Mutually following someone on Twitter is like dating. You go for a while, learn about them, and determine if they are someone you want to have in your life. If their stream is positive, adds value, and is something you enjoy showing up in your timeline, you continue to follow them and “date.” If you detect negativity and find they no longer add value, you break off the relationship by unfollowing.

It may be that your “tastes” have changed, or you decide to do some social media spring cleaning.

The dating process may be entered into without a conversation. You don’t ask,

“Hey, would you like to go out with me?”

You follow someone either you learned of their reputation, saw someone else recommend or retweet (RT) them, or because they followed you. You follow because you thought there would be value in what they share. Just like dating, you go out with someone because you think spending time with them would enhance your life.

Stages of Twitter Dating

1. Awareness – You learn of the person on Twitter.
2. Background Check – You read their bio, determine if you have something in common, if they have tweeted content you feel is interesting, if common friends follow them.
3. Relationship – You click “Follow” and begin the Twitter relationship. The relationship may continue for months and years. There is no contract, no marriage license. You’re free to continue to follow and date or to decide you no longer want that person in your stream.
• Two-Way Relationship – If they followed you first or subsequently follow you back, then you are dating.
• One-Way Relationship - If the person is not following you already, then you have sent a signal that you are interested and want them in your stream.
• CAVEAT: That applies if they know you are following. Many have turned off Twitter notifications, like myself, and don’t regularly look at new followers.
• If you want a two-way relationship, RT what they share or @ them to enter into conversation.
4. Break-Up – Breaking up is so hard to do, sometimes. You may simply get tired of seeing posts from this person. It may be their constant Foursquare updates, their attitude, language, or that they use generalizations and call people names, etc. Whatever the reason, you decide it’s time to stop dating.
• You do the break-up dance and “unfollow.” You don’t have to go to divorce court!
5. Stealth Dating – There is an alternative to breaking up. You can put the person into a list, and never view that list. That way they think they are still dating on Twitter, but really, they are completely ignored.

Real-Life Breakup Story

I “broke up” with someone I’d been following for months on Twitter. We had a couple interactions. It felt they were a bit antagonistic, but I shrugged it off. We didn’t @ or RT each other’s stuff. We had mutual friends and both work in search. That’s about the extent of commonality.

• I noticed quite a few tweets I didn’t agree with. (Oh, well, not a big deal.)
• I noticed more tweets then decided it was time…
• I did the break-up dance and unfollowed them.

Here is the tweet I received the next day:

This tweet confirmed I had made a good move by unfollowing. Decision verified!

How would you have responded?

I decided to avoid getting a divorce lawyer. We were not married!

“‘Till unfollow do us part.”

Thoughts about Optimizing Life: Dana Lookadoo

Twitter is Like Dating, Not Marriage

Twitter’s new “You both follow” and “Also followed by” features were a pleasant surprise on Friday the 13th!

I was checking out new followers for my @YoYoSEO account and following back people in the search industry. I then “met” @DeanSutton of Nottus Marketing.

"You both follow" & "Also followed by" features on Twitter

Ah… I was away from Twitter much of the day. Now, this is a new feature I found useful. I quickly went to Twitter search (http://search.twitter.com) and found a new story by Mashable:

Twitter Rolling Out “You Both Follow” Feature

I like “You both follow” because…

I want to ensure, first, that followers are real people.

1. If I know them, then I’ll shout out a Yo!
2. If they don’t have a bio link, I usually don’t bother and move on.
3. If their profile name ends in a number, window closed.
4. If they tweet their own blog posts or affiliate sales, they may get blocked or reported for spam.
5. If they interact with people in the search and social media space, immediate attention.
6. I may take a moment to look at their followers, to see if they have “votes” from people whom I trust.

Twitter’s new “You Both Follow” solves that!

I instantly saw that Dean Sutton was followed by some of the same people followed by Yo! Yo! SEO, and we both followed some people I admire and respect.

Twitter’s new “You both follow” feature is an instant peer review – trust signal!

Dean, nice to meet you!

CAVEAT:
I may not use the feature to review followers of my @lookadoo account as often, because those email notifications are filtered into a folder and often ignored. This is nothing personal but a time management issue. So if you want me to know about you, please shout out. Let’s engage!

What do you think of Twitter’s new feature?

Do you look at new followers’ followers before you follow?

Thoughts about Optimizing Life: Dana Lookadoo

Twitter – You Both Follow

Ah, heck, why not blog about nothing?

Blog about Nothing

I decided to share this after a mega long day when I had nothing to say! But then, heck …

People blog about nothing on Twitter 24/7

Twitter, categorized as a “microblog,” enables people to freely “blog” in 140 characters at a time. While Twitter has replaced instant messenger and some RSS and emails, others use it to talk about pretty much about nothing. Heck, sometimes I wonder if there is a filter at all between thought and tweet!

Fortunately, Twitter is also something unexplainable, something addicting and a lot of substance is also shared, at least in the search industry. It’s how we stay connected.

I can’t say all of my “microblogs” are earthshaking. Sometimes I stare at my stream and say absolutely nothing! If you want to connect on Twitter, follow @lookadoo. Do shout out more than a blank tweet, so I know you are there!

Thanks to Rob Adler for sharing this graphic today and inspiring me today to say essentially nothing.

Thoughts about Optimizing Life: Dana Lookadoo

Blog About Nothing