Top 10 Twitter Pet Peeves

twitter pet peaves

twitter pet peavesTwitter continues to grow as it celebrated its 7th birthday earlier this year in March. The social network giant crossed the 500 million user plateau and enjoys over 200 million active users. While Twitter continues to be a valuable network, it’s not without some shortcomings. We bring you our top 10 Twitter Pet Peeves!

1. No Photo

Ugh. Come on are you serious? No picture. It doesn’t get anymore 101. Unless your name is John or Jan Doe you need to have a photo. Please, no more Mr. EggHead. Think photo before logo, but please get something in there today.

Mr. EggHeadvia Toast + Butter = Good

2. No Profile

This just in, Twitter is a social network. Having a profile and letting the rest of the world know a little bit about you is a social action. Don’t look like a bot, if you’re not a bot.

3. #Too #Many #Hashtags

Use 3 hashtags at the absolute most, but preferably 1 or 2 for any given tweet. Please pick your spots. Do not have #hashtags in every tweet. Tone it down. Refrain from placing all your #hashtags at the end of the tweet. #ThankYou.

Too Many Hashtagsvia SoyMayquero.com

4. It’s all About Me

Promotion is OK and suggested, but use your head. Our friend 80/20 comes into play for this one. So 2 out of every 10 tweets can be about your site/blog, promo, etc. While that is perfectly acceptable, personally I think it should be closer to 10%. Any more than 20% is annoying. Don’t make your Twitter account a walking billboard!

Twitter Over Promotingvia chaseK8

5. Direct Messages aka DM’s

It’s notorious for being spam central. You don’t need any more spam in your life. If someone has a question or legitimate request, shame on them for sending you a Twitter DM. Yes, it’s a known black hole for most.

6. Begging

Please follow me. Please RT this for me. Please mention. Vote for Me. Any and all blind requests are just in poor taste. Did I mention, Vote for Me? You can vote for me daily over the next 165 days.

Begging on Twittervia Chez Sam’s

7. Thanks for the Follow and Do This

We’ve all seen this one. “Thanks for the Follow, Follow me on Facebook to” with a link attached which equates to more begging for Facebook likes. Don’t get greedy, be thankful for the Twitter follow and don’t push it…

8. Tweeting every 47 seconds

You know who you are. If you’re in a conversation, rapid tweets are acceptable. Don’t be tweeting non-conversational tweets once a minute. A good rule of thumb on the active end is every 15-20 minutes. More than that is a little much.

9. Inactivity

This one is rampant. While Twitter is enjoyable and valuable, there is a ton of attrition. Do everything in your power to be active and consistent. Show up daily. Your experience will be pleasurable and rewarding if you can be active every day.

Inactivity on Twittervia Sun News

10. “My Followers” and “Audience”

Don’t talk about your followers and audience as if you’re on the mountaintop. Some of you think your followers only follow you on Twitter. Get a grip, come back down earth. If we really dissected your account we’d likely find 40-60% of your “followers” have been inactive for more than 30 days, and only about 1-5% are on at any given time. You’re not the leader of a cult, give it a rest.

So what are your Twitter Pet Peeves? Let us know down below.
 

By Steven Hughes

Steven is the Director of Marketing at DashBurst. He's interested in everything social media, blogging, marketing, technology and SEO. He's an avid runner and supporter of social good.

24 comments

  2. Twitter is loads of fun, and has great- maybe the greatest social merit of the networks. I’m still trying to figure out how to work it right.

    2. = Yup… I’m there… but have not mastered the intricacies, Still struggle with TweetDeck, HootSuite, Twittus, TweetDeck, etc. @SBHSBH =

  4. My ‘#ONE pettest’ peeve by far… are tweets that don’t allow room for RTs. 120 is the new 140. I spend *way* too much time Modifying and editing… tweets that I really want to share with my community… And I need a few characters to intro/recommend why I am re-tweeting.

    2. Ha Ha Yes in chats,when time is of the essence…. but not only there.. in general …. It never ceases to amaze me that ppl w much more twitter experience than I, still don’t seem to grasp this most basic premise. “leave me room to RT” PULEEZE…Stop expecting me to do your editing when all I want to do is advocate for you…. #EndRant Thanks Shane 🙂

  5. Sometimes tweeting more often isn’t a deliberate act. I have most of my websites, facebook and other social networks tied in, so when I post there, it shows up on Twitter. I didn’t even realize it.

