What rules do you have for Twitter and who you follow?

I generally spend part of a day each week going through my list of recent Twitter followers and getting to know some of them a bit better. I usually do this at least once a week, sometimes a little more frequently. But, I do give this personal attention - no automatic follows, unfollows, mentions or direct messages. I thought it might help a few of you in your process of developing some social media disciplines.

My rules may differ from your rules, but there are things that should shape our rules, no matter what they are - Why do I use Twitter? Why do I follow somone on Twitter? Why won't I follow someone on Twitter? Will I ever unfollow someone and why? You don't need to follow everyone who follows you - I don't. Likewise, not everyone I follow also follows me.

Why I use Twitter

At its heart, Twitter is a messaging system - I share updates, news, humor and insights, provide feedback and ask questions - another way of having conversations. I also use it to keep up with others' updates, news, humor, insight and questions. I am always trying to learn new things and share what I've learned with others. Twitter is a way for me to do that.

Why I follow someone on Twitter

When I first created an account on Twitter, I started by following people I new. Then, their networks expanded and I saw updates coming from different people. If the tweets were interesting, I continued to watch and would add them to a list. If I retweeted something they posted, I was pretty sure I'd follow them. If they posted a question and I felt the urge to respond, I was likely to follow them.

The same thing happens when someone follows me - I get a notice of new followers and I watch my list of followers for new additions. I'll look at their profile, check out their tweets and the topics they seem to favor and get a sense for their personality and style. If what they share adds value to my stream, they get followed.

Why I won't follow someone on Twitter

After someone follows me, I will ask myself the following questions before deciding if I'll follow back:

• Are they "broadcasters"? We all know people who love to talk and love to hear themselves talk. I avoid them in person and I avoid them on Twitter. I'm here to have conversations, not listen to lectures.
• Are they 1-dimensional? Here's where conversations turn to rants. They'll allow other voices to be heard, as long as they are on topic - no depth or variety.
• Do they protect their tweets? People need to protect their privacy and I applaud their discretion. My profile and tweets are all public and I only post what I'm willing to share with the world. Protecting your tweets is like going to a party and sitting in your car all night, wondering why no one is talking to you. Join the party or stay home.
• Do they over- or under-tweet? Over-tweeting is usually the most common of these 2 offenses, but if you only post every 5 weeks, why are you on Twitter? Over-tweeters are close relatives of the broadcasters, but have less focus.
• Do they work the numbers, either openly or quietly? There are those that like to collect followers like some people collect stamps - more is better. One way they do this is to follow more people, in hopes they will follow back. If they don't, the unfollow comes quickly afterwards. I've noticed as people reach thousands of followers, their style changes to broadcasting and aren't worth following. When I see stats posted by an account - how many they've just unfollowed, or followed - it's a sign you're just a number, too.

You'll notice that my list does not include

• Do they have celebrity status?
• How many followers do they have or how many are they following?
• What is their social influence (Klout, Kred, PeerIndex, Social Mention, ...)?

Why I would unfollow someone on Twitter

Once I have started following someone, I usually keep following them. Just like friends - I may not have as many conversations with everyone, but we do catch up once in a while. If someone has changed their style, as happens in person, that's OK. If the person has had a dramatic shift in personality and has moved into behaviors that aren't quite social, I'll look at the relationship and decide where to go from there.

Keeping things simple is the best way of making sure you don't get overwhelmed.

Having a set of guidelines, whether personal or professional, when using social media is critical and should be shaped by your reasons for using Twitter and other social media.

If you get behind on checking your followers and who you're following, I suggest Tweepi.com. You can see who's following you that you're not following back, who's following you that you're not following, who hasn't tweeted in a while (some accounts do go dormant), and you can also explore who other people are following, or get more information about a list you've created.

I'd love to hear how you're managing your Twitter followers - tweet me or add a comment!