Twitter Rule Book Volume 2

Really, I don't think I can top my first 25 rules but here is a list of other things that I think people should know & some of the things that bother me the most on Twitter.

The first 25 are really basic. These are a bit more in-depth. I guess this is more like a Guide Book instead of a Rule Book.

And away, we go...

26. Auto-DMs: Are you using these? Don't! Too late? Consider this as your Cease & Desist letter. KNOCK IT OFF!

27. Do not DM me about how to gain more followers or about your blog. If I want to read your blog, I will. DMs about gaining more followers is SPAM. It's also a quick way to LOSE followers. *doh*

28. Grammar: Ok, I'm SO guilty of making grammatical errors on Twitter. Some times my fingers fly across the keyboard faster than I can think. I get a too excited & hit the update button without re-reading the post. I get over it eventually, the "grammar nazis" should too. I don't have an editor hovering over my shoulder to tweet. Do you?

29. Cursing: I think it's fine to use swear words, if you want. Just do so with tact. No one wants to read the 'F-bomb' being dropped in every post of yours. I curse from time to time on Twitter so I try to do it in style. Eg: "@ss" or "sh*t". It let's ppl know I'm fired up over a topic, but yet I want to still be a lady. (Don't roll your eyes! I CAN be a lady...I think.)

30. Acronyms of the New WWW Order 2.0: PPL, AFK, STFU, FML, FTW, IMHO, etc. are used frequently. Need to look any up? Try "Internet Acronyms Dictionary" Best resource I have found yet.

31. How 2 report spammers: 1. Follow @spam 2. DM details to @Spam 3. Block spammer
(This tip comes from @Twitter_Tips Follow them!)

Also, you can call ppl out when they are spam Twitter accts. @TradingGoddess does this frequently with her "How to NOT market your schtuff" tweets. It's part of maintaining 'Community Awareness' on Twitter. Hopefully those ppl get the hint. Doubt it.

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32. Blast bad customer service! Get results. I freaked out on Twitter sometime ago over my mortgage statement. I took it all out on @Wachovia, my note holder. Result? They DM'd me a personal msg requesting my email addy so they could put me in touch with their Corporate VP of Customer Service. (Still hate them tho. LOL).

However, I have had NO success with my blasts of ATT, but I have found comfort with those that hate ATT as well.

33. Rant/Rave. If you rant about some thing, why not rave about another? If you just went to a new theme park, concert, art exhibit & really enjoyed it, rave about it! Balance is being a Negative Nelly AND a Positive Polly.

34. Twitter.com, aka Twitter Web, is the LEAST efficient way to use Twitter. Try a 3rd party desktop app such as TweetDeck, Seesmic, Twirhl, etc. Save yourself from the ppl like me that Tweet 17 hours a day. They auto refresh. There is DM & @reply notifications so ppl don't have to use the now classic Twitter phrase "Check your DMs".

35. The LATER half of 'Social Networking' is just as important as the first part. Network! 'Meet' strangers, make friends, introduce others. Know a few ppl on Twitter that live in the same town or work in the same industries? Introduce them, publicly, on Twitter.

36. Tweet & Run? I hate those. That is when someone follows you for a short bit because you said something interesting about an event. Could be that you witnessed a plane crash, a natural disaster, etc. You posted a 'keyword' so they start to follow you. Then when the event is over, they un-follow. I wish these ppl would just stick to following an event thru Twitter search.

37. Help out & ask for help. There's no shame in asking for help. A lot of ppl on Twitter are happy to assist you, if you just ask. Also, if you see someone struggling on Twitter, throw them an @reply 'life-ring' by offering your help.

38. Follower, Followee: A hotly debated topic on Twitter is the Follower/Following ratio of an acct. Here is MY take on it: I follow almost EVERY ONE back because I want to be sure that they can DM me if need be. (see rule #19 - The Art of DMs) Also, why not follow back? I have learned A LOT from ppl that I didn't think would be worth a follow at first. You may as well.

