My first 10 Twitter Commandments..

I like to think of myself as a good "Twitter" citizen and have come to rely on Twitter as an important channel of communication. There are no "rules" on using Twitter (although some people would like to think so) but over the past couple of years of constant use, I've sort of adopted a number of personal rules which I think make my usage of Twitter better for others. In no particular order:

• I will not spam my Twitter followers with the latest fad or service. Sometimes, this may be unavoidable if the third party does something it is not supposed, but I'll never intentionally spam anyone.
  
  
  
• I will not use Twitter to get a freebie. Yes, I've done this in the past but I've decided never to do this again. This is when you can get a free this or reduced price on that by sending a Tweet mentioning the product or service. Can get very messy!
  
  
  
• I will not shamelessly self promote myself or my content. This could be difficult, I suppose it all depends on what "shameless self promotion" is defined as. I will still tell people what I'm doing or where I'm going. I will also post links to blog posts and new shows as they are published. As far as I'm concerned, that's probably why a good few of my followers follow me, to find out what I'm up to. It's just I won't use Twitter as a purely promotional tool.
  
  
  
• I will not pre-prepare Tweets. All my tweets are spontaneous and of the moment. That's how I like it! I don't really like the prepared tweets that have obviously been crafted and pondered over. It just doesn't seem right. And as for people who use scheduling tools to send tweets at various intervals, do me a favour!
  
  
  
• I will Re-Tweet interesting tweets. Whilst re-tweeting (the act of replicating someone elses tweet with attribution) seems to drive some people crazy, I think it can be a very useful way of propagating information. As I have a couple of thousand followers, the likelihood is that if someone with relatively few followers posts something interesting, then the majority of my followers will not have seen it, and hence re-tweeting is perfectly valid.
  
  
  
• I will not Re-Tweet by request. It puts me in a difficult position and I'll only re-tweet if asked if I would have re-tweeted it anyway.
  
  
  
• I will not join in with #followfriday. OK, call me a misery if you like but I don't do #followfriday. However, thanks to all those that include me in their #followfriday posts. Yes, I feel guilty about this one!
  
  
  
• I will respond to any Direct Message or @message that asks a question directly or indirectly If someone takes the time to message me, I'll respond if a response is necessary or warranted. If someone just messages me a comment, I may respond or may just read it. A question will always get a response.
  
  
  
• If I need to thank more than 1 or 2 people for anything, I may send out a blanket thank you. There have been times in the past when people have been kind enough to send me comments or messages on various topics (my 1st Macbreak Weekly appearance for example) when it's just impossible to respond individually.
  
  
  
• I'll only follow Celebs who "get" Twitter. These are the people who understand what Twitter is and enter into a dialog with their followers.

So there you go, my first 10 Twitter commandments.... there may be more to follow.

Please feel free to add your own in the comments!

Comments

[Krzysztof Maj]

These commandments should be mandatory for all twitterers.

[Peter Upfold]

#11 — I will not reveal the plot/result of a TV show/movie/sports game/other recordable entertainment that others might not have seen yet.

I think everyone I follow is good about this, but it’s always worth bearing in mind, because it is pretty easy for one to tweet without engaging brain first.

[Robert]

Ooooh! Don't know about number 3. If you don't shamelessly self-promote, who's going to do it for you?

Not sure about number 4 either. I have used prepared and scheduled Tweets to advertise and event in which I was involved. Overuse of the function is to be frowned upon.

Add number 12: I will unfollow anyone that I'm following that has a bout of Twitter diarrhoea.

[Gary Matthews]

I like Robert's #12 and agree with his comment on #4. If I have an idea to share - and I have already tweeted a lot - I may schedule it to tweet later so as not to be accused of #12.
8^)

[Ezra]

Looks good. #13- don't mask/reformat @replies so that followers who like Twitter's changes have to read posts they are not interested in.

[lamike]

Hope everyone RTs these word of wisdom.

[Mike Bradbrook]

Agree with them all. Excellent post and comments.

[poly915]

Forgive me Father for I have sinned...

[Scott]

Great list. I approve of every single one of them.

[Sam]

Great list, Don. Particularly agree with #4. Twitter is spontaneous - think about a tweet too much and it takes all the fun and purpose out of it, IMO. Also couldn't agree more with #6 and #7. I've been in #followfriday lists a few times and it does make me feel a little guilty for not reciprocating - but at the same time I also don't want to offend the others I follow as they're all entertaining/interesting in their own ways :)

[Rick]

Ditto on Number 2. I did it once (I suspect on the same occasion as you) but after reading an article about that very issue (by Chris Breen, I believe), I'm thinking that it probably wasn't a very good idea.