Monday, April 1, 2013

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.

5 comments:

  1. Was there a response to your question?

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  2. Nope. I never heard back from the account. I'm convinced now that either it was a 'bot, or a person so stupid as to be indistinguishable from one.

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  3. I just wanted to say thanks for following me! I was only part-robot when I was hooked up to a machine 8 years ago after I had surgery on my leg. The VAC machine (vacuum assisted closure) helped me to grow new tissue in my leg, and close the steak-sized "hole" the surgeon made in order to remove the abscess that nearly cost me my leg.

    Oh, and I am glad I passed the test. I like passing and not failing!

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  4. Hmmm... wonder why my gravatar did not show up. Still learning about the different ways all the comment systems work...

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    Replies
    1. Hey, cyborgs are cool. Cyborgs are welcome to follow and i'll be pleased to welcome our new cyborg overlords.

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