Nine Questions to Ask Yourself Before Following Someone on Twitter

source: bruceclay.com

With all the people and companies on Twitter, how does one decide who to follow? Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you decide who to follow on Twitter.

1. Does the person appear knowledgeable about the area(s) you’re interested in?

Sure you can learn from just about everyone but why follow someone unless they have information pertaining to your interests?

2. Does the person actually work in the area of interest or a related industry?

Someone working in the industry would be in good position to know of and share valuable and timely information.

3. How much of the information, opinion and perspective provided are actually useful and actionable?

4. How often is the person quoted and/or interviewed by others having a platform?

People are quoted and interviewed by others for a reason. Some of my best follows were found after reading their comments in a trade publication.

5. Does the person run a blog and/or contribute to popular forums? Do they regularly participate in tweetchats?

People who regularly blog, contribute content to other sites and/or participate in tweetchats seem to have better content to share than those that don’t. IMO.

6. Does the person attend and/or present at conferences, webinars and other venues?

These people often create or have access to great content that they often share via Twitter.

7. Does the person offer any contradictory opinion or insight? Or are they just “Go Along to Get Along,” Pollyannaish-types who will tell you what you want to hear?

Contrarians and people willing to take an unpopular stance and/or confront popular opinion can offer tremendous insight and shouldn't be discounted. 

8. Who are the people that currently follow them?

You can learn a lot about a person by who hangs out with them. Look at who follows the person you are thinking of following. 

9. How often does the person post?

Is there really any value to following someone who posts once or twice a month?

Good Call!
8/22/16: Dr. Mark Yoffe, MD: There’s value to following someone who posts only once or twice a month as long as what they say is thoughtful, useful, & timely! Tweet Here

So next time you're wondering who to follow, consider the above. or do as I sometimes do and just follow someone for the heck of it. You may even want to follow me - just for the heck of it.