zoë siskos

*update: to clear up any misunderstandings i feel it necessary to preface this post by telling you that these rules are entirely sarcastic. sorry, but I don’t have a sarcasm key on my computer*#1 – …you do not tweet about Twitter.

#2 – The second rule of Twitter is, you DO NOT tweet about Twitter.

#3 – If someone says @yourname without knowing you, follows you without saying ‘hello’ or has a high follower ratio, the tweets are over.

#4 – More than one twitterati to one conversation.

#5 – Many conversations at one time.

#6 – No profile? No follow.

#7 – Tweets will go on as long as they have to.

#8 – If this is your first time on Twitter, don’t follow people; you must tweet to no one to gain credibility, then you can tweet with others.

Seriously folks, do we actually need to have rules for Twitter? Or any social media outlet for that matter? I thought the wonderful thing about this space was the freedom we all had. Freedom from judgments, freedom from rules…especially freedom from a hierarchy.

Sure, we can expect a reasonable level of courtesy from each other. Sure, if you want to run your twitter feed a particular way, then go ahead; it’s YOUR choice. But why the need to hammer down on some stranger for exploring this space on their own? Is there REALLY a right and wrong way to twitter? No, there is not. The beauty of this space is that we learn by experimenting and we learn from others by engaging.

My suggestion is that we help each other along. We provide advice and recommendations, point to posts and videos on the subject that may enlighten (not frighten). Engage in conversation. Don’t chastise when someone does something that isn’t what you THINK is right way to do it.

If you think someone is a fraud then why engage them? Why bother giving them the attention you claim they are after? You can easily ignore them. Block them. Don’t follow them back. Just like my friend Carmi states in his post on the subject, “The folks you determine as spammers aren’t annoying or time-consuming… because [you] don’t have any reason to DO anything with them.”

Call me idealistic but I would rather spend my time learning about other people, fake or real. Those who judge and point fingers needlessly are clouding the true meaning of this space.