by Colleen Flood*

While looking at my Tweetdeck on HootSuite yesterday, I started singing the song “Follow” in my head by Genesis. This is a great song from the 80s that brings back a memory of my sister and brother-in-law dancing to their wedding song. Though, this time it wasn’t the memory of my sister’s first dance. I think the reason it came to me was the buzz lately regarding following and un-following on Twitter these days. 

Both the headlines and my recent situation have inspired me to look more closely at the people who follow me and I in return follow back.

One example is a follow I received from @alatulip26268. While I’m flattered to have gained another follower, why are they following me? Is it because they are tied to public relations and possibly curious about the services BurrellesLuce can provide? Or, perhaps we share the same interests – such as a passion for skiing? Upon closer examination, it seems as though this profile amounts to little more than spam or at least that’s how it appears.  So I did not follow @alatulip26268 back.

Another example is a recent follow I received from @worob. This follow I felt “privileged” to receive because @worob is in a similar industry as me and has quite an impressive bio: “Former reporter turned PR rock star, Publisher for PR at Sunrise, Creator of Big East PR Pros Networking Group on LinkedIn, SM enthusiast & aspiring guitarist!” I decided it could be very beneficial to follow this person back after reading some of his past tweets. Although I have not engaged with @worob yet, I hope to and anticipate @worob is following me for all the same reasons I’m following him.

There has also been some talk that many are using Twitter as merely a numbers game or a popularity contest to see how many followers one can accumulate. To gain more followers, many are only following someone to get a follow back. 

Mikinzie Stuart (@mikinzie) recently wrote about this subject in a post on the Brazen Careerist blog entitled, “In Review:  FriendorFollow.com.” FriendorFollow.com is a website that tells you who out of those you follow do not follow you back. Mikinzie, who I follow, wrote that when she first went on this site she was upset that many of those she follows, has engaged with, and even met in real life have un-followed her. 

She goes on to say that at first it bothered her but now it does not one bit. She’s not on Twitter for the numbers or the popularity. I agree and will not be discouraged by my un-followers, which I did check out and was surprised by, and will as Mikinzie put it “continue to share in the mutually beneficial relationships derived from my Twitter community.”

Do you follow back every person who follows you? What are your guidelines for those you follow?

*Bio: Colleen Flood has been a sales consultant with BurrellesLuce for over 12 years and is eager to become a more integrated part of the social-public relations community. She primarily handles agency relations in the New York and New Jersey metro-area. She is not only passionate about work, but also about family, friends, and the Jersey Shore. Twitter: @cgflood LinkedIn: Colleen Flood Facebook: BurrellesLuce