Honestly, think about it.
There's achievement spam, formspring spam, location spam, picture spam, link spam, ponder spam, I'm playing X, Y, Z spam, incessant whining spam… I could go on.
It's all there. At any given moment you can (and probably will) tweet something that one of your followers doesn't like.
And that's ok – if you (or they) aren't a jerk about it. You can NOT reasonably expect that everyone you follow is going to tweet the very things only YOU want to read all the time.
If you have an issue with the “spam” and cannot accept the fact that you can just scroll past it, then you do need to re-evaluate why you are following that person.
If you really don't find them that interesting ever… then unfollow them. You find out they don't share a lot of beliefs that are important to you… unfollow them.
But it's the WAY you do it.
I cannot possibly follow everyone back, I would never be able to keep up with any semblance of a timeline. But, do I ever get annoyed by what I see in my timeline? Sure!
But I don't usually say anything and I don't call out an individual for it. Partially because I (like ALL of us) have been guilty of creating tweet spam at one time or another. And, partially because I just don't let that kind of stuff bother me. (Oh hai scroll button!)
So, if you insist on unfollowing – just do it. No reason to make a big deal out of it by telling someone you are going to unfollow because they said “this” or did “that.” And the threats to unfollow if people tweet X, Y, Z? Get over yourself.
No one should have to feel they can't tweet something just because they don't want to lose YOU. I mean, did they sign up JUST to be followed by you?
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This post brought to you by the late night rambles of a Syrana that should be sleeping but is annoyed at the unfollow threat spam she sees people receiving.
Well said tbh, I’ve seen people talk about what they hate to see in their Twitter apps, in their blog readers.. And sometimes it just makes you think “Well thanks, that’s your opinion that’s made me feel bad about myself but I know full well that there are other people who do it too, and enjoy it, so where the heck do you get off?”
Scroll buttons are there for a reason, and if somebody is particularly annoying, well.. It depends on what they say. I’ve seen somebody insult the entire EU community before and I really wanted to stop and tell them to go screw themselves, but when is that ever going to help? :s
I can’t understand how some people react to certain things.
I think the only time that I’ve said anything about it is when I let folks know that if they wanted me to ask them questions, I’d prefer they do it via blog than formspring, and I only did it THEN because I didn’t want people thinking I didn’t want to ask them questions. Or something. At least, that was the intent.
I could see the tweet spam really getting out of hand, but I don’t see making a public spectacle out of it. Personally, everyone I watch who has tweet spam is either very polite about it (I don’t have anyone who spams twenty formspring answers every hour, for example) or I am still debating whether or not their non-spam tweets interest me enough to keep following.
I have folks that I love their blogs and can’t follow them on twitter. In no cases am I considering telling them to change their twitter habits to suit me, or else.
It’s a logic gap, I think. “Stop doing that or I’ll unfollow you!” sounds even more juvenile if you say “Stop doing that or I won’t be your friend anymore!”
What are we, five?
If someone’s twitter stream is so irritating that it warrants unfollowing, announcing that you unfollow seems petty. And for every person annoyed by it, there are probably other folks who enjoy it.
Great rant. =]
I’ve unfollowed a few people for too much spam, but my limit is pretty high, so they were pretty spammy. It’s been awhile, though. The other reason I usually unfollow is if someone constantly tweets about how their life sucks or why so-and-so hates them or whatever. I really don’t need to stress about your life.
But, overall, I’m pretty lenient on people’s tweets. Like everyone else said, there is a scroll button.
I’m just wondering what ISN’T spam on Twitter. I only find the “conversations” to be truly interesting, and it’s not even built for that.
So what is the content you’re really supposed to Tweet to be a quality contributor?
Don’t get it,
~Rhoe
Two thumbs up. Twitter is like TV. If you don’t like the channel (the person tweeting) then unfollow (change the channel).
Sending me a complaining tweet about my tweets is just silly. You the follower chose me, not the other way around.
I really don’t get the whole Twitter bias. It’s Twitter. You signed up for an account because you might possibly be interesting enough for people to care what you’re doing. Don’t give other people shit for doing the same thing.
Yes, there are some self-important whinetards on Twitter. If you don’t like what they say, no one is forcing you to read their tweets! And I echo the ‘What are we, five?’ comment in regards to announcing your intentions to unfolow someone. Seriously? You know what, if you do that… I’m going to unfollow YOU, because you’re advertising that you’re an asshat.
So there!
Great rant. I agree with it, if you couldn’t tell. I know I post a lot of useless shit on my Twitter feed but… it’s MY Twitter feed! If you don’t like it, here’s a novel idea… don’t read it!
Isn’t the point of Twitter to note what’s on your mind? What you’re doing/have done? It should not be to note what you think others want to hear. That’s just silly. Twitter drama has to be, like, the most rediculous form of drama.
But what do I know? I’ve only had Twitter for two days, and it still confuzzles me.
As Rhoelyn said, I enjoy Twitter for the conversations AS WELL AS the random bits that get thrown in.
To be so self-righteous as to assume that you are SO important that you can tell someone not to tweet about a certain subject is just absurd. “I won’t be your friend anymore if you don’t stop it!” carried the most weight in about 2nd grade and only rates a scornful face by now.
There are several people who tweet about things and in such a manner that I got annoyed by them – so I unfollowed them. SO EASY. Bitching about it will get me nowhere, so why bother? It would just make me look like a self-righteous ass.
Thanks for your comments and thoughts everyone! In some cases, I don’t think people realize how rude they’ve been to people they follow. And I’ve seen some unfollow announcements that were less about that user spamming their timeline and based on one or two instances (or simply because they have formspring) and that seems… excessive to me.
Twitter (to me) is a place to share random thoughts and amusing bits and a chance to network with a human being in realish time. Just like anything else we share (be it tweets, blog posts, even face-to-face convos!) everything we choose to share isn’t going to be winners with our audience.
As I had tweeted yesterday – I reminded myself that I can’t please everyone all the time.
But I do make an effort to please others most of the time.
@Tami – You made a great point of comparison with the childlike response the fanfare often reads as.
TL;DR version of my post and follow up comment – Have fun, but don’t be a jerk! 😉