As I get more into blogging and trying to figure out the advantages of how social media will affect me professionally, I came to a startling realization; I may have to unfollow a lot of my friends (who I'm following). I told myself that I should, "Be cautious to who I follow on Twitter." This sure is easier said than done, however as I further pondered this, some points came to mind that I thought was interesting as to why I should consider cleaning my Following list on Twitter.
- How are the people that you follow furthering you professionally?
- Stay away from Negativity
- Trending Topics
- You're not following me, Why am I following you?
- Celebrities are just like you
I tend to follow people that are knowledgeable in the areas that interest me. I love technology and I love my guitar. Befriending people that are up on technology and some that play guitar fluently helps me to stay abreast on what's hot. This indeed is a plus for me.
Where should I begin? Tweets that are depressing can sometimes in turn depress you. Stay away from them. Why follow someone that picks fights with other tweeters or will tell you the day is cloudy even though you see sunshine. I recall one Gospel guitarist, tweeting about being in church and saying a worship service sucked. Not amusing at all and it's certainly not encouraging.
Social Media connoisseur Wayne Sutton once said something that rings true. "Partaking in Trending Topics may be fun, but think before you tweet." Sometimes those you follow participate in topics that are entertaining. However many are crass and if you yourself have fun with it, people who are trying to take you seriously, won't. I say this to point out that sometimes your "friends" can drag you into these topics that may get you in trouble in the long run. Be very cautious.
They have nothing informative to say except they woke up in the morning, eating frosted flakes and watching the BET Awards on Tivo instead of working. Yet they have 30,000 followers and following merely 500 people. (Most of their follows are celebs and they're most likely not following them back.) This certainly is not helping you. Unfollow them!
The only difference is that they have lots of money and are very popular. That's all they have. Following them won't further your networking, especially if they're not there to help you get you to where you need to be.
