It is no secret that 17% of Twitter users post updates weekly. When you add in spammers and broadcasters who may tweet a lot but are frequently blocked for their nonexistent interactive rate, I’ll argue the number of active users is much less.
Twitter is a harvester of inactive accounts, spawned by the urging of so-called celebrities and aided by the unfriendliness of its web interface. Is it a stretch to suggest that Twitter causes people to join and quit?
If you want to follow me, click that link and press the applicable button. I don’t need to approve your following status and if you want to quit tweeting tomorrow, go ahead. You don’t even have to close your account. Yet, therein lies the point: If you don’t cancel your Twitter account, then you continue following me — and my influence is higher than reality suggests.
But Twitter is a many-to-one social networking site. What of Facebook and LinkedIn, where online friendships require mutuality?
I sent a series of LinkedIn messages 18 days ago to 67% of my electronic rolodex connections. Cognizant who I was already actively communicating with on the site, I asked each person (in eight differently-written bulk messages) to respond to my request and to schedule a telephone or Skype call, or in-person lunch. Over the past two-and-a-half weeks, I’ve received about 50 responses (from 352 requested).
I thank Kellye Crane, Thom Singer, Ari Adler, Maureen Cotton, and others for the fruitful telephone conversations that subsequently occurred. I appreciate Pam Broviak asking to interview me on her government radio show. I’m also glad that there are a dozen or so people who are in various phases with me of scheduling or rescheduling times to talk and meet.
But where’s everyone else? Could it be — as I suspect — that someone with a LinkedIn account who doesn’t respond to a message be analogous to that Twitter user who is inactive? Raise your hand if you have a LinkedIn or Facebook account but never, if ever, check messages? It’s a good thing I sent people a generic message and not a request for a referral; I’d hate to count on a referral and not receive it.
If you don’t actively use your accounts on social networking sites, why not? Why did you create that account in the first place? Perhaps it is time to take a breath and ask yourself why you have the account and why you follow Twitter users or mutually befriend Facebook and LinkedIn users. If you don’t want to use your account, that’s an acceptable response. It’s okay if you choose to cancel your account. By keeping it open and deceiving people that you’re there when you’re not, you’re essentially a fake. Are you?
About Ari Herzog
How do you feel about people who schedule tweets? I don’t care for that myself. It’s as if you’re having a one-way conversation. I think the point is to engage.
I don’t object to scheduled messages; after all, TV news broadcasts and reality shows are pre-scripted.
The answer to your question in your well-written post, is that the “fakes” are there because someone told them it was important for them to “be there” to get business. That’s it. They have no intention, desire, knowledge, or ability to be real or “engage” as we refer to it in social media. They are there because they have been told that merely their “place card” will find them riches.
.-= From brian tannebaum to you: Do People Who Aren’t Hungry Go To Restaurants? =-.
Who told them to be there to get business?
Ask me how I feel about bulk messages.
How do you feel about bulk messages?
Stated differently, how do you feel about messages written specifically to you but lacking a “Dear Adriel” salutation?
I check my Twitter and Facebook private messages almost daily, and my LinkedIn messages come through my email, so those are monitored daily as well. StumbleUpon messages I check every couple of days. There are networks that I have joined, built up, and eventually left for one reason or the other though, and people who contact me on those have probably been waiting for a long time for a response. Most I have linked to my Twitter and Facebook, so hopefully people will see I am active on those networks and contact me there.
I think in some cases, accounts are created simply for reputation management to help boost positive profiles for a particular name above negative things that may come up in search results. There are lots of services dedicated to just signing people up for social profiles that are never going to be used – they’re just being created to get a name out there and to build links to websites. Definitely not the right use of social media, but one of the reasons that so many inactive accounts exist today.
And again, sorry I didn’t take you up on the phone offer. But I did respond. I’m just a phone-phobic person.
.-= From Kristi@Blogging Tips to you: HootSuite for Blogging – Twitter Management for Bloggers =-.
