Why Do You Ask?

Someone on twitter sent me a request for a follow back and shout-out to my followers. This person is trying to get his or her name out there.

I tweeted back, "Why?"

I am not being a jerk, but my question is serious. I'm not seeking any quid-pro-quo. I looked at the person's twitter profile and it was very generic. There was no identification of the person's name, location, interests, and with only 10 tweets, the account didn't have sufficient content for me to get any idea what this person is about.

Why is this person trying to get his or her name out there when s/he can't even put it in his/her twitter profile?

When you go onto twitter, you should think about personal branding.

I'm Steve Poling. I live in West Michigan. I'm a Geek Who Writes. More significantly, I write about Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. And science fiction--actually subversive fiction. I am interested in science and I try to divide my time on twitter into thirds: science news, promotion of my writing, and personal interaction.

Bottom line: I try to make sure I pass a Turing Test. I expect you to, also.

If you have complimentary interests, you'll find following me on twitter a worthwhile use of your time.

I happen to be a human being with interests and I'm happy to meet other human being with similar interests. And I'm very pleased to follow back and shout-out to other human beings with similar interests.

But if I can't discern anything about you or where you're from or what you are interested in, why should I follow you back and give a shout-out? So, I ask, "Why?"

You might be an alien infiltrator who wants to suck my soul out of my body like in the most recent Dr. Who episode. Or worse, a Republican.

Or better, a gorgeous fembot with a penchant for evil.