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10 Ways To Ruin Your Reputation On Twitter

11/21/2009 - 1:00 am By Diana Adams

We’ve all heard the saying: You spend a lot of time and effort building your reputation on Twitter, and you can ruin it all with one tweet. Well, I think that is a bit extreme, I personally don’t unfollow anyone because of one bad tweet (unless it’s spam); however, it may be easier than you think to ruin your reputation on Twitter.

The general rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t do something outside of Twitter, don’t do it on Twitter. Just be yourself. If you follow that rule, most of the time you will have a lot of fun and enjoy Twitter very much, like many of us do.

However, there are some things that most people consider socially unacceptable on Twitter, and if you choose to do these things repeatedly, you may have a more difficult time building relationships and you may even ruin your reputation.

Here is my Top 10 list:

1. Don’t Spam Or Auto-DM Your Followers – Wow, this is the most important one on the list. Nothing will ruin your reputation more quickly than spamming or sending prefabricated auto-DMs to your followers. With all the account hi-jacking going on lately, we just don’t have any patience for this anymore.

2. Don’t Tweet When You’re Wasted – Yes, we’ve all had those nights when we’ve had a bit too much to drink. I’ve been there and done that. But, when you start to feel a bit dizzy, get off the public timeline! Move it to DM, phone, wave, but stop tweeting.

3. Don’t Drop F-Bombs All Day Long – I’ve been known to drop an F bomb or two outside of Twitter, but don’t do it all day long in your tweets. I do follow one person who is always cute when she does it, @sc430girl, but for the most part, keep it to a minimum, unless you just don’t care about your reputation.

4. Don’t Pretend To Be An Expert Or Guru – To have a good reputation on Twitter, you have to keep it real. People can see right through you when you try to be something you’re not.

5. Don’t Tweet Right Before, During, Or Immediately After Sex – Yes, believe it or not, I’ve seen people actually tweet about this. It is a real turn off to your followers, not to mention how it probably makes your lover feel. If you’ve done this, you might have more important things to be concerned about than your reputation on Twitter.

6. Don’t Complain And Whine That You Want More Followers – This is so tacky. Engage, send great tweets, build relationships, make friends, have fun – if you do these things and are genuine about it, the followers will come!

7. Don’t Be Boring And Don’t Tweet Lame Stuff – No pressure here, but c’mon, let Twitter excite you! Take some chances. Have some fun. Stretch out of your comfort zone a little bit.

8. Don’t Tweet In All Caps – This is just plain annoying. I won’t follow anyone that tweets in all caps; it makes me feel like you are screaming at me.

9. Don’t RT Without Giving RT Credit – You can lose trust with people in a hurry if you do this. Give credit where credit is due!

10. Don’t Spew Negativity All Over Your Followers – Sure, everyone has a bad day every now and then, and that’s part of the beauty of Twitter, we are all here for each other! But when you tweet everyday about how everything sucks, it gets old quick. A positive attitude goes far in life, and on Twitter!

Twitter is a great place to meet new friends, share valuable information and spread joy. Let’s keep it that way! If you can think of anything I’ve left off this list, please leave it in a comment below.

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More Articles By Diana Adams | Articles: 723

Author: Diana Adams

By day, Diana is the CEO/owner of Adams Consulting Group, Inc, a technology services and business solutions consultancy firm serving the specific needs of its clients in advertising and public relations. By night, she lives and breathes by writing. After publishing a small cookbook last year, she is now working on her new masterpiece, scheduled for publishing next year. “I could write all night long and not get tired of it. I think that is when you know you’ve tapped into a true passion. Whatever that thing may be, if you could do it all day or night long, lose track of time, ‘wake up’ ten hours later, and still thirst for more, that is a passion, and I feel like I’ve found that in my writing.” Diana also spends many hours each week assisting the homeless men and women in Atlanta. You can find her on Twitter at @adamsconsulting.


