jump the shark

Every Friday on twitter, you’ll find an a endless supply of recommended people to follow. If you’ve ever seen a tweet begin with #FF or #FollowFriday – that’s what its all about.  Its a brilliant idea and a very unique way to use twitter; @micah is the bright guy who came up with the concept.

An idea that’s about to jump the shark.

#FollowFriday recommendations begin to flood the screen at the stroke of midnight on Thursday. People even like to sneak some in before midnight; some like to brag about being the person who delivered the first tip.

For the next 24 hours, you’ll see carefully crafted messages containing profile names like a shopping list. Oprah? Really?

The Queen of Spades buy

Afro Samurai: Resurrection movies Recommending quality followers is a great thing. I’d hate to see it turn into an exercise in futility. I enjoy being recommended just as much as the next person. Thing is, I don’t see a noticeable increase in Friday followers when compared to any other day. Probably because everyone else on twitter is busy making lists of people to follow.

Here’s the guidelines I follow to make it effective and reduce noise   – adopt as you wish:

• When recommending someone, at least be sure you’re following them; why would I follow them if you’re not?
• Don’t re-tweet someone else’s tweet recommending you. Tacky.
• Don’t send individual, public thank-you’s to every person who gave you a #FF bump. Send a DM.
• Send out a couple individual #FF rec’s; include a meaningful reason for the recommendation.
• Help deserving people with less followers than you; they’ll appreciate it and it’ll help build your presence even more.
• If you can’t fight the urge to create a list of names, group them together others within a market segment.
• Don’t brag about how many #FF rec’s you received that day. Yay. You’re popular.

Sam Kinison: Breaking the Rules divx

My Bloody Valentine video

How do you effectively use #FollowFriday?

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