of stress for me but armed with my new lessons, I am no longer concerned with who follows me back. I applaud you for shedding some of your followers and only keeping those that can bring value to your community.

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Wakas Mir — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:47:03 -0000

Exactly. I guess so many spammer scripts are just making lots of newbies so energized thinking that they will be "valued" IF they have a large following. In other words they are fooling themselves for being followed by people who don't even care for their marketing "sales pitches"

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Adam Arnold — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:24:11 -0000

I just created my disqus account and found your reply here... weird part is... my girlfriend just asked for a cup of tea!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

re2 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:01:52 -0000

Agree entirely - although I dont have anywhere near that following or followers, I'm really only interested in following/followers who add value for me. Kind of got side-tracked and went a bit haywire over the past few days but this is a good reminder for me of an important aspect of what I really love about twitter.

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

annemai — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:48:42 -0000

Can't remember, are you coming to 140conference in NY? If so, I'll look for you!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

sethsimonds — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:25:33 -0000

If you read the comments, I think it's rather self-evident. I don't mind. I'll answer any and all questions. The post offered an explanation of my behavior and everyone is entitled to their own opinion as to why I did what I did. =)

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Andrew Bonar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:14:35 -0000

not sure why you got up everyones nose with this :)

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Seth — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:06:19 -0000

Hey Beka!

Now the pressure is on...I hope you were referring to somebody you met through their comment? I mostly say silly things on Twitter. =)

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Seth — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:05:36 -0000

I'd expect your approach to Twitter to be nothing less than strategic. =)

I like running into people who recognize that online relationships, just like everyday ones, ebb and flow. Sometimes, through no fault of any one person, things just lose their glimmer. When that happens on Twitter, people get unfollowed. Sometimes the response isn't positive at all...as if some sort of world-shaking loyalty was expected instead.

But not you! =)

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Seth — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:02:24 -0000

Who is Chris?

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Beka — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:38:13 -0000

I only follow 17 people, as I'm pretty picky about who I follow. However, I'll be following 18 now because of this article, very interesting!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Anne Mai Bertelsen — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:06:34 -0000

Seth - I really enjoyed your post. I do spend a fair amount of time clicking through profiles and recent tweets to determine if I am going to follow someone back. And, I do routinely cull people out who don't provide either insight or fun to warrant following. I do hope one day in meet you in person -- your irreverence and directness are refreshing.

Thanks,

Anne

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Gina Rau — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:56:36 -0000

Chris - Great post. I had started going through my list this week too. It's a great cleansing process. I unfollow people regularly if I feel that they're just spamming me with their links and not trying to connect - that's not why I'm on twitter. It is unfortunate that a lot of people there are just out to promote their product, service or blog though.

I love that twitter gives us a choice. To follow or not. More times that not, it seems, I choose to not.

I'm going through my list again this weekend (Saturday night fun - woohoo!) and looking forward to it.

Hope I earn my way back on your list too -
Gina

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Seth — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:15:25 -0000

Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that and do try my best to communicate with others. Thanks for the follow.

I'm glad you didn't feel like you needed to follow after I'd unfollowed you. I hope more users learn to approach things with the same gravity.

I don't believe I've actually alienated that many people. Why? Because most know better than to treat Twitter like a full-blown relationship. The button you clicked on didn't say "Fall in love with Seth", "Support everything Seth does", "Be friends with Seth", or "Click to have Seth follow you back". It said "Follow."

That's an independent choice.

It has been working out really well. I'm glad I did it. Best to you!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Seth — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:01:36 -0000

Hi! I'm glad you found it interesting!

I think you've got a great system going. It definitely would be nice to see more users choose a different path on Twitter. Some did before me and more are doing so by the day. It's great to see positive changes happening!

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Kim_Lou — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:26:48 -0000

You started following me. I found your content interesting. You communicated with your followers. So I followed you back. Then you suddenly unfollowed. Initially I thought I had somehow offended you. So I stopped following you Then I saw your post (yes, I do pay attention). I don't follow just anyone either (hate the marketers, spammers, people who post nothing but nonsense). But I do wonder if you've gone about this the right way, by alienating so many people in one fell swoop. I don't follow bunch of people - have no desire to. Only the ones that interest me. Someone disgusts me, they're gone. And I clean up to keep things manageable at least once a week. So, yeah, I did notice when you disappeared. Anyway, hope this works out for you.

Re: Why I Unfollowed 45,000 People On Twitter

Mary-Anne Mason — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:03:39 -0000

Good essay. I didn't know it's rude not to follow everyone who follows me. I just pick the ones that interest me. There's one or two spam-meisters I have to unfollow, but I'm usually too busy tweeting away to do it!

It would be very cool if people thought this way about following. Hope you influence many users!