64 Comments

Ryan

November 21st, 2009

Great rules to tweet by! Thanks. :)

[Reply]

Tweethore

November 21st, 2009

CAPS ARE NO LOUDER THAN small letters are. Even with different colored backgrounds and text. Its just another means of expression. I know people who leave their caps lock on. It doesnt bother me one bit to SEE SOMEONE TYPING IN ALL CAPS.

Myself I usually use all caps to EMPHASIZE something. If I were yelling or screaming, my all caps would be FOLLOWED BY THESE !!!

[Reply]

Denise Reply:

She’s merely pointing out proper online etiquette with this one.

[Reply]

Clement Yeung

November 21st, 2009

Hahaha – thanks for the heads-up about tweeting during sex.

People do this?! Amazing…

Thanks D, lovely post which is sure to help a lot of people be their best on Twitter <

[Reply]

Mally Skok

November 21st, 2009

This list definitely deserves a big retweet, too funny

[Reply]

Billy Williams

November 21st, 2009

Great article, I’ll keep these in mind.

[Reply]

Krystyn

November 21st, 2009

Great tweet tips, D! #7 tho…I’m thinking that person is screwed bc what if they’re just lame and boring and need a bottle of wine to loosen up a bit?

I like these tips. I hope the celebrities who tweet their new film/record releases read this and see THAT THEY DON’T NEED TO YELL. :) I always wanna say STOP THAT, already. I’ll just RT this next time w/their name cc’ed ;) #KIDDING

you rock. I love your articles…

[Reply]

Diana Adams

November 21st, 2009

Thank you all for your comments. This article was a hoot to write. Love you all.

[Reply]

baronwhite Reply:

Very good job Diana. Well done
cheers baronwhite

[Reply]

Your Name

November 21st, 2009

I would add: Don’t puke all over your timeline. Some users, knowingly or not, use bots to tweet stories. Sometimes these bots puke 10-20 stories a pop. Not cool

[Reply]

alexboy

November 21st, 2009

yeah…great list. Play the new game for iphone – Road Slot. It’s cool like twitter and free.

[Reply]

Sarah

November 21st, 2009

The other thing that tempts me to unfollow someone on Twitter, is a new one: complaining about a company’s service, or saying how bad xyz’s customer service is. That makes me say ‘Hey, what would you like me to do about it?’

By all means complain *directly* to the company and let us all see, but if it’s just whining well, it’s like any other kind of whining: dull.

[Reply]

Maria

November 21st, 2009

Thank you for that great insight. Appreciate it-Maria

[Reply]

Bevan Bird

November 21st, 2009

Thanks very much, I may have broken a couple of those, but there is still hope for me yet. Peace and Prosperity for all!

[Reply]

fijitruth

November 21st, 2009

This is great & thanks for heads up!!!

[Reply]

jeff(taylor900)

November 21st, 2009

Maybe some of us who have been on the net a lot longer than twitter has been around aren’t as concerned about reputations or large followings..I am 25 and have been ‘on the net’ for 10 years. For the most part what you say is true although my group just laughs at eachother with drunktweeting and we love to take crazy pics and post them. We too hate CAPS if used too much and too much self promotion from celebs and bloggers!

[Reply]

Deon Reply:

I agree with you, Jeff, about reputations, but it has nothing to do with how long you’ve been ‘on the net’ for. It’s about what you use Twitter for. Many people use Twitter as a professional toGol, and drunken banter is not something you would really share with work associates! Also, think of the ramifications of a potential employer Reading Andplease excuse y typos… I can’t see what I’m typing, because echofon on my iPhone has packed it inand isn’t working properly!your very public tweets about throwing up in a cab? As an experienced web user, I’m sure you’re well aware that on social networks, nothing is as private as you think, and everything can be seen by someone you may not intend!

Great list – I would add that you shouldn’t ALWAYS wear your black hat – make sure you contribute more than simply beinthe devil’s advocate

[Reply]

Deon Reply:

Hmm, that did get messed up!

