To continue my postings on twitter I thought I would answer a question I get often about the social networking tool. In an effort to get other views on this, I asked the question on twitter too. So, not only will you see my way of deciding on who to follow, you will see other opinions too. In fact, my question sparked a joint venture between myself and Cheryl Smith who has a great blog called CultureSmith Consulting and you can follow Cheryl on twitter @CherylSmith999 And go read her great blog post.

I receive notices daily from new followers to my my twitter account and I always go visit their own twitter page to see who they are. The first thing I look for is a Web site or blog link that I can go visit to learn more about them. I also look for the “Bio” to have some information. The “Bio” is part of the twitter profile page and something you should fill out if you are using twitter.

@Cherylsmith999 says, “she looks to see if the tweets are interesting/relevant. If not, I don’t automatically follow nor block. I check back later.”

I do the same. I also like to see what they are tweeting about. You can tell pretty quick after reading a few of their posts if you want to follow them. And you can tell pretty quick how they are using twitter. I for one usually don’t follow someone if all they tweet about is personal stuff. I follow someone on twitter that I can interact with and learn from. Someone who talks only about what they have for lunch or other personal matters usually don’t get followed.

@runkittyrun says, “I usually look at the following vs. follower ratio. If the following number is low, they may just be new to twitter.”

I also look at the ratio of following to followers. This is also a good way to determine if the twitter account is used for spamming purposes too. I for one like to see a ratio that is pretty close to one another. That doesn’t mean I don’t follow some who have a larger following than they follow. And that is when you need to look even more closely at what they are posting about on twitter.

@profwebs agrees when he states, “I’ve said it before, following 10,000 with 300 followers equals blocked, FAIL.

@AmberCadabra provided three key points she looks for.

1. how engaged someone is in the conversations
2. if they share similar interests
3. if I find their updates engaging

I could not agree more with @AmberCadabra and one more I would add is, are the posts recent or stale. I want to follow someone who actually posts on a regular basis. Remember, I want to be able to interact and learn from those I follow.

@saraschneider provided how she finds those to follow which I had actually not even considered. She says she, “uses Summize to search for favorite keywords/interests.

What a great idea. And with the new desktop client TweetDeck you can put search terms right beside your twitter window too.

@michaelq says he, “generally look if they have posted anything - or too much. Quality counts. Aussies get bonus points. Last area is cuteness.” Which leads me to question why he is following me.

@TMarieHilton states, “I don’t follow anyone without some sort of info about them on their home page. I prefer a Web site link.” Me too Tina. Not only do I usually follow them on twitter. But, if I like what I see in their blog, they gain a subscriber.

@norcross brings up two more good points. He looks for humor and what people post on their blogs. Hence, another reason to make sure you have your blog URL included in your twitter profile. Glad to see it is not just me who likes to see a web address to go visit when I decide to follow someone.

All of the tips from those who follow me on twitter are great. And all of them are great ways to determine if you are going to follow someone. But, just as important is they are all good things to keep in mind when you, yourself are on twitter and wanting people to follow you. Keep them all in mind as you build your twitter presence. Find those you can interact with and learn from. The experience of social networking will be at its best.

If any of you have other tips and hints on how you decide who to follow on twitter, please leave your comments and your twitter name so we can check you out there too.

I have blogged about twitter previously at:

• How I Use Twitter — Let me count the ways
• Twitter — Rules of Engagement
• The Twitter Tools of a Home Office Warrior
• Twitter — using it as one of my RSS feeds