Comments on: A Modest Proposal: The ‘5 Tweets’ Rule

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By: Daniel Johnson, Jr.

Daniel Johnson, Jr. — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:57:47 +0000

I don’t really use Twitter the way you’re proposing. I could see the approach for someone who or an account that’s only use is to share “thought leadership”. I find those who interact with me want more than 5 tweets a day will start asking if I’m okay if I stop.
Your use of social media will vary, and that’s okay.

By: Macala Wright

Macala Wright — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:33:42 +0000

Interesting proposition: I think the concept is solid but better utilized as a tactic for a CEO/CMO/COO with limited time to engage in social media.

By: Puru Gupta

Puru Gupta — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:34:05 +0000

Jonathan,
I loved reading the post as much as the follow up comments. The discussion/debate/arguments were worth reading.
thanks!
P.S. I will follow your 5 twit theory soon..

By: jonathan Kranz

jonathan Kranz — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:18:02 +0000

Jim Genuine,
I’m now following you on Twitter. Is that enough love or were you expecting something more?

By: Jim "Genuine" Turner

Jim "Genuine" Turner — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:41:54 +0000

I just tweeted this article. I think it may have been number 6 or 7 of the day. Can I have the link love and free traffic here back please? I wouldn’t want to waste the time of the people I have in my community.

By: Jonathan Kranz

Jonathan Kranz — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:28:37 +0000

A few points:
Yes, I was alluding to Swift in the title, but my suggestion is not a satire; I don’t think limiting your tweets is the equivalent of eating Irish children.
Lots of people seem to be accusing me of “dictating” something. That’s silly. Even if I had the desire to dictate a rule, I certainly don’t have the power to do so.
Then there’s the issue of expertise. I’m not a Twitter expert. So sue me. Few of my clients, customers or prospects are, either. And this much I do know about communicating (and Twitter — and no other social media tool — is going to change this): the audience, not the speaker, sets the rules of engagement. You can choose to speak on your terms or on theirs. I choose the latter.

By: Callieannbrat

Callieannbrat — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:52:14 +0000

Just Saying here. Who are we to decide what is substance? If you don’t choose to hear/read someones banter well then don’t follow. But, don’t limit others fun. To many rules make Jack a dull boy. To each his own. Tweet On.

By: twittermad

twittermad — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:05:02 +0000

I agree with this to an extent. But i don’t think we need to limit our tweets to 5/day. I do think we could cut the pooptweets. Like: I’m bored or
I’m listening to a certain song. Drinking coffee. These tweets are really annoying! Please don’t integrate your blip.fm with your twitter!! Just be tweet savvy!

By: Scott Allen

Scott Allen — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:51:01 +0000

And if this IS satire (I am SO hoping), isn’t it sad that only 3 of us were even suspicious it might be?

By: Jennifer L. Wojcik

Jennifer L. Wojcik — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:44:42 +0000

Jonathan,
I think you are pretty much completely missing the point.
Twitter is about the conversation…connection, communication not “broadcasting”. There are much better outlets for that sort of thing. If you, or anyone else for that matter, imposes ‘rules’ on how to use Twitter…it would die. Plain and simple.
It is a fairly straightforward proposition to limit what you see in your stream. I have close to 14,000 tweets over the course of nearly a year. I talk business, I post links I find interesting, I have amazing…and not so amazing conversations with people. Many of the folks I spend time with on Twitter have become friends in real life, business associates and trusted confidants.
Twitter has opened up an entirely new world to me. It has provided opportunity that I never new existed. This did NOT happen by ‘following the rules’. People got a chance to know me. Yes…I’m silly sometimes. Yes, I have bad days. Yes…I post what I had for lunch.
But that IS the point. I don’t hide behind some facade of corporateness that you seem to be implying we should. Frankly…I AM my brand, and that is what is communicated via Twitter.
So…if you don’t like it…leave. Unfollow. Block. It’s pretty simple.

By: Scott Allen

Scott Allen — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:44:38 +0000

I’m trying to figure out if you just posted an April Fool’s post a little early, or if you are really being so irresponsible as to make these recommendations without having actually TESTED things like response rate, follow/unfollow rate, etc.
As Jack said, “Your post leads me to believe that you didn’t objectively study the patterns but rather went looking to pick a fight.”
Come back when you have evidence. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing what’s actually working for me.
See, the real value of Twitter doesn’t come from the click-throughs to your blog and other stuff. The real value comes from relationship-building, and relationships are built via conversation far more than via link-sharing.
Case in point — my latest joint venture deal should be worth 7 figures to me over, say, the next 5 years. How did I get it? I was introduced to them by someone I met on Twitter, who I connected with over our mutual love of listening to heavy metal when working late at night.
WAY more value than a few more visitors to my website. And it wouldn’t have happened if I weren’t using Twitter conversationally, or if I were completely focused on business there.