The bit in the middle from “Andplease” through to “properly” should have been at the end of my post!!!

[Reply]

cheth

November 21st, 2009

Please add one more to that list :) if their favorite client is twitter feed and they use it without ever bothering to reply then they’re doing it wrong.
Great post Diana!

[Reply]

Javed

November 22nd, 2009

Just Tweet Tweeples! you will learn by your self and that is the best way!!

[Reply]

Dave Bartlett @DaveBartlett1

November 22nd, 2009

Diana,

I think the ‘tweeting during sex’ issue and the ‘tweeting in all caps’ issue might well be connected.

I find it hard to believe that during sex, anyone would have even ONE hand free to type, but even for the most dextrous lover, (though obviously NOT the most attentive,) typing AND using the shift key when it’s required must be a real challenge.

I reckon that they must be setting CAPS LOCK on, so they can tweet and still give their partners a little bit of attention during foreplay with their free hand.

[Reply]

Linda Summers Posey

November 22nd, 2009

Thanks for the article and the insights. Gotta get me enough followers to HAVE a Twitter reputation! :-)

Another reason not to use all caps is that it’s just plain harder to read. Like we Internet junkies need another source of eye strain!

Cheers!

[Reply]

Diana Adams

November 22nd, 2009

Oh my gosh, you all are sooo funny. You totally made my morning. I can’t stop laughing.

[Reply]

@katjaib

November 22nd, 2009

Great post, Diana. As always. Don’t Auto-DM. You’d think people would get it by now. As for F-bombs, another who gets a free hall pass is @Redheadwriting, because she’s just out and out fresh & funny. I would add:
*DON’T Auto-Tweet. Twitter is about engaging, and if you’re never there to reply, what’s the point?
*DON’T be a jackass. Reply to others, RT others, be interested in others.
*DON’T constantly RT nice things people say about YOU. Once in a while, okay. But FREQUENT RT-ing people’s #FF of you or other compliments makes you look insecure/narcissistic.

[Reply]

Laura Kilfoyle

November 22nd, 2009

Love Dave’s comment about caps letters and having ses and twittering all at the same time!

Good article Diana – if only everyone followed these rules. The only one I disagree with is about not drinking -I agree with Krysten that it might help some boring people to loosen up!

Also – I think it’s important to have an open mind. I follow an escort on here – who is very witty, sweet and fun to follow. If she tweeted about her work I personally wouldn’t follow her – that’s why I think it’s sometimes better to look through people’s tweets rather than just their bio before deciding whether to follow them. :-)

[Reply]

nihiofkdi

November 22nd, 2009

There aren’t any rules to Twitter. At all. Some people get off on receiving thousands of spammy DMs from people they don’t know. All follows are based on personal taste, or lack thereof.

Personally, people tweeting lists of things people shouldn’t tweet aggravates me, but I realise that this is nothing other than my own opinion (which, yes, I still feel the need to vent. It’s the human condition, so I’m told.)

As the punk rock song says, do what you want, just don’t do it around me…

[Reply]

Deon Reply:

This isn’t a list of rules about Twitter – it’s a list of things that will ruin your reputation on Twitter (if you care).

Show a little bit of cyber-maturity here – it does matter what you do on Twitter, as ANYONE can read it – employers can (and do!) look people up on facebook and Twitter and your photos from your holiday in Cuba may just come back to haunt you!

[Reply]

Diana Adams

November 22nd, 2009

Hey, by the way, I never said not to drink and Twitter – that is fun!!! I said “Don’t tweet when you are WASTED”… big difference! LOL

[Reply]

Misty Belardo

November 22nd, 2009

WOW!! Love this post D! Great tips as always.. tips are always a great way to remind twitter users of some of the necessary do’s and don’ts when Tweeting! Thank you for the heads up! :D

[Reply]

Mary McKnight

November 22nd, 2009

Hmmm… how about “don’t give one size fits all advice about Twitter.”
1. Auto DMs are mostly crap but they can be done right so don’t knock them all. I have seen a number that work very well – usually video intros.
2. Negativity and negative comedy are definitely entertaining when used properly like @shitmydadsays. Cynical people exist and their presence on Twitter can be useful to building community. It’s simple sociology – a community of all positive people gets boring fast! Strangely, negativity and strife in any community are tools that can build community and keep members engaged or call them to act. Is too much negativity bad? Yes, but not all negativity is bad.

