Comments on: Fly Fishing for Followers on Twitter http://www.pokethebeehive.com/2009/09/01/fly-fishing-for-followers-on-twitter/ Effective writing and communication strategies for the communication-challenged Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:57:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Twitter Trackbacks for Fly Fishing for Followers on Twitter | Poke the Beehive [pokethebeehive.com] on Topsy.com http://www.pokethebeehive.com/2009/09/01/fly-fishing-for-followers-on-twitter/comment-page-1/#comment-1238 Twitter Trackbacks for Fly Fishing for Followers on Twitter | Poke the Beehive [pokethebeehive.com] on Topsy.com Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:02:36 +0000 http://www.pokethebeehive.com/?p=1017#comment-1238 [...] Fly Fishing for Followers on Twitter | Poke the Beehive www.pokethebeehive.com/2009/09/01/fly-fishing-for-followers-on-twitter – view page – cached photo by rengber Hi. My name is Dan and I'm a partially reformed twitterholic. No, it doesn't mean that I've cut back on Twitter. It's still a healthy — From the page [...] [...] Fly Fishing for Followers on Twitter | Poke the Beehive http://www.pokethebeehive.com/2009/09/01/fly-fishing-for-followers-on-twitter – view page – cached photo by rengber Hi. My name is Dan and I'm a partially reformed twitterholic. No, it doesn't mean that I've cut back on Twitter. It's still a healthy — From the page [...]

]]> By: Dan Hutson http://www.pokethebeehive.com/2009/09/01/fly-fishing-for-followers-on-twitter/comment-page-1/#comment-1235 Dan Hutson Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:03:57 +0000 http://www.pokethebeehive.com/?p=1017#comment-1235 Good point, Debra. Using tools like Seesmic and Tweetdeck, I suppose you can create your "Dunbar's group" of folk you want to stay close to, then check in periodically with the rest. But then that feels like cheating. Although the technology enables us to stay in close contact with ever-increasing numbers of people, at the end of the day there's you and your limited human capacity to build and maintain true relationships with people. For all the talk about social media being different from broadcast, we're using it for broadcasting purposes just the same. Maybe it should be called "semi-social media" and acknowledge that we all have rings: an inner Dunbar's ring for those we're most connected to and engaged with, followed by a ring of those we reach out to (and who reach out to us) for conversation and assistance, followed by an outer ring of those who are lightly connected by technology because they value what we have to share (or vice versa). In this scenario, I could maintain a tight circle of followers where there's mutual agreement as to our respective relationship value, but still support larger numbers for purposes of leveraging my social capital. Of course, it would be nice if the social media tools we use enabled us to make these kinds of designations beyond simply putting people in boxes, maybe even intuit the relative value of a relationship based on type, frequency and quality of interactions. OK, my brain hurts now. You're making me think too much. Good point, Debra. Using tools like Seesmic and Tweetdeck, I suppose you can create your “Dunbar’s group” of folk you want to stay close to, then check in periodically with the rest. But then that feels like cheating. Although the technology enables us to stay in close contact with ever-increasing numbers of people, at the end of the day there’s you and your limited human capacity to build and maintain true relationships with people.

For all the talk about social media being different from broadcast, we’re using it for broadcasting purposes just the same. Maybe it should be called “semi-social media” and acknowledge that we all have rings: an inner Dunbar’s ring for those we’re most connected to and engaged with, followed by a ring of those we reach out to (and who reach out to us) for conversation and assistance, followed by an outer ring of those who are lightly connected by technology because they value what we have to share (or vice versa).

In this scenario, I could maintain a tight circle of followers where there’s mutual agreement as to our respective relationship value, but still support larger numbers for purposes of leveraging my social capital. Of course, it would be nice if the social media tools we use enabled us to make these kinds of designations beyond simply putting people in boxes, maybe even intuit the relative value of a relationship based on type, frequency and quality of interactions.

OK, my brain hurts now. You’re making me think too much.

]]> By: Debra Askanase http://www.pokethebeehive.com/2009/09/01/fly-fishing-for-followers-on-twitter/comment-page-1/#comment-1234 Debra Askanase Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:42:12 +0000 http://www.pokethebeehive.com/?p=1017#comment-1234 Dan, Great post to get people thinking about their twitter strategy. I also struggle with the point of thousands of followers. I know we've spoken about Dunbar's number, and I'm really running up against that number for my Twitter relationships. However, on the flip side, I think that having a lot of motivated followers (or enthusiastic ones) is quite beneficial. As a consultant, I want to offer great information, but I also want to be able to leverage my followers periodically on behalf of my clients. This is where the tension between quality vs. quantity lies. What are your thoughts related to this? Dan, Great post to get people thinking about their twitter strategy. I also struggle with the point of thousands of followers. I know we’ve spoken about Dunbar’s number, and I’m really running up against that number for my Twitter relationships. However, on the flip side, I think that having a lot of motivated followers (or enthusiastic ones) is quite beneficial. As a consultant, I want to offer great information, but I also want to be able to leverage my followers periodically on behalf of my clients. This is where the tension between quality vs. quantity lies. What are your thoughts related to this?

]]>