Tweeting and not failing (a top ten list)

I love Twitter.  I love reading articles others share, seeing what people are up to, and generally the no-boundaries community that exists on the micro-blogging site. I follow and am followed by people in other states, countries, continents.  In a sense, Twitter connects the world!

But there is a downside to Twitter: the people who don’t use Twitter wisely.  These people can ruin the experience, until you block them. These people are the reason for my top-ten  list of Twitter pet peeves:

1. Following and unfollowing and following again. This tactic is meant to getting followers but if I didn’t follow you the first time, or the second, chances are I AM NOT INTERESTED.
2. Excessive self-promotion. Tweets that always start with I or include the word me.  Being on Twitter exclusively to promote self and not offering any value.
3. Lurking. People who follow you and never engage or retweet.  They are just watching you. Why?
4. Not giving credit. If I tweeted something that you think is so worthwhile that you re-tweeted it, just credit me, please?
5. Follow Friday. I hate this. It makes Twitter into a popularity contest, and makes you ripe for spamming. Thanks for the shout-out but don’t add me to your list.
6. Being super selective. You have thousands of followers, yet you start your mornings saying hi to five of your favorite friends. I remind you: Twitter is not high school and all of us can see you didn’t single us out. If you want to say hi to just a few people, might I recommend DM or (gasp) EMAIL?
7. Spammers. People who send you @messages that have nothing to do with anything except what they are trying to get you to buy. There is a special place in hell for you.
8. Incomplete profiles. If you don’t have a bio, or a website, or preferably both, on what should I base my decision to follow you? Your inability to fill out your profile? This also goes for not posting a picture.
9. Cursing. I curse all the time in real life, but I don’t want to read obscenities on my Twitter stream. It generally is not necessary to put that out to the world.
10. Never acknowledging retweets or @messages. Sure I understand that reporters or celebrities with tens of thousands of followers can’t possibly respond to all these messages, but if you have under 500 followers, most likely you can spend a couple minutes each day responding. Remember you are on Twitter to create community!!!

Of course, these are MY pet Twitter peeves. You may not agree. Which is why you can feel free to leave your top Twitter peeves on the comments! (Or hey, write your own blog!)