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two twitter questions...

by TimothyW
9 replies
1) Is there an easy way to get a free code for a nice-looking "follow us on twitter!" box? Doesn't twitter provide that?

2) A philisophical twitter question -- I see that one can follow another person, ie: elect to RECEIVE msgs. That makes sense -- the receiver of the msgs has the control over what he/she RECEIVES. But there's no way, as the SENDER, one can have control over who is/are the receiver(s), right?!?

If that's so, how does the 'automated' twitter follower signer-upper I've seen work?!?

A basic 'problem' w/ IMing (compared to traditional, offline mrktng) is, the receiver of the mrktng msg(s) is in control of what he/she sees (receives). That is, there's no such thing as 'intrusive' mrktng online (essentially).

So, if the twitterEE is in control of the twitterER, then how can being followED be automated?

-- TW
#questions #twitter
  • Profile picture of the author NateDesmond
    Originally Posted by -- TW View Post

    1) Is there an easy way to get a free code for a nice-looking "follow us on twitter!" box? Doesn't twitter provide that?
    As far as I know, Twitter does not provide that service, but many third parties do.

    For my websites, I just use basic html to link a Twitter logo image to my Twitter account.

    Originally Posted by -- TW View Post

    2) A philisophical twitter question -- I see that one can follow another person, ie: elect to RECEIVE msgs. That makes sense -- the receiver of the msgs has the control over what he/she RECEIVES. But there's no way, as the SENDER, one can have control over who is/are the receiver(s), right?!?

    If that's so, how does the 'automated' twitter follower signer-upper I've seen work?!?

    A basic 'problem' w/ IMing (compared to traditional, offline mrktng) is, the receiver of the mrktng msg(s) is in control of what he/she sees (receives). That is, there's no such thing as 'intrusive' mrktng online (essentially).

    So, if the twitterEE is in control of the twitterER, then how can being followED be automated?
    I am not quite sure that I completely understand this question, but here is my attempt:

    Are you wondering how to remove followers?

    If that is your question, you can easily do that by "blocking" the follower(s) you do not want to have read your tweets.

    If you really want to be on the safe side, you can make your Twitter account private so that only the people you expressly allow can ready your tweets.

    Hope this helps!
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    ...www.NateDesmond.com     - A blog that explores the confluence of product design, marketing, and data analysis.
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
    Thanks.

    Let me clarify my q #2...

    There are 2 types of people -- the ones followING, and the ones being followED.

    The twitterEE, and the twitterER.

    Receiving tweets -- sending tweets.

    Now, I can (as a followER), go around and follow whomever I want.

    But, as a SENDER of tweets, I cannot choose/determine who will follow me.
    Analogy: as an emailER, I cannot go out and grab email addresses and send out emails. That's spamming. That's intrusive marketing.

    If that's so, then how does the software system that I see for sale go out and "GET" people to follow you on twitter?

    In the "who may knock on whose door" scheme of things, as a SENDER of tweets, you're NOT allowed to 'solicit' other twitter members, UNinvited -- right?

    So, how are 'followers' GATHERED by this software system?

    -- TW
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  • Profile picture of the author bizfox
    Originally Posted by -- TW View Post

    1) Is there an easy way to get a free code for a nice-looking "follow us on twitter!" box? Doesn't twitter provide that?
    Yes you can use twitter's own flash or html badge

    Originally Posted by -- TW View Post

    2) If that's so, how does the 'automated' twitter follower signer-upper I've seen work?!?
    Automatic followers cannot follow blocked twitter accounts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Doug Pretorius
    Originally Posted by -- TW View Post

    So, if the twitterEE is in control of the twitterER, then how can being followED be automated?
    I wondered the very same thing until I realized those tools are intentionally mislabeled.

    Just to be clear: There is no such thing as a program that will give you followers.

    All those programs do is automate who YOU follow. So instead of clicking to follow someone yourself, you can have the program follow a bunch of people based on a keyword or whatever.

    The thing about twitter is that when you follow someone there's a good chance they will follow you back. Also having a "follow me" thingy on your site/blog/wherever is really good for getting real followers (opposed to spam followers). And of course providing value in a non-spammy and/or entertaining way is what keeps people from UNfollowing you!
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
    <<Just to be clear: There is no such thing as a program that will give you followers.>>

    That makes sense now. But the (INITIAL) hype for that program sure makes it seem like it 'automatically' GETS you followers. Like it scrapes them somehow.

    That's the invisible, philosophical WALL IMing keeps bumping into. Unlike traditional marketing, one cannot gather up a list of people, then contact them. With the internet, it's all backwards. The "target" in target mrkting (online) refers to the merkatER, not the potential customer. That's a crippling difference -- which is why things that claim to get over that hurdle are so welcomed!

    Cheers.

    -- TW
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  • Profile picture of the author robrudd
    well you use free twitter software to follow people based on keywords from their tweets or from another users list of followers.
    You actually have to follow them first then a large percentage of those will follow you back. So say you use the free software to follow 1000 people, a few days later then those people will follow you back somewheres around half. So you will be following 1000 and have 500 followers. You then can setup tweets to be sent our to warm them up.

    As for a logo you can do a google image search for twitter and find lots of images that say "follow me on twitter" and link it to your twitter profile page.
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
    <<As regards your second question, the SENDER of the tweets does have control over who follows him - when somebody begins to follow you and you dont like him or her then you can 'block' that particular user from 'receiving your updates'. The option is there in twitter.>>

    Traffic -- you didn't understand q-2. Maybe that's a result of having an im-ing mindset(?)

    What you're talking about is 'negative' control -- the ability to REJECT. What I'm talking about is 'positive' control -- the ability to GATHER.

    Cheers.

    -- TW
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr. Enthusiastic
    First, I owe you an apology, TW. I visited your link and meant to click my browser's button to disable noscript, but instead I hit the adjacent button to "report abuse." If there's a way to undo that I will, since I'm all for site owners having their own control over sidewiki on their sites. Send me a PM and I'll remove that negative report if possible.

    Second, I see you're a war room member. There are several people who've posted their twitter strategies there. I suggest you search for those threads, pick whichever twitter guru you like best, and ask your question there. Some of those folks work really hard to keep up to date on the latest developments in the Twitterverse or whatever it's called. If you're a Twitter fan, be sure to get your full money's worth from the war room by taking advantage of all the Twitter research in there.

    Chris
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