A good friend joined Twitter & asked my advice. I told him I would Tweet my responses. Here goes - Schlosser's 20 Tweet rules (actually, just 19 because #5 is utterly personal).
1. Before you join any social media network, remember SM golden rule: It’s better to give than to receive.
2. Also remember Confucius’ golden rule: Treat others as you want them to treat you (that other guy came later).
3. Also remember your mom’s golden rule: If you don’t have anything nice to say, shut your wordhole.
4. Determine why you want to use Twitter (any social network): to meet people, network for job, learn new things, laugh, cry?
5. (I have found Twitter to be an astounding resource for new content on writing, editing, publishing, professional communications.)
6. After you know why you want to use Twitter, follow people who answer your question (limit following others to save your time).
7. Download/install a Twitter client like TweetDeck – it’s the only way to manage/filter the flow of information.
8. Find a URL shortener you like – bit.ly (built in to TweetDeck) or tinyURL.com, for example.
9. Follow @GuyKawasaki – he gives good advice/tips on using Twitter and is a decent (not great) model.
10. Start slowly and dedicate minimal time to Twitter. It will eat every moment of your life if you let it.
11. Do not automatically follow people who follow you – honestly evaluate why you want to follow someone.
12. Follow someone only after reviewing a few dozen of their postings to evaluate whether you’ll enjoy their company.
13. Block spammers (even though they increase your # of followers).
14. Ruthlessly unfollow anyone whose updates do not consistently add value to your life.
15. Ignore the following/follower numbers – your only question is whether you’re improving your life by Tweeting or following.
16. Tweet naturally – if you’re Tweeting to attract followers, you’re missing the point.
17. Tweet graciously – share things you find interesting and tell people where you found it so they can find it, too.
18. Tweet smartly – no one really cares what you had for lunch unless you experienced something nontrivial.
19. Tweet courageously – when you have something worth saying, don’t worry about what or when it is.
20. Give as much as you get. Relationships are about reciprocity – you can’t fully benefit without mutual participation.
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