Welcome to Twitter.

It’s a magical place. News, blog posts, websites, photos, video, music, thoughts, ideas, gossip and opinions are shared in their millions, in real-time, at the click of a button. Members are free to literally say whatever they want.

And sometimes, the things that they say will upset you, and you are going to get offended.

Whatever are you going to do?

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Want to know the quickest way to get somebody to not follow you on Twitter?

By asking them in a tweet.

Sounds backward, doesn’t it? If it’s somebody you know, then sure, go ahead, but most of the time openly asking a stranger to follow you on Twitter is the worst thing you can do. I mean, why would they? It’s like going up to somebody random in the street and insisting you both exchange phone numbers.

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We know, we know… you’re busy.

You certainly don’t have time to waste updating all those different social networks. So why not link up your Twitter and Facebook feeds so you can update both with the single click of a button? That’s just good, common sense. Right?

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In July 2006, when Twitter first opened its doors to an unsuspecting public, two metrics have been permanently on the top of everyone’s ‘must do better’ list – your followers total, and the number of click-throughs you get from the links you share in your tweets.

Like most communities, Twitter comes with its own set of norms and expectations, and the language and style that you use in your tweets can have a direct impact on how those messages are received by your followers, which can lead to more – or, indeed, less – click-throughs, depending on what you have said and how you have said it.

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We’re all used to the 140-character limit by now, but do you know how it started? Here’s a little history lesson for anyone wondering why they’ve got to condense their thoughts into 140-characters or less – and how to get around the limit without turning off your followers.
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A couple of years ago I wrote a fairly popular post entitled 16 Reasons Why We Might Unfollow You On Twitter. A lot has changed on Twitter over that period, so it’s time for an update.

(And a look at it from the other perspective.)

Want to know why nobody is following you on Twitter? Or why lots of people are unfollowing you?

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Two quick pieces of advice about follow/unfollow etiquette:

1. You don’t have to let somebody know when you’re following them. Twitter does that for you via email, and if the person has opted out of receiving those communications then they’ve done so for a reason
2. You don’t have to let somebody know that you’re about to unfollow them. Even if you tell them why (in bone-shattering detail), what exactly are they supposed to do about it?

Grovel to win you back? See the error of their ways and do a complete 180 with their life? Ask you to marry their daughter?

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Aaah, Twitter etiquette. That murky, often overlooked aspect of Twitter that says it’s OK to add your personal touch to tweets, but that you shouldn’t tweet too many times at once. We’ve got you covered, though, if you’re looking to navigate the Twitter-verse. Today we’ll take a look at mass following on Twitter, and why you should almost never do it if you want to see a modicum of success using the microblogging service.
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Deepak Chopra is, according to his official website, the author of more than sixty books translated into over eighty-five languages, fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Adjunct Professor of Executive Programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization.

Time magazine credits Chopra as “the poet-prophet of alternative medicine”. Chopra typically writes on subjects such as the mind-body connection and spirituality, and recommends ridding oneself of negative emotions to improve health and wellbeing.

It was somewhat surprising, then, when he responded to some criticism on Twitter by publicly telling the person involved to ‘shut up’.

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In many ways, Twitter is a gift.

Managed correctly, Twitter allows anyone – massive brands, start-ups, entrepreneurs, mom-and-pop businesses and pretty much everybody else – to build an engaged and receptive network with whom you can share your story. Everybody has something to say. Twitter allows you to do this, as often as you like, with some satisfaction and often great reward.

And all for free. Your only real investment is time.

That time shouldn’t be wasted, but it also shouldn’t be abused. With Twitter’s great power comes great responsibility.

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