Jeremy from Global Geek News recently posted his guide to “Twitter Etiquette“. It’s basically a list of supposed rules/guidelines on what shouldn’t be done on Twitter. Rules include moving long conversations to direct message instead of using “@”s and not twittering more than once every 15 minutes.
It sparked quite a few comments, and the majority of the comments disagreed with Jeremy. And I’ve got to say, I agree with them on this.
Twitter, to me, is about conversation. It’s about relating to people. It’s not just about posting updates. And I think it’s that way for a lot of people.
And the thing about Twitter is it isn’t a chat room or anything. You’re not forced to follow people. If you don’t like the way people are using it, then unfollow them.
I think the value in Twitter is it’s simplicity. And the flexibility that comes with it. It’s many things to many people, and there’s no one way of using it. And the beauty is, you can interact with people who use it in the way you like.
So, if you ask me, the only rule for using Twitter is that there are no rules. Or if you really need a rule, try the Law of the Two Feet (or the two hands – on your keyboard). If you’re not happy with a conversation that’s going on, if you don’t feel like you’re gaining anything from following a person, if you don’t like how someone is using the tool, then just unfollow him. No need to make a fuss about it.
What about you? Do you think there should be rules for Twitter?