I just spent about twenty minutes using a free online tool called ManageFlitter to Unfollow 855 people on Twitter.

Unfollowing Twitter Inactives

It easily picked out the Inactives, the folks I Follow who aren’t active on Twitter and haven’t Tweeted in over a month. These are the people I Unfollowed. Many of them had been inactive for eight months or more.

Social Media Is, Well, Social

Twitter (and all Social Media) is a conversation. Conversations require the presence of at least two participants. On Twitter, this means:

Presence: You show up.

Participation: You speak and listen.

Since there’s an “opportunity cost” for me to follow you, in that Twitter may actually restrict me from following others if my friend/follower ratio is out of balance, people I’m following with no presence on Twitter get purged from my list. This means I can grow a larger list, with active, helpful participants.

Perhaps a few “lurkers” got removed, but really, if you’re not contributing value, why are you in the conversation? If you’re on Twitter, Facebook, or involved in any communication-focused social media or community site, try to take a minimum of five minutes a month to stay in touch. If you can’t do that, don’t expect to be listened to.

Oh, there are lots of other ways to get Unfollowed on Twitter, but not showing up at all is pretty basic.

If you want Social Media results in your business, show up.

Come Follow Me On Twitter!

Image via Wikipedia

And of course if you do show up, please follow me on Twitter! If you Tweet now and then, and don’t spam me, I’ll follow back and contribute useful content and ideas – and even respond to questions. You won’t get Unfollowed on Twitter if you show up and participate. Thanks.

About the author

Karilee

I'm a big fan of entrepreneurship. Most of my learning, teaching and business is focused on effectively creating "freedom businesses" that allow you to focus on your strengths, and bring what you're really good at to the world - profitably. My clients are looking for more of the right customers - and I show them how to make that happen. I help them develop their web presence through their website, SEO, social media and other marketing tactics.