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My 5,000th Tweet – Why it Took 2 Years to Get There

Hello, my name is Brian Wallace, and I’m a Twitterholic.  I’ve been on Twitter as @nowsourcing nearly 2 years now.

nowsourcing-joined-twitter

(image credit: whendidyoujointwitter.com)

So if I’ve been on Twitter so long, you might be skeptical that I only have 5,000 updates and not even 5,000 followers. Other people are flying by in follower counts.  And that’s fine.  What you must understand is that I’m more concerned about reach and influence vs. just a follower number.

When we take a look back over the past year, some would even go so far to criticize my meager average of 8.5 Tweets per day:

nowsourcing-tweetstats

(image credit: tweetstats)

Keep in mind that the average number of Tweets per day is actually 4.  Dan Zarrella might argue with me that I’m not reaching my full potential, as he suggests 22 Tweets per day is optimal.  Maybe he’s right.  Am I a Twitter slacker though? Hardly. (Funny, some might argue that being on Twitter so much makes you a slacker).

We manage several different Twitter accounts and advise on a significant client base.  So if you put all those together, I’m actually Tweeting more than is suggested 🙂

Even so, let’s just stick with the 8.5 Tweets per day number.  Some days I’ll even Tweet just a handful.  Why? I would prefer to make each Tweet count and be relevant, entertaining, and helpful to my followers.  They took the trouble of singling me out, so I’m here to provide that value.

A trend that is appearing is that fewer people read blogs (at least, it’s slowed down due to lifestreaming and microblogging) as well as expected RSS usage.  People are looking to their Twitter friends to point them in the right direction.  So, I dedicate my 5,000th Tweet and this further analysis to you, dear reader.  Hope it got you thinking.

How do you approach the whole follower/following/velocity vs. influence discussion? Would love to hear your thoughts.

8 Comments

  1. theGypsy (theGypsy)

    Twitter Comment


    RT @nowsourcing: My 5,000th Tweet – Why it Took 2 Years to Get There: [link to post]

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  2. WomanTribune (Woman Tribune)

    Twitter Comment


    RT @nowsourcing My 5,000th Tweet – Why it Took 2 Years to Get There [link to post]

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  3. gspowart (Gregor Spowart)

    Twitter Comment


    RT @nowsourcing: My 5,000th Tweet – Why it Took 2 Years to Get There: [link to post] Congratulations!

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  4. nowsourcing (Brian Wallace)

    Twitter Comment


    My 5,000th Tweet – Why it Took 2 Years to Get There: [link to post]

    – Posted using Chat Catcher

  5. terryvanhorne (Terry Van Horne)

    Twitter Comment


    bout 4900 2 go 4 me! Good strategy!! RT @nowsourcing My 5,000th Tweet – Why it Took 2 Years to Get There|NowSourcing [link to post]

    – Posted using Chat Catcher

  6. Marcy

    That’s very smart of you. Sure, a great number helps especially when your account is solely for your business. But what will you do with that many followers when no one is REALLY listening? They will be of no use at all. I think you’re smart enough to know the difference between quality and quantity. That’s a very rare thing. 🙂