By: charles bayer

charles bayer — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:28:57 +0000

Where do all the twits get the time to leave comments — don’t they work full time?

By: Jason Crouch

Jason Crouch — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:18:07 +0000

One more quick thing: This post might be better received as satire, since the original “Modest Proposal” was just that.
Jonathan Swift suggested that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. Clearly, this was not to be taken seriously. Just a thought -

By: Jason Crouch

Jason Crouch — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:13:42 +0000

I realize after seeing your subsequent comment on this post that you were proposing this in a business context, but I think most people do not make this distinction on Twitter. I am certain that I won’t lose you as a follower by leaving my remarks here, because I am a “prolific” tweeter with over 14,000 updates there now. Most of these tweets were the result of conversations that I had with friends (both new and existing).
Thankfully, I have recruited two agents who work for me from Twitter, and I have had several sales from my efforts there since last fall.
To propose an arbitrary limit on tweets, whether it is 5 or 10 or even 100, illustrates your ignorance of the medium, frankly. If I attend a conference or a party, this is tantamount to limiting me to speaking only 5 sentences while there.

By: Tom Collins

Tom Collins — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:02:23 +0000

Sorry, Jonathan but your inexperience with Twitter does show. As Robin, Jack, Mack, and others have pointed out, there is no way to articulate a “rule” for how many tweets will be found useful by a particular person’s followers. The right number depends on who they are and what they’re tweeting about that day.
Your attempt to backfill by limiting your proposed five tweet rule to professional business communitcators falls apart in several contexts. Suppose you and, oh, say Robert Scoble got to debating some relevant issue. And others chime in. Do all of you have to shut up at 5 tweets, regardless of the points and nuances being explored? Would you expect a great conversation to end like that if you were together in person?
Or suppose Charlene Li is live-tweeting from an industry conference. Those streams quickly get above 5 tweets in each session, let alone for the whole day. High value stuff.
If you’re not finding value in the folks you follow, find new folks. And as Mack wrote, unfollow the ones who annoy you. But don’t pretend you know how the rest of us should use a communication tool we find valuable.
Oh, and don’t pretend you can so neatly separate the social from the business. A prolific tweeter, social media expert, and friend, Toby Bloomberg (@tobydiva), passed on this quote in her new Twitter book (#SMGPS):
“All lasting business is built on friendship.” – A.A. Montapert
The book is being written on Twitter, btw, and is yet another example where your 5 tweet rule cannot apply.
Spend the time to understand the medium, before you start trying to dictate it’s rules.
Tom

By: Andre Natta

Andre Natta — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:53:47 +0000

Here's the link I was talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal

By: Andre Natta

Andre Natta — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:38:42 +0000

Jonathan:
I’ll say that taking into account the title of the post, you’ve done a great job of getting folks to think about the issue and how it would or would not work.
Mr. Swift would be quite proud of your effort… if it was the intention.
For those wondering what I’m talking about, click here.
Even if it was not, the idea should be to think about how Twitter works for you instead of worrying about how someone tells you to use it. I’ve recently gotten into tough discussions about the fact that engagement in social media in general is important. I was told that I shouldn’t tell anyone how they must use it; the weird thing was, I was simply saying that engagement was necessary – not necessarily how that engagement needed to take place.
Great use of the tools in place to generate discussion.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:19:47 +0000

“What would The 5 Tweets Rule accomplish?
* It would encourage tweets of real substance by adding the key element of quality communications: thought. Instead of creating reflex posts, tweeters would be forced to ask themselves, “Does this comment really merit one-fifth of my daily allotment?”
* It would discourage empty chatter: the endless posts about exercise regimens, travel arrangements, goofy YouTube videos, what happened last night on American Idol, etc.
* It would save Twitter from itself. If participants fail to voluntarily limit themselves, readers — as a matter of self-defense — will abandon the platform.”
No IMO, your ideas would totally destroy why I use Twitter. If people could only leave 5 tweets a day, most are going to use those tweets to PROMOTE THEMSELVES. Which turns Twitter into nothing but one big commercial.
Sorry Jonathan, but not everyone uses Twitter the same way you do, as many have pointed out, many of us use Twitter as a conversational tool.
And as Lewis correctly stated, no one is forcing you to follow anyone that leaves more than 5 tweets a day. You have COMPLETE control over your own Twitter experience, so I quite honestly have no idea why you are complaining about people that Twitter too much. Just unfollow them.
Case in point, I hate how Guy Kawasaki uses Twitter. So I don’t follow him. Problem solved.
If you don’t like how someone uses Twitter, unfollow them, and your problem is solved.
Still not sure what the issue is here…

By: Tonya Engst

Tonya Engst — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:42:24 +0000

I think this essay makes good sense as a general guideline for many Twitter users, whether they use Twitter for personal or professional reasons.
As the saying goes, though, “you can’t legislate common sense.”
(Of course, the author wasn’t proposing legislation, just self-regulation.)

