I talk too much. This isn’t a major revelation,though. I’ve known this for some time. Even back when I was a kid my weary parents used to beg me, pretty please, for some quiet time. My brothers and sisters would invent “let’s see who can be quiet the longest” games just to get me to stop talking. Of course it’s the gift of gab that led to my success as a blogger. It’s also costing me followers on Twitter. Seems the 140 character crowd isn’t interested in spending time with someone so chatty. I get it though. Before realizing the truth, I began researching the reasons why Twitterers stop following people. Here are the top 5:

1. They’re too spammy: I’m on Twitter because I want to talk to people. It’s such a great way to share. Some folks take the sharing to the extreme, however, and only tweet links to their stuff. Yeah it’s ok to drop links now and again, but don’t forget about building relationships. No one likes talking with a salesman all day.  We like real conversations with real people.
2. They’re too offensive: Not everyone is into regularly tweeted “f bombs” or nude avatars. Racism, tough talk and lots of controvery are also turnoffs. Most Twitterers are there for the light conversation. If it gets too stressful, they’re out of there.
3. They talk too much: Like me. No one likes it when one particular Twitter stream dominates the whole timeline.  Sure, it’s fun to talk back and forth with one person and just banter all day. Think about how it looks on someone else’s screen though. When you dominate the entire conversation, you’ll lose followers. Trust me on this, I know.
4. They have nothing in common: Most of us choose Tweeps to follow with care. For instance, I look for the people who I can share tips and ideas with and will also make me laugh. We have to have something in common though.  It’s just like the friends we hang out with in the real world. If we don’t find certain people interesting enough or sharing the same ideals, we probably won’t run in the same circles. It’s nothing personal, we just don’t mesh.
5. They auto DM: Don’t you hate those auto DM’s you get when you follow certain people. Some of them just say “hi.” Most say “Hi, buy my ebook or view my blog.” I wouldn’t walk up to someone in the real world and say, “Hi. I’m Deb Ng. Visit my blog for more information about me.” So why do we do this on Twitter?

What are your reasons for un-following Tweeps?

Yesterday at dinner with “the girls”, the discussion turned to social networks. Some didn’t quite get the appeal of Facebook and Twitter and an interesting discussion ensued. It took an even more interesting turn when one of my friends, who works for a major national brand, felt businesses really don’t want to monitor the social networks because they don’t want to know what is being said about them. While this may be true, I believe that even though the talk might not always be rosy, it’s important for brands to hear what their consumers say about their products.

Everything is an Opportunity

The way I see it, all comments are opportunities. The truth might hurt, but how is a brand to learn about what is hurting the business if they’re not monitoring the comments? This is a wonderful chance to find which areas need improvement and which areas rock. Why wouldn’t businesses want to take advantage of social media?

Good Customer Service Means Good Word of Mouth Promotion

There have been times when I complained on a social network about poor service or an item I didn’t like. Community managers from some of these brands reached out to me via the same social networks and offered to discuss. In most cases, we were able to resolve the issue in an amicable manner. After receiving such good customer service, I sung their praises to others and they received more business as a result. How can this be a bad thing?

People Trust in Brands that “Get it”

I love it when brands embrace social media or technology. When they “get it” it means they get their customers. It means they want to work with us and use the same tools we do. It means they’re not out of touch and really do wish to find the solutions that work.

Should Brands Monitor the Social Networks?

Heck yeah, brands should monitor the social networks. To not do so means they’re missing out on an important opportunity to touch base with their users. Frankly, I don’t think I would want to deal with a brand that isn’t interested in learning what I think.

How about you?

Just when you thought you were rid of me, here I come with some more news from the Web 2.0 Expo.

This might not be news per se, but it is a nice summary of the virtual worlds panel at W2E.  Club Penguin is one that I am actually familiar with.  My 9 year old daughter is in that community and she loves it.  From a parent’s perspective the focus on safety and security is very reassuring.

The virtual world phenomena is going to become more interesting and more compelling as emmersive technologies are developed.  Imagine working with colleagues in something like Second Life, but you don’t experience it through a monitor and keyboard but through something more akin to total VR.  Believe me it isn’t that far off.  Think about how crazy we thought affordable touchscreen laptops were a few years ago.  Heck even laptops that are thin and light.

I’m telling you, it’s just around the corner.