I got a call from a friend today who writes for Esquire asking me what I thought the ‘top 5 twattiest things to tweet’ are to help him with an article he’s working on. Yup, twetiquette is now not only a concern of the digerati but also the discerning gentleman (who also likes boobs). Fair enough.
Having had a think about what tweets do make a twat i’m increasingly left thinking that there are no rules. It all comes back to spam: Some people think that my tweeting what I had for breakfast (Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes, since you ask) is tantamount to spam; others might find it to be an edearing foible about my character (possibly). The point however, is that whilst Twitter’s detractors will suggest that such life streaming is vain, dull and no better than spam, it’s supporters will argue it is a window in to the life and thoughts of others. On this basis, who’s to say what is or isn’t legit for a twit? Indeed, the very fact that one opts to follow a users stream demands that if you don’t like the content of said stream, UNFOLLOW! Certainly don’t whinge about it.
Seriously, tweet what you damn well please – people who like your content will follow, people who don’t won’t. Some people might like to offer up a link to the hilarious video on YouTube of a dog pooping on a baby, others might like to share the contents of their tummy and some might like to share pictures of their fabulous life. None of these are spam and none of these things are twatty… well, they might be… to you. But that’s the point.
So, is the very concept of Twetiquete dead? Hardly. It’s just the rules are pretty much the same as they are in real life: Don’t be a dick.
On this basis my top 5 recommendations for not being a twatter:
- Don’t just post a link and expect clicks: explain what you’re linking too
- Don’t steal: always credit a link/ quote/idea/joke to it’s source (using @reply)
- Don’t be rude, slanderous or unkind either to followers or general peoples
- Be judicious in your use of caps lock: like in real life shouty people rarely have the most interesting things to say
- Don’t treat Twitter as a broadcast medium: it’s a medium for conversation. If people take the time to ask you a question or engage with you in some way then @reply them back (c’mon how long does a 140 character message take to write?!)
