I use Twitter regularly but have recently received a large influx of followers to where it’s getting a bit out of control. Before, I would automatically follow anybody who followed me, since the number was manageable, but that’s quickly not becoming the case. I am currently following 130 folks and 150 are following me. That may not sound like much to the Robert Scobles of the world, but it’s too many for me.

Anyhow, I can’t afford to blindly follow everyone back anymore. I have to instate a bit of following criteria. Here’s how it goes:

Step 1: I look at your avatar and get a gut reaction. It can’t be the generic Twitter one. I’m more partial to harmless headshots, ideally taken in a casual setting with a webcam or cellphone. Also, tastefully abstract stuff is great. Your blog’s logo is fine.

Any cat or cute animal is a big plus (in that sense, I’m easy).

Note: I despise “hot” avatars. If you have an avatar of a ridiculously hot woman with damp clothes falling off, obviously ripped off from a magazine or something, odds are it’s not really you and you’re trying too hard. I don’t appreciate blatant, obvious ploys to get followers based on looks (well, unless you’re a cat).

Step 2: If you passed step 1, I then check out your handle. Any handle that has an association with sex or spam I am more likely to ignore. “usedcarseller” is a big no.

Step 3: If you passed step 1 and 2, I will then drill down to your profile and see what sort of Twitterer you are. It will help immensely if your website is a blog that I’d like to read on a regular basis. If your twitters are all merely links back to your website and not sharing fun links or anything I’m interested in, you’re out.

A Fake, Spammy Twitterer

Here’s an example of what I consider a “spammy” twitter, that breaks all the rules, and certainly does not receive a reciprocal follow:

FAIL: Generic Twitter avatar. Handle contains “deliveri,” signifying business spam. All twitters this handle sends out are links back to a flower selling website.

This crap is getting more common on Twitter and if it gets out of hand, will destroy the service. So I hope to do my part and not follow clowns like this.

So if I haven’t followed you back on Twitter, no hard feelings, you probably failed one of my gut instinct Twitter follower tests. It’s what I must do to keep Twitter useful.

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