I spend a lot of time on Twitter. It may not be the home base that my blog is, but it’s certainly where I hang out. And as a hangout it’s more like a speakeasy because the crowd is limited, just over 200 followers.
That’s because I really want to get to know the people I follow and to learn from them. I never understood how you could do this following 1,000, 5,000 or 10,000 people. A couple hundred seems just about right.
But that doesn’t mean I follow people forever. I add and drop people every day. But the ones that stick around share certain qualities.
They have something to teach. Whether it is cause marketing, social media, philanthropy, public speaking or SEO, they are all experts in their respective areas. They are original thinkers–not just rehashing other people’s stuff–and are the ones others retweet.
They tweet, a lot. The first thing I check when I get a new follower is how many tweets they have. If they don’t tweet a lot I conclude two things. Either they don’t have a lot to say or what they do have to say I’ll miss because their lone tweet will get lost in my stream. Either way, I won’t follow them back.
They talk to me. I know this should be expected on Twitter, but I’m always amazed how many people happily spend their days tweeting away but don’t even try to talk to most of their followers–even when they’re asked a question. The people I follow talk to me and I talk to them. We encourage each other, argue, help each other out and, thankfully, they put up with my jokes and sarcasm.
So, it’s really quite simple to find a spot for yourself in The 200. Be an expert in a field I want to learn more about, be an original thinker and be a prolific and engaging tweeter.
The good news is that even if you’re not all these things you’re probably showing up in my Twitter stream in one way or another. First, use Twitter search a lot and have an ongoing search on “Cause Marketing.” If you mention those two words in your tweet, I’ll definitely see it. Second, I also have a lot of faith in the wisdom and power of crowds to drive great content to the top of my Twitter stream. In short, if you’re tweeting good stuff, I’ll see it. If you’re doing it consistently, it won’t be long before I’m following your tweets.
Of course, we all have hesitations and turn-offs that incline us to follow one person and not another. Here are mine.
Geography is important. I’m very provincial. I tend to follow New Englanders over New Yorkers, easterners more than westerners and Americans instead of foreigners. So if you’re Yankee’s fan living in Japan who grew up in California, I hope you understand.
I don’t follow animals. I will not follow a cat, a dog, a pot-belly pig, a unicorn or Scooby Doo avatar. I want to talk to a human being and I prefer to see your smiling face as your avatar.
Auto DM’s suck. It just screams “amateur” to me and someone who doesn’t get the purpose of social media. I unfollow usually, but not always.
Twitter is by my far my favorite social media tool. I’ve met some great people. And I look forward to meeting more. My policy helps me meet the right people. Do you have a policy when it comes to Twitter? I’d love to hear about it. You never know, I just might follow you back. 
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Noland Hoshino. Noland Hoshino said: My Twitter Policy: How You Can Join “The 200″ http://dlvr.it/Np0S @JoeWaters Pls RT! [...]
Joe, I've tried to follow your "200 policy" ever since you mentioned in last year!
I've very selective in who I will follow … starting with a "no profile, no follow" rule.
As you know, because of my diverse interests, I created two Twitter handles one (@stevedrake) for my business, associations, nonprofits, social media, etc.) and one (@causeaholic) for my passion for cause marketing. This allows me to "collect, engage and sort" followers based on my interests.
My challenge has been "pruning" the list so gradually they have gone about your 200 threshhold.
Oh, I also tend not to follow people who don't have a photo in their profile … afterall, I don't recognize you without your Red Sox hat on!
Steve
Steve, excellent point on no profile, no follow rule. I can't understand why anyone would join Twitter and then not put anything about themselves in their profile. You know what I also don't like, and it's connected with my geography rule, no mention of where they are located. And I hate when people give their iPhone coordinates. That's a big help.
I hope I'm one of the 200. It would suck if I was #201.
In parts I agree with controlling the amount of people you follow. Too many followers can make your Twitter stream chaotic (like a bunch of Twitter birds chirping at the same time). However, there are lists you can create to filter the noise.
Keeping your list to 200 can also make you look "selfish" (which is soooo not you). If someone didn't know you and the contribution you provide with cause marketing and nonprofit biz (not to mention the sarcastic humor, which initially got me to follow you) they would think you were being exclusive because your follower/following is off (unless you're Oprah). Just sayin…
Don't limit yourself to a number but open yourself up to the vast amount of talented people and organizations on Twitter. You might be missing out.
I have a similar approach to controlling who I connect with with the "send to phone" feature on Twitter. I get tweets sent to my phone via SMS from a handful of people (I call "phone worthy"). Whenever the individual or organization sends a tweet, I immediately get notified and I can read their message. This method makes me feel more connected with the person/organization because I 'm constantly updated and involved in the conversation.
All this stuff you know. Just throwing in my 2 cents in the well in hopes my wishes come true.
BTW – You're "phone worthy"
I see where you're coming from on this, Noland.
First, as you know, I'm not hard and fast on the 200 rule. Hell, I think I'm at 249 or something. I wouldn't let a number stop from adding someone good.
Second, you are most certainly on the 200. Hell, top 10. I think of you when I think of all the great qualities in a great twit.
Third, I think you're right on the selfish piece. It can be a real turn off to limit your audience. I know I feel that way when I see someone with 10,000 followers and they only follow 80 people. I think, "I'll never get on her list!" I've never tried Twitter lists. Maybe I should. I think as I expand my business model and dig in deeper with 6FCM I may need to do that anyway. It's interesting cause in the early days of Tweetdeck I use to not segment my followers because when I did I invariably lost my data and had to recreate it again. Fortunately, that doesn't happen anymore, I think.
