Vavroom's Bits & Bobs

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So much to say, so little space ;) I am interested in disability rights activism, photography, cooking, dogs, web accessibility, human rights, etc.

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Not Following Anyone on Twitter - They Got It Right

With all that is happening with the Queensland floods, I became aware of an Aussie company that uses Twitter mainly for broadcast. TransLink SEQ is the Queensland government's public transportation website.

They are updating their twitter stream very regularly - broadcasting information about service interruptions, etc. They had just a hair over 5,000 followers when I wrote this. They followed nobody back.

It is generally seen as bad form to have a bunch of followers and not follow anyone back. I think they got it right though. It is worth noting that they *do* interact with people who directly ask them questions. They just don't try to build social media relationships. That's not how *I* like to use Twitter, but if they are going to be using the service to broadcast news, then let them be honest about that and follow no-one.

 

Posted

3 comments

Jan 11, 2011
Graeme Russell said...
I'm in two minds on this, sure they should be following people, and should respond to tweets - however I think their main priority is (and should be) to get information out. Engagement in this situation is of secondary importance.
Jan 11, 2011
Nic Steenhout said...
Absolutely - getting the information out is mission critical. I prefer to see companies engage, but if they aren't going to really engage, then I think TransLink has got it right by not following anyone back.
Jan 11, 2011
Graeme Russell said...
It could be that they started following people before the 'disaster' and haven't had time to follow new people - and it's likely that others who are following them will be only doing it for the info, not engagement.

I know what you're saying, and ordinarily would totally agree, but in this instance, I'm tending to think let them get the info out, and when the dust (or in this case the water) settles they'll get a chance to take a breath and follow back.

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