FYI: I follow accts that do NOT follow me back. I do so because I find them to be interesting. Really, there is no reason for @JimmyFallon to follow you back. Don't like? Don't follow.

39. Can we stop the silly words like Tweeple and Tweeps?! omg. So sick of those.

40. Hashtag alert: Some PPL, such as myself, make up hashtags for reasons beyond comprehension. Don't worry if you do not understand the tag. As Steve Winwood would say, "Roll with it, baby."

41. My GAWD! I have come up with 41 rules? Someone call the Twitter police. This is outta control. Moving on to #42!

42. Keywords: If you say 'it' on @Twitter, they will find you.
Tweet the word "Free"...see how many bogus (spam) accts start to follow you. Just be aware of it.

43. FAIL/#FAIL: If ANYTHING, and I DO mean ANYTHING, sucks or leaves you hangin' ppl use the #hashtag #Fail. That's all that it means.

44. Pls RT: Stop asking for RT's. If it's 'good enough' it WILL get RT'd sooner or later. When I see the "Pls RT", I am instantly turned off. PPL don't need to be prodded to share GOOD information.

45. Thank you for the RT's! Take it easy on these, will ya? Yes, thank ppl for sharing your info, just do so sparingly. Why not just do one simple post saying "Thank you all for the RT's." instead of spaming my timeline with you thanking every one individually. K? K. Thx.

Consider returning the favor & RT something of value that THEY posted.
That, to me, is a much better way to thank someone.

46. CAPS. Some times, they are warranted. Eg; OMFG. TWO PLANES JUST CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTERS. Other than that, CAPS are used to EMPHASIZE a word. Don't abuse the CAPS. It's an OLD internet common courtesy.

@BasilLeaf showed me a GREAT site that turns ALL CAPS posts into ones that use their 'indoor voices'. I truly love her more so than ever for that. ;-) http://titlecase.com/

47. Don't always be so serious! Enjoy a random RT: These are just fun, silly RTs that lighten the mood. One time a group of friends & I RT'd each other one right after the other & it was nothing but RT@username RT @username RT @username RT @username until we filled the 140 character limit. Eh, we had fun doing it. That's all that matters.

48. RT @So-So: @Alonis: "Hi!"
WTH is that? Can't you say something better? My reply will not be "Hi!" back. I usually ignore those. I don't use Twitter like instant messaging. Engage me, dammit.

49. RSS Feeds: For the most part, I can NOT stand RSS feeds. However, I understand why big accts like @CNN do it. I don't follow a lot of feed accts, just a few scanner ones w/legit emergency info like @LAFD

(FYI- @CNNbrk is just an RSS feed acct that some guy, not related to CNN, created that fed CNN's breaking headlines into a Twitter acct. @CNN acquired the acct during the lame 'Race to One Million' fiasco on Twitter. You've been had.)

50. Twitter Elite are NO better than you or I: @GuyKawasaki @Scobleizer @KimSherrell @Zaibatsu and the likes remind of the Brat Pack...only in social media-geeky-kinda way. Out of the 4 I mentioned, I unfollowed all but @Zaibatsu. Reason? They irritated me to know end by being either WAY too social (Kim) or NOT social enough (Guy).

@KimSherrell & I even had a bit of a Twitter Fight. It was fun. I unfollowed her. Haven't missed a thing since.

RT @Alonis: @kimsherrell I don't care HOW many followers you have. When someone POLITELY asks you a question, you should be able to reply appropriately.

@Zaibatsu tweets A TON, but he balances his interactive posts along with ones that share content AND I have the power of TweetDeck, so what the hay! ;-) He also helps out ANY ONE.

That's it folks. If there are others I should add or ones you do not agree with, let me know. I MAY tell you to take a hike. Then again, I may learn something new and add it here.

-Alonis

Update as of 5/19/09:
@Kimsherrell and I have since decided to start over with a clean slate. Here's to learning & cultivating Social Media and networking relationships, one step at a time.