[Reply]

Bevan Bird

November 22nd, 2009

@Javed Your comment (Just Tweet Tweeples! you will learn by your self and that is the best way!!) is valuable! I agree that making your own mistakes can be the best way to learn. HaHa! : )

[Reply]

Sathish

November 23rd, 2009

Great article…. Its nice I don’t do all these things (mostly) :D

Retweeted with RT

[Reply]

John Kim

November 23rd, 2009

I’ll make sure and watch the f bombs

[Reply]

Shafi Islam

November 24th, 2009

Thanks for your super initiative that you ought to keep adding and revising to deliver value across the tweeter chain.

As a beginner, I would love to find a site/link for idiots to quickly grasp the jist of presenting nice and great tweets, would you know one?

Thanks again for the rules!

[Reply]

Cdoney77

November 24th, 2009

Well Said,

Number 10 is one of the worst. I have a few people I follow and all they tweet is how ill there feeling or how tired they are or how depressed they are.. Its nice to share every now n again (I sometimes do it without realising) but you need to throw in some ‘Happy Tweets’ too!

[Reply]

aehric

November 25th, 2009

Great post. :)

Hit the nail right on the head.

RT’ing this, of course!

[Reply]

Webalista

November 26th, 2009

Useful tips on bit rebels as always!!! Added to my website thanks for this.

[Reply]

Rajesh Kanuri

November 26th, 2009

well said .. very useful tips

[Reply]

Seng

November 28th, 2009

I’m sorry but what’s a F-Bomb?

[Reply]

Pedant

November 28th, 2009

@Seng
The F-Bomb is what people who don’t use the word ‘fuck’ call ‘fuck’.

It can also be used to mean ‘faggot’.

Here it refers to swearing in general.

[Reply]

Allison

December 1st, 2009

Spam, I don’t think it will ever leave us alone, it’s been here a long, long time!

[Reply]

@MadKeet

December 5th, 2009

1. i have fun with spammers, tweeting i’ve un-followed and why.
2. i am so guilty of WASTED tweets, i know deep down in my heart, (yes i posess one, it may be cold but it’s a heart)that it’s WRONG but my passion for this medium is over-powering most times.
3. i CAPS only to try and put some ooomph into tweets, or is this wrong.
4. ?WHO said ‘YOU’ were entitled to beat us newbies with a BIGG stick, BACK OFF lady (x)

[Reply]

Diana Adams Reply:

Hello!

My stick is not big, it’s more like a twig really. It’s just all meant in good fun, there are no rules on Twitter. LOL

Diana

[Reply]

@MadKeet

December 5th, 2009

@Diana,
Well now you make me feel like a Troll what is it wid u power Women and us mere mortal men that you need to walk all over my back with your spiked patent leather pixie boots, mmmmmm donuts, duff,sleep. x

[Reply]

piet

December 10th, 2009

makes sense!!!
it’s little like a modern Moses.
came down the mountain with 2 laptops :-)
thanks

[Reply]

John Herman

January 6th, 2010

Welcome Diana Adams great insights & we like women who have the substance to be able not only where they make a difference but have the power for change.

Well done on your endeavours with new project much success for 2010. Thank you, all for now. John

[Reply]

Joe Pritchard

January 6th, 2010

There’s actually a good cognitive reason why you shouldn’t write / Tweet / type large amounts of stuff in caps; the reader has more trouble reading and understanding it than with mixed case text. this is because most of us are taught to read with lower case / mixed case text. The brain is trained to identify letters as much by the ‘shaps’ as by the position of lines in a letter. Block capitals are roughtly the same shape, so it slows down the brain.