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By: MacSmiley

MacSmiley — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 03:01:25 +0000

Birds of a feather flock together. You don’t need a rule for that. It just happens.

By: Jonathan Kranz

Jonathan Kranz — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:52:11 +0000

Sheila and Tinealene:
Thank you both for making an important clarification: we’re not talking about limiting “social” Twitter behavior among ordinary persons/friends; we’re addressing appropriate behavior when using Twitter for professional/marketing purposes. Two very different things.

By: tinealene

tinealene — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:19:52 +0000

Boy did you open a can of worms, but as a newer member of social media I am glad you did. I have only been on a few months but have already stopped following some people that post constantly. I am speaking about “professionals”, not about the average person just out there tweeting for fun. AND, I have a client that just started and already I think they are going overboard repeating the same crap over and over and not using Twitter in a relevant way (again as a marketing tool).
I think it comes down to that for the “professional” marketer….relevancy and I believe that is your intent to address that issue here with your proposal.
I don’t know what the number should be in terms of limiting your tweets, but I applaud you for taking a stand and at least getting marketers to think about how they are using Twitter and to try to be more responsible vs. boring the crap out of people. I for one am going to make the suggestion to my client before I have to unfollow them!!!!
BTW, count me in as a new follower for you!

By: Sheila Cox

Sheila Cox — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:26:07 +0000

Johnathan -
I welcome your ideas! I don’t view them as mandates or rules. Instead, many people are attempting to set guidelines for behavior to make social interactions easier on everyone. Social/Business and Business/Social rules are different. For example, when I run into a good friend at a business networking event, I say hello and chat, but don’t monopolize their time – my friend is there to network as well. However, if I run into a good friend at a party, I might talk to them most of the evening. Commonly understood guidelines help everyone.

By: jack

jack — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:10:55 +0000

Jonathan -
Exactly. You are a communication expert, which is why I’m surprised at your stance, and it leads me to believe that you don’t get the communication patterns on twitter. You found a few “annoying apples”, and you are basing your entire judgment on them (would you want someone to tell you how to use the telephone because they watched a few high school girls use a phone?). I’m not trying to sit here all high and mighty with the “you just don’t get it” defense. Your post leads me to believe that you didn’t objectively study the patterns but rather went looking to pick a fight. Look above. Counting your original post, you’ve posted 6 times on this one topic alone (if you reply to this post, then 7). Look at all the conversations you are having with your readers. All the interactions. Twitter is a micro-blogging site. Why are you holding it to a higher standard? What if you had written two blogs yesterday– you could be up to 12 …. 15 posts in one day– easy.
And you are “cleaning house” because you feel Twitter isn’t for you. This issue doesn’t seem to be the straw that broke the camels back. Twitter was obviously never for you, and you are seemingly looking for a scapegoat. And that’s fine. Do whatever you want. Twitter, like blogs, or the telephone, is just a tool. But you suggesting to those that do find value in it that they should limit their interactions seems disingenuous at best. You wrote this piece like you have been on Twitter for years, and have a substantial following. You wrote this piece to assert your thought leadership on the Twitter space, and acted like you just had an epiphany–
For the record, I’m against linking Twitter and Facebook Status for a vast majority of users (so I guess we kind of agree on that? ). They are different tools used to communicate with different audiences. Subsequently they need to be treated differently. I’m also against the Facebook redesign which may be adding to your frustrations, but that’s another conversation all together.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this with me.

By: jonathan Kranz

jonathan Kranz — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:18:48 +0000

For more on this topic, see Nova Spivak's article: Can Twitter Survive What is About to Happen to It?: http://tinyurl.com/al84xv

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:49:11 +0000

Right on. Twitter is getting watered-down before most clients even understand how social media can be valuable. As trusted experts, shouldn’t we marketers be delivering RELEVANT and thought-provoking tweets??
Let’s ask ourselves next we’re about to hit ‘Update’ – “is this about helping my ego, or is it about helping my audience?”

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