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03.25.08
The Secret To Twitter
 By
Robert Scoble
I've been talking to lots of people about Twitter. Why is it so addictive? Why do new tools, shipped for it, like Quotably was tonight, get passed around so fast and talked about so much?
I've gone through stages with Twitter. At some point I thought it was important to get lots of followers. But lately I've been telling people that the secret to Twitter isn't how many followers you have, but how many people you are following. Tonight Sheryl asked me to explain more: "why is the secret how many people you follow? Why is it important to follow so many people?"
Here's why:
1. Getting followed just means you're popular. Yes, that's cool, but it hardly will make you interesting. Paris Hilton will have more Twitter members than I will, when she joins.
2. Getting followed a lot might mean you're using it for a publishing system. If all you have is followers what makes that different from owning a newspaper, a radio station, a TV station, or, even, a Web site? Hint: nothing.
3. If you're just trying to get followed you're probably just needing attention or you might be Jason Calacanis.
But what does following a lot of people say?
1. You're trying to learn more.
2. You're trying to meet more people.
3. You're trying to be a better listener.
4. You're communicating to the world that you'd like to be listened to (golden rule: treat people how you'd like to be treated).
5. You're trying to find out about more stuff. More events. More stories.
Now, who would you rather hang out with? A person who only talks and doesn't listen? Or a person who listens to as many people as he can?
I know I'd rather hang out with someone who listens to more people.
Oh, yeah, and many of us on Twitter have been getting messages like what Mike Arrington got tonight. Now, I really don't care about people who unfollow me anymore. Go ahead. Doesn't make me feel bad. But the more people I follow, the smarter I get, the more connected I get, the better the experiences I have in life (see previous post).
So, that's my new story. The secret to Twitter is how many people are you listening to, not how many people are listening to you.
Agree or disagree?
Comments
About
the Author:
Robert Scoble is the founder of the Scobleizer blog. He works as PodTech.net's Vice President of Media Development.
Go to Scobleizer ...
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