[Reply]

Paul Steele

January 6th, 2010

Great post Diana,

Super tips, and I promise am not writing this wasted :)
Will definately come back to this post when required or if someone asks advice.

[Reply]

Julie

January 8th, 2010

I am fairly new to Twitter so find your articles very helpful thank you

[Reply]

Angela

February 2nd, 2010

Diana~
I would love to discuss the publishing of your ‘small cookbook’! I am a self taught chef and an avid writer myself…
Please drop me an email when you have a few spare minutes.
Thanks! :)

[Reply]

@hannibal666

February 3rd, 2010

I don’t much care about how many followers I got, but you’ve come up with a fair and reasonable list of donts.

What that means is Diana is on the ball with this. Like many other things. So pay attention, punks!

Those of you who know my tweets, know I throw out love or pun-ishment with a lavish chagrin. Sometimes, it’s sweet. Sometimes, it’s brimstone and hellfire. And, heck yeah, the latter should burn you twice. Going down and the sweating it out.

I do my thing. You do yours. That’s what Twitter is about – in my humble opinion.

And if I never unfollow (not even the spammers), I do my best to make it worthwhile for the spammers to unfollow.

That’s keeping it real – the hard way. And I love every minute of it! =P

@hannibal666

Follow @hannibal666 to #enlightenment!
http://www.twitter.com/hannibal666

[Reply]

@hannibal666

February 3rd, 2010

P.S. You can laugh now. You have my permission. =P

[Reply]

Brent ~ the roseman

February 15th, 2010

ya… hmmm… gotta study up more, I see. Acknowledging RT’s… Am I getting that right in my tweets? Not sure. Do the letters “RT” have to be in the returned tweet when we quote someone else? Do we need to include “” marks? Is there really a good way to quote someone and then ad a comment so it’s clear which is quote and which is comment?

[Reply]

@bonniessquires

February 18th, 2010

Thanks Diana for sharing with me
and ever one.

Enjoyed reading this post along with the
comments to.

Bonnie

http://twitter.com/bonniessquires

[Reply]

Nicole

February 20th, 2010

Great list Diana!

I would add constant daily shoutouts and #ffs. On Friday, great. Occasionally, great. But every day, all day ~ I just have to unfollow. It’s been more than I can count on both hands so far.

Also would add those that RT every single tweet that includes them and simply add a TY or =) in front of it while leaving themselves in it RTed. Once in awhile,
great. From a celeb and you’re super
excited, great. Nomination for Mr. Tweet, okay. But every day, all day again equals an unfollow from me.

The not responding to @replies and not interacting is a huge one. Makes me wonder why they followed in the first place.

Diana, I don’t know how you manage to
follow back nearly everyone except
spammers and maintain a full head of hair! You must see it all over and over again. =)

[Reply]

Lina

March 22nd, 2010

I think point #7 is kind of on the fence. Posting mundane things wouldn’t totally disgrace you…

[Reply]

Crystal Admiral

April 8th, 2010

Great comments, provocative, challenging, and extremely relevant! Thanks for sharing!

[Reply]

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April 23rd, 2010

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[Reply]

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April 27th, 2010

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[Reply]

Bree

June 5th, 2010

How does one re-tweet without giving proper credit? When you RT doesn’t it show as an RT, or do people seriously go out of their way to copy what is said and tweet it for themselves? That’s pretty crazy if they do.

[Reply]

swiss replica

July 26th, 2010

i absolutely love your post! I dont like twitter though

[Reply]

Coloring Pages

August 4th, 2010

A topic close to my heart thanks. Like your blog design too.

[Reply]

Free Avatars

August 10th, 2010

I enjoyed this. Needed more pictures though.

[Reply]

Free Avatars

August 12th, 2010

I enjoyed seeing this, i’ve been thinking about this for a while.

[Reply]

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