Question: What Should I Tweet About?

Twitter is kind of like a giant cocktail party without the alcohol. Some people are scintillating, generous, and engaging, while others are narcissistic, bombastic or boring. However, one of the advantages of Twitter is that if you don't like someone, all you have to do is push a button to delete them.

Many people have asked me about Twitter "best practices," so I've written a Twitter manifesto of sorts.

Please feel free to add comments or suggestions.

Answer:

Here's what I've learned about Twitter. I am going to write these advice points in 140 characters or less. It's amazing how much you can say.

• Don't be a company, be a person. If all you do is promote yourself (unless you are David Beckham) people won't follow you.
• Give information, sympathy, be funny, interesting or preferably all of the above in one tweet.
• Do not tweet what you’re eating, unless it is hippopotamus and you have the recipe.
• Do not tweet that you are going to walk the dog unless it is to the Westminster Dog Show or across Antarctica.
• Do give advice freely and generously. Converse and get to know other tweeps. Think pithy.
• Do tweet regularly and respond to others' tweets. Retweet worthy posts.
• Funny is good. Smart is good. Useful information is good. Self-promotion is ok, as long as it is also at least two of the above.
• Do not post boring pictures that only your mother or your boss would be find interesting. Actually don’t post boring anything.

• Do post beautiful, captivating or illustrative pictures or images.
• Use DM for anything that others won’t be interested in. Not using direct messaging is spamming.
• Don’t send multiple tweets that should be DMs. If you want to communicate with someone in more than 140 characters, text, call, or use email.
• Never send out auto replies. They are obvious and irritating.
• Retweet important and newsworthy tweets or information you think someone else might need
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