Brain on (is?) Twitter

Your personal improvement by improving your brain is the focus of this blog.  Believe it or not, I think Twitter can be a big part of that. Lately there have been a number of people writing about the decision to follow or not follow on Twitter.

Brain on (is?) Twitter

David Risley of DavidRisley.com is frustrated with those who follow and if there isn’t a reciprocal follow, immediately unfollow ..

What’s so frustrating? People who follow people only so that they’ll get followed back.

I follow people because I am interested in them. Not because I’m looking to jack up my follower numbers. I don’t unfollow anybody if they don’t follow me.

Neal Wiser writing on Darren Rowse;’s Twitip descibes two types of Twitter denizen, reciprocals and discriminators –

Reciprocals take the view that not only does etiquette require you to return a follow, but reciprocity is the quickest way to increase your Follower numbers. However, as your Followers increase, your timeline can become clogged with superfluous discussions. Even with tools such as TweetDeck, following multiple conversations is not easy.

Discriminators take the opposite view. They feel, among other things, that quality of followers, not quantity is the important factor. Ultimately, the decision depends on one’s reasons and goals for using Twitter, but there are Pros and Cons to each position.

He goes on to cite thirteen other posts on the same subject.  So, it is an issue that is out there.

Am I crazy or what?

Tell me if I am crazy.  I blog about personal improvement and the brain as I said above.  I woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking that Twitter is like a great big brain.

In a gross oversimplification, the brain is made up of neurons, neurotransmitter, a bit of fat, and a lot of supporting matter made up glial cells.  Neurons are made up of axons, the bulb end, where information is created; and dendrites, where information is “put out into the universe.”

Simply neurotransmitters are the information. Glial cells are the supporting cast. Of course, there are lots of other divisions, descriptions, names and addresses in the brain that helps make up who we are.  The brain is a uniquly dynamic network and all the usual suspects, at times work in elegant partnership, and at other times we make decisions that leave us scratching our heads.

As a Twitterer, you work the axon end of the universe. You produce information. You would like that information to get to the right people. That’s where the dendrite end, the branches, come in.

Let me digress for a moment here.  There are a lot of studies that show that everyday people, you and I for instance, do just as well in picking stocks that make money (at least we used to) as the experts.  Some even say you do as well just using the dart board method of picking stocks.

Back to Twitter. What I am saying here is that there is a lot of value in having numbers, to have an expanded network.  The question is who should be in that network.

On the follower side, it makes sense to have followers that you may be able to help.  You want your information going out through “dendrites” that connect to these people.  I work with boomers who want their brains to function well and also to get it out of the way at times.  So I look for  them because I get as much from them as I hope I give to them. These are the other “axons” I want to connect with.

So, what about following a lot of people that don’t follow you? It also makes sense to connect with others who have nothing to do with your target market.  Why? Because they are interesting, because they help you develop as a person, and maybe they challenge the way that you think.

If you produce creative  ideas, and are always looking for material, Twitter is a great place to both get and to give.

What about unfollowing?  I admit that I do at times unfollow people that are not following me.  I have a rule that may seem silly to some of you.  I try to keep a gap of 100 or fewer between the number of people I follow and am being followed by.  I just like to keep a reasonable balance.  I don’t know what other people do about that ratio.

Who am I likely to unfollow?

Who am I likely to unfollow?  I would probably unfollow people that seem to be constantly selling something and not offering anything with socially redeeming Twitter value. Another related criteria is that I may unfollow people that send a gazillion tweets a day and clog up the timeline.

Don’t get me wrong on that one.  There are times when ten tweets in a row make perfect sense.  You are excited about something you just learned. You have a bunch of great quotes.

Gastronomic Excess

If you go into great detail about what you had for breakfast, mmmmm, not so interesting.  If you are going to an incredibly cool new place for breakfast, that may be interesting.

Twitter is a Brain

So, all in all, if Twitter is a brain, I don’t just want my brain to get bigger, although bigger isn’t in itself bad.  I want my brain to be smarter, more effective, and to notice the things that are important — to both them and to me.

So, tell me if I am way off.

Do you have rules about following and unfollowing on Twitter? If you do, what are they?

Stay in touch,

Mike

Photo by Dave Duarte

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