Yes, you did respond.
As for accounts created for reputation management and/or to boost SEO results, is that the right reason to create an account?
It’s definitely not the right reason to create an account as far as the true purpose of social media is concerned. But right now that is what is being marketed as a service to businesses or individuals looking to clear their reputation through Google search or those just looking for another link to their site.
I think the people who offer these services need to give a clear cut definition between social media for social media use vs. social media creation purely for non-social media purposes. Because some people will think that just because they have a profile they do nothing with, they are still “involved” in social media, when that is far from the case.
.-= From Kristi@Blogging Tips to you: HootSuite for Blogging – Twitter Management for Bloggers =-.
Hey, Ari -
Perhaps it was that your messages read as bulk messages. Perhaps it was because some people were too swamped with messages at the time.
Perhaps for some they have not really got LinkedIN created as a habit yet.
But I do feel bad that I never responded to your request about contacts in post secondary education. I could not think of any right away, but I should have at least said that.
Your post, however, is likely right on for the most part. I sometimes wonder why I am saying yes to connections on Facebook!
Peace -
Sue
I recognize swamps. That’s why I wrote this 18 days after the fact.
And nothing for you to feel bad about.
That reminds me, we never did pin down a time for Skype, though we did get a few messages exchanged. That said, I will respond to people on LinkedIn more quickly when I know them or if they are asking a specific question. Some folks send a lot of mass update messages, but since those are more like announcements, there is usually nothing much to say in response so I don’t reply.
I find that when I get to know people online, I tend to follow them in more different spaces as their importance (to my world) increases. The more we converse in one space the more likelier we are to converse in another. On the other hand sometimes I look at my Facebook wall and have to scratch my head wondering who people are. As for Twitter I really only expect to know a mere fraction of them.
.-= From Heidi Cool to you: Dust off those pixels: your Web site may be due for spring cleaning. =-.
Would your life not be more productive if you converse in less places with the same people?
Oh, I got your LinkedIn thingee – and I knew it had been written in bulk. It did not feel personal to me at all (and I have received genuine personal things from you in the past) and so I chose not reply.
It felt like a trick and, alas!, it was! I almost only still subscribe to this blog to be aware of when you are tricking people so that you can call them out as chumps for not living up to your expectations that we should all jump when you tell us to.
I knew this was one of those times, and I dove right off the cliff. I’m not a guinea pig, Ari!
No trick. Had more people replied, this blog post would not exist. Because a fraction replied — after giving them 18 days — I felt that was insightful for a blog post.
Interesting statistics you have brought up, I wonder how you came up with this ?. Generally when using one of the bigger sites that have been around for a while, fake profiles are very common. As a precaution most of these sites do attempt to weed through the vast amount of profiles when they are submitted to spot the fakes and take them out of commission before anyone ever can fall for it. Even if this is true it is very likely that most of the online friends are actually having fake profiles with incorrect information.
If you click through the various links I provide, you can learn the statistical sources.
You didn’t send me an invite, I’m mad, just kidding.
I personally find different social sites more difficult to interact within and I know some of my clients do also. I’m not sure that because someone didn’t respond to your request on linked in means they aren’t following or engaging. Maybe they choose to not engage your message this time. Maybe they are overwhelmed. Maybe they weren’t sure how to respond.
I got several requests from some guy I didn’t know about writing and article. I ignored the first couple cause I thought it was BS. Finally, I called the number and left a message. He called back. We had a conversation about how I thought he was “fake” and he said I’m not the first to have that impression. I follow but I don’t always jump in the conversation. I get overwhelmed with other things. One thing I do try though is not to assume that because I didn’t get the response I wanted “Expected” that the person is fake. Not everyone can speak fluent social media. Like visitors in a strange land sometimes we only learn enough to ask where the bathroom is.
If you took the time to build out your online profile on this or that site, you’re no stranger seeking the bathroom for you built the damn thing.
wow, that percentage seem really high. I guess I’m definitly belongs to the other 13% because I only accept friend request from people that I know. I want the online world to be an extension of my real life. Not a FAKE Virtual world.
