I've had enough of "If You Like This Pls RT"
I've just unfollowed @ProPhoto101 on Twitter. Not big deal, everyone follows and unfollows people, it's not like it's a major event. But I want to take a couple minutes to explain why I unfollowed him.
One reason is that he doesn't interact at all. Twitter is used as a broadcast-only medium, and frankly, I prefer interactions and relationship building. But that's a post for another day :)
The other reason is that most of ProPhoto101's tweets include "if you like this please retweet". I find that beyond annoying. So I just cut my ties with him. Note that I'm not picking on this guy out of personal grudge, it could have been anyone showing that same behaviour.
Retweets, or RT, are powerful things. It's a way one's message can spread in a so-called "viral" manner. With just one RT, your tweet could be seen by thousands of people who don't know you. This can be substantial exposure. But is it *good* exposure? I'm not convinced. There's no doubt retweets are a powerful engagement tool..
I RT stuff regularly. I do so when I find value in a tweet and I think my followers might find the content interesting. I very rarely RT something when people specifically seek an RT. The strength and nature of the content determines whether or not the tweet deserves to be passed on - not the begging.
In fact, I'm a bit like Edward Lewis who says:
Reverse psychology. That's exactly how the Please Retweet This line works for me. I probably won't RT anything that you beg to be Retweeted.
I'm not alone in really disliking the chronic RT requesters. On Geoff Livingston's site, a post and comments from last week discuss this at length. The consensus there seems to be that:
- There's nothing wrong with asking an occasional RT of a specific, more influencial person, but that one shouldn't continually beg for retweets.
- If you build relationships with twitter followers, people are more likely to RT your content.
Sooo, what's *your* take on people who continually ask to have their stuff retweeted?
