What Not to Do on Twitter

"Twitter faux pas (10 Twitter no-no's)"
Info Carnivore (July 4, 2010)

"I've now published two articles on twitter etiquette (twitterquette) and they've been well received. What about twitter no-no's. What NOT to do or tweet on twitter? Here are ten that I've come up with. What are your suggested twitter no-no's?

"1. One word tweets. At least put a few words together and have something make sense. Single word tweets mean nothing to pretty much everyone. This includes mentions that are nothing but a user name.

"2. Old, old, news. Re-tweeting your discovery of a video that went viral four years ago is top notch lame! Everyone else on the internet has already seen it. Be happy you finally did and move on, no need to remind everyone...."

And so it goes: it's a fast read, all the way to:

"...10. Personal tweets. That's what facebooks for, don't you think?"

Some of the points are simple common sense: Don't tell everybody on Twitter that you're going to be gone for a week. You may as well add that you left the key under the doormat and hang out a sign reading 'please rob me' while you're at it.

Others - particularly, in my opinion, #10 - are a bit more subjective. I'd have to know what the author means by "personal tweets." If it's the sort of 'I'm flossing my teeth now' thing: yes, that's too much information that online friends and acquaintances can probably live without.

In my case, though, I'm on Twitter to meet and communicate with people, not just plug my [Excellent! Stupendous! Brilliant!] blog posts. If I don't share personal information now and then, I'll come across like one of those spambots.

Bottom line, though: this is a short read. And a good review, even if you figure you already know about how not to lose friends and alienate people online.

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A tip of the hat to danielsnyder1, on Twitter, for the heads-up on his post.