Interesting you should talk about "Phone Worthy" people. I have 4sq worthy people who I keep the "pings" on for so I know where they are. You just never know what @johnhaydon is up to!
I agree with you on the loads of talented people on Twitter. But it's also bloated with critics, spammers, losers, and egotists. They said in The Godfather to keep you friends close and your enemies closer, but I can't tolerate these people. I'll stick with my friends, thank you. If I have to sleep with the fishes I'll swim with my school.
I agree with a lot of the criteria you describe, and especially in avoiding critics, spammers, losers, and egotists. However, I've found far more than 200 people who are legit, conversational, and above all else, share great content.
I have a lot of diverse interests (I think my nonprofit folks are getting sick of all of my attention to MAPoli lately), which makes it hard to keep single-topic followers; however, I've found Twitter lists or simple Tweetdeck groups are critically important for helping filter the folks who share great content on a range of topics.
I slice & dice my followers up by the type of things they teach me and where they are from, so that even if they don't spend all day on Twitter sending many tweets to avoid being lost in the stream, I still catch them.
Just a suggestion in case you consider following back more people and still want to be able to get to know them, or find content of interest.
Thanks for the comment, Kevin. I think you’re right about eventually having to adopt Twitter lists. I have plans to reach out to more nonprofits about my 6fcm program and I think I’ll need to segment them by area or something.
But I do think it is worth scrutinizing the people we follow to to really see who we should follow and shouldn’t. And this applies if we follow 100 people or 10,000.
@stevedrake I agree. No pic, no profile, no substance = no follow
I tend to check further than your profile if you catch my interest and learn more about you or from you. Can't do that if you don't give me somewhere to start. It's all about getting to know each other and common interests
@Joewaters agree the Auto DM absolutely sucks! I cringe every time I get one. It indicates that you did not even attempt to learn something about me or the company I represent. Even a generic DM mentioning my name or some profile detail will tell me you're more interested in connecting vs. collecting
Geography: I'm a bit more global since virtual means flexible. Americans or anyone can work from anywhere today and still be a valuable resource
Animals: Love em don't follow them either
Thanks for an interesting post
Mati
Thanks, Mati. I love animals too! Especially on the grill.
But when I'm looking at a bunny and reading someone's tweets I just can't take them seriously. I just think "Aren't you a smart bunny."
The geography thing for me is kind of silly, I know. I'm trying to escape my New England roots. As a cause marketer I find the hotbeds for connections abroad are the UK and Aus and sometimes South Africa. I guess I need to grow up.
I'm really just afraid that after reading my tweets they'll laugh at my Boston accent. :/
Joe, extremely helpful post! I've always wanted to be closer to 200 follows but never had actually set my personal "filters" to be able to glean the keepers. I follow a broad group of industries: marketing, nonprofit, fashion/footwear, lifestyle, specialty food — and sometimes it's hard to narrow the funnel down to only 200 (or 249). This helps though…I need to revisit my policies and act on them – knowing the list is dynamic.
Thanks!
@rossmevans
Thanks, Ross! It is hard to cut people. But I always try to remember that if I cut people that are good they have a habit of bubbling up and I'll follow them again. It's also good that since I'm on a lot of social networks I sometimes notice that people are much better on Facebook or Linkedin than on Twitter. So I'll drop them on the latter and follow them on their preferred medium, which I can now follow on Tweetdeck. I also sometimes drop them a note telling them that I'm dropping them on Twitter but am following them here. Seems to work. Thanks for visiting.
You're a guy with good, interesting tweets. You visit lots of places. Live here in Mass and you work in the npo world like me! So we have a lot in common! I expect to follow you at least through the end of next week.
Thanks Joe! It's an honor just to be in the mix…even if it's just for the next couple of days
I really need to develop some sort of plan like this. Even with lists, I think I'm following way too many people and need to trim down that list. But, it's hard because right now I'm following people for so many different reasons. I've got the NP folks; the recruiters and job search folks; handful of friends that are actually on Twitter; etc.
I think the key Sue Anne is to really look at your followers to see first who can add value and, second, who’s really tweeting that value. We all know a lot of people that COULD add a lot of value but they just don’t tweet enough. Dump them. Then there are people who tweet a lot but their tweets just aren’t bringing a enough value. Get rid of them! Finally, there are people who tweet value but it’s duplicated value. And what I mean is that they are just saying what others are saying. Do you really need two people telling you the same thing?
Just did my Twitter Spring Cleaning and took out all the twash! (type intended). Appreciate your follow and vice-versa plus I don't have to hear your Boston accent and you don't have to hear my Savannahian charming drawl.
Deal!
I think the key Sue Anne is to really look at your followers to see first who can add value and, second, who’s really tweeting that value. We all know a lot of people that COULD add a lot of value but they just don’t tweet enough. Dump them. Then there are people who tweet a lot but their tweets just aren’t bringing a enough value. Get rid of them! Finally, there are people who tweet value but it’s duplicated value. And what I mean is that they are just saying what others are saying. Do you really need two people telling you the same thing?
Just did my Twitter Spring Cleaning and took out all the twash! (type intended). Appreciate your follow and vice-versa plus I don’t have to hear your Boston accent and you don’t have to hear my Savannahian charming drawl.
I really need to develop some sort of plan like this. Even with lists, I think I’m following way too many people and need to trim down that list. But, it’s hard because right now I’m following people for so many different reasons. I’ve got the NP folks; the recruiters and job search folks; handful of friends that are actually on Twitter; etc.