Why I became a Twitter-Quitter by @nooneanymore

I love twitter. It’s a great way to interact with a community, stay in touch with pals and promote some of the projects I’ve been working on. Over time however, I believe there has been a change in the twitter users. This change has partly pushed me to deleting my twitter account, but it isn’t the only reason. Let me explain a little as to why I quit twitter.

This post is really written on my experience of using a personal twitter account, less for business, Oh by the way I’m Ben Gribbin.

Time

Ok, so time doesn’t seem to equate much in the use of twitter. And it’s not really the amount of time that concerned me. Tweeting takes seconds, if that, so this isn’t a problem. It’s the use of my time, and twitters effects on my workflow that concerned me.

I’ve read before that in productivity circles it takes anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to truly get rolling on a task, to really focus and zone in. But I was refreshing twitter every 20 minutes and tweeting as much, causing lower concentration.

My advice would be that if you want to remain a twitter-er then switch off while you work. Growl makes sure you get interrupted, so switch this off too. You should see a marked improvement in your focus. However, this wasn’t the only concern I had.

Feeling like your missing out

You may have been shouting at me previously… “WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST TURN TWITTER OFF?”. Frankly, because I felt like I could miss out on something truly awesome.

I liked to read each and every tweet. I had carefully followed those who interested me and those who often tweeted about jobs and the industry I work in. So by turning twitter off for several hours, I would create a back-log and potentially miss an important or note-worthy tweet.

Of-course, these kind of tweets are few and far between. But checking for them was causing distraction. Not only that, but I would be sat with friends, staring at my iPhone – conversing with tweeters as opposed to real, human faces. It’s important you get the balance right.

Make sure you never put tweeting before friends. It is considered rude to be using your phone when in the presence, or even conversation of others so keep that well in mind. Anything you miss can be caught up with at the end of the day.

Tweet Quality

I’ve noticed over the past few years I’ve been using twitter a shift in the kind of tweets out there. Things like give-aways, competitions and accounts that only tweet links to articles we’re starting to get on my nerves a little. Then you have those who tweet mundane or useless twaddle. Things like “I had my haircut on Monday and it needs doing again” or “Just took my dog for a walk” might rank high on some peoples interest, but they were clogging up my stream with random banter.

Twitter used to be new, fun and exciting. People wouldn’t tweet about their daily hygiene habits or how they like their coffee. It would be fun and vibrant chat about design between a focussed and large group of designers / geek types.

So in essence, I’m saying here that you should consider what you tweet first. Tweet interesting stuff. Not boring drivel, tweeters only have a short fuse and it’s incredibly easy to hit unfollow!

If your not growing on twitter, chances are your dull.

Then are those who only tweet links. Aren’t Digg and Del.Ico.US for interesting links? Not twitter….

How could I forget the self-promoters or self-congratulators? Those that constantly post about how great they are at design or how you should buy your new book. Of course, your followers want to hear about what your up to but not have it constantly shoved down their necks much like a mother bird feeds her children regurgitated worms.

People who don’t interact with the community

Another element to my quitting twitter was the gradual shift of those who actually interact with their community. Don’t get me wrong, there are some awesome tweeters out there, with 1000’s of followers and they regularly talk with each one.

But then there are account-holders who are simply out to bolster their wallets, follower count or egos. Those who follow you, for the follow-back, only to unfollow you…

I’m ashamed to say there are tweeters in our industry who fit the above. They basically ignore you. Yes, ok they have a lot of followers. But it can go to their heads, giving them an inflated view of ones-self.

Spam

Sad to say, Twitter is becoming a victim of it’s own popularity. Z-List celebrities begin to name-drop Twitter purely to sound cool, whilst Radio presenters world-wide have all got sections in their programs dedicated to reading tweets or similar.

This has pushed popularity up, along with increasing those with a less than honest intention to join the band wagon.

Spam on twitter is increasing. If I had a £1 for every DM requesting me to join some Mafia game I’d be filthy rich. Like a real Mafia boss..

These are the reasons that moved me to quit Twitter. It wasn’t an easy decision, I’ve tweeted at-least 5 times a day for the last year and a half – it really does become part of your day-to-day life.

Of course, I’m not saying Twitter is any less interesting or unique as it first was. These are just my own opinions. Twitter is still growing at ridiculous rates and is becoming as important as email or IMing for some. Perhaps you’ve experienced some of the above. Then again, it could just be me. Still, since quitting Twitter, I’ve felt more free. I’ve felt more focussed. Yes, ok, I still have to use it for a lot of my work. I write for many blogs and managing (and interacting) with the community is essential. But on a personal basis, It’s not for me. I feel as though I have more time and I like it! I really haven’t missed it. A fresh start to 2010.

Will you be joining me in quitting twitter? Did you ever think about quitting? What stopped you?

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• December 2nd, 2009
• Posted in Social Media