-chris
.-= From Chris@ online logo design to you: Outsource your logo design to 48hourslogo =-.
I only befriend people on Facebook who I’ve met in person. I extend LinkedIn to peeps I’ve talked to on the phone and/or respect the person’s blog or other online creation to refer the person.
Ari, I’m not sure if you sent me the original message or not, but I will say that I rarely reply to bulk messages from you or anyone else (although I have to add that I never get any from anyone else). I have a LinkedIn profile and an account on Twitter – I rarely go to either. Yes, someone told me it was the “right thing” to do but I am not a fake, as you know. I agree with whoever on here said you should only “friend” people you know and if I want to ask my friends for a favor, or feedback, I email them from one of my numerous email accounts. Cut and paste, cut and paste, cut and paste …
No, I didn’t send you such a message. People I communicate with frequently were not included.
A very valid point Ari, and the reason I am starting over from scratch. i was one of those that Kristi was referring too. I signed up for almost every site i could find when this whole thing started and did nothing.
.-= From Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing to you: New Updated Long Detailed Comment Policy Coming very SOON! Among Others… =-.
How many sites? Are you deleting them, then?
No idea, many.
I just stopped using most, deleted a few.
.-= From Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing to you: UPDATED: YES it is Time for ME to TWEET! What’s my username? Part 1 =-.
A belated thanks for this post and for mentioning our conversation, which I enjoyed. I’m sure many of the people that didn’t have a chance to respond to your invite are not at all fake, however your point is a good one.
The fake folks that bother me in social media are those I call “people collectors” – they pretend to be friends with you for a while and then move on to create more “friends” (and thus build their following). This practice feels particularly deceitful to me (like the high school cheerleader campaigning for Prom Queen), but fortunately they are a small minority in my experience.
.-= From Kellye Crane to you: What Are You? =-.
Why shouldn’t the cheerleader be prom queen? You’d prefer the brainiac does?
/End stereotype that cheerleaders can’t be smart
Now, I am feeling very guilty for being a fake friend to all of my Twitter followers, Facebook friends, Facebook Page fans, and LinkedIn friends. I had very good intentions when starting all four of these accounts. I just consistently overestimate how many hours there are in a day. i just never get around to connecting.Hopefully, I will one day.
.-= From Kalvin Chinyere@Weight Loss Tips to you: Acupuncture For Weight Loss =-.
Hours in the day. True is that.
Ari, You have painted the picture of fabrication of messages and their posting volumes. I personally dont think it as a bad sign. After all the entire concept of microblogging has been derived for that purpose only. I cant imagine staying this much updated of what my kind are upto five years back. Now they post things on twitter if they sneeze, cough or have a deep sigh
WTH?? Who would be interested in knowing such stuffs? I personally feel that the main reason for such posts is to grab attention. People want others to poke them voluntarily when they are free. As the old saying goes, everything is fair 
I conclude.
.-= From Alex@Auckland Public Relations Agency to you: Easy Mix Book Review =-.
Re: LinkedIn – so often what I get are messages that aren’t value add – forum updates with someone selling their site or another person wanting to add me to their network. That said, I rarely contribute. For whatever reason, I’ve had little traction there.
As far as inactive, heck yeah it’s true. I often find followers and folks I follow that haven’t been active in quite a while. Just cleaned up all that I follow who were inactive > 1 year. Surprising number. Now if I could just remind twitter to do the same with inactive accounts.
I wager that of the people I follow, even weeding out those who do post on occasion, that a relatively small number interact. I’m in the business of removing them as I spot them.
At any rate, what’s one to do? Subtract a %age against their followers?
.-= From Todd Jordan @ Social Networking Tips to you: 31 Days of iPad Day 14 =-.
This is how social media sells itself…boasting about the number of users. However, if they dropped people after inactivity, they lose their number one selling point.
What if users could drop inactive ones?