  7. Good post. All of these are great suggestions for Facebook and G+, but Twitter seems to allow a little leniency in some of these categories. My comments:

    1) No argument and you couldn’t be more correct.
    2) See #1.
    3) I had never considered this before. But I just realized when I see a post with a ton of hashtags I tend to mentally skip over them. I just assume it is advertising.
    4) 80/20 or 90/10 sounds about right… for Facebook. But this is Twitter, I think there is more allowance on this just because of the nature of Twitter. One is almost expected to be a walking billboard. Some of the more interesting accounts even exceed 50%, but only because their content (what they are advertising) is interesting.
    5) I don’t even read my DM’s. But I do read my mentions. If I don’t know you from Adam, then be public with what you are telling me. Otherwise, hit me up on Facebook like everybody else.
    6) Correct, mostly. The 80/20 rule here probably applies. Just don’t cross that line from (occasionally) asking to begging. I don’t think asking a favor now and then is too much.
    7) It’s never bothered me. But I don’t take it seriously unless they’ve interacted with me on Twitter first.
    8) Depends on the situation. Regularly tweeting every 47 seconds is obviously excessive. I’d even say that about 15-20 minutes, if your current situation doesn’t call for it. Now and then, certain situations can call for a bunch of tweets. Just don’t consider using the restroom, eating, sleeping etc. to be such situations.
    9) Amen! Though, I wouldn’t chalk this up to being a pet peeve.
    10) Doesn’t bother me. Let them think what they want. I guess this might come down to context, but I don’t see this happening too often. Just don’t get hyper-excited about followers. As somebody on Twitter once said, Hitler had millions, Jesus had 12.

    My pet peeves:

    1) People with locked accounts. Makes me think they don’t know what Twitter is. This isn’t Facebook. I’ve yet to see an active locked account, these are just people who set one up, get paranoid over privacy, don’t “get” Twitter, and end up leaving after posting a couple of pictures of their kids. I think somebody who follows you on Twitter with a locked account should allow a follow-back without having to seek approval.

    2) More because of the nature of Twitter, but it is hard to carry on a conversation with multiple people. If you have a conversation with 5+ people your comments are limited to half of the 140 characters. It really limits the ability to convey information. 10 people? Forget it.

    3) That stupid service who DM’s you after following them asking you to verify your identity. “We are using robots to make sure you are not a robot.” I’m just trying to follow you, I’m not asking if I can date your daughter. Want to know if I interact or am worth following, take a glance at my feed.

    4) People who have Twitter but don’t use it to interact. I love to read, so I follow a lot of authors. Some of them are fun to follow on Twitter. Many of them aren’t the authors themselves, it is their assistant or something. They don’t get into conversations. They don’t interact with their fan base. It defeats the purpose of Twitter. So many of them assume that because the have a blue checkmark it excludes them from needing to get involved.

    Fun post! Sorry, I hope I haven’t overstayed my welcome.

    1. Hi James – Thanks for taking the time to share your observations and opinions. Greatly appreciated.

      Locked accounts is a good call. Yes defeats the purpose. These people usually want to use Twitter as a communication hub for a small private group.

      The elbow room can close quickly in tweet chats or any conversation with multiple participants. I think sometimes you can pick up more from observing these groups than actually participating.

      Oh yes, good ole TrueTwit. It’s really slowed down over the last few years, but just doesn’t work in reality for Twitter. Twitter is so fast moving and TrueTwit freezes any momentum. Probably sounded good on paper.

      Yes, this probably happens to all of us at one time or another, but yes there are many that will make zero attempt. It must not be in their contract. 🙂

      Stop by any time James…Have a good one

  9. I’m on the same page as you with your 10 Twitter pet peeves. Another two of mine are profiles that don’t indicate a location as it’s nice added context about the people you’re engaging with, and the incredible number of self-appointed gurus out there…. how many can there possibly be?

    Thanks for the entertaining post.

    Matthew.

    1. Hi Matthew – Funny, I was just trying to track down someone’s name because it wasn’t on their profile. Well, it’s no where to found on there site either. Some people want to stay on the DL I guess, but it’s not the best way to go…

      Yes, tons of gurus, and more than enough ninjas and rock stars…

  11. I use Twitter with my clients and love this post. There is a fine line between social network and becoming annoying. Thank you for these tips.

  12. Please add #11: Tweeting stats showing the number of RTs of your RTs as proof that you are a thought-leader! No, you are a retweeter of other people’s thoughts.

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