My Follow Friday Filosophy

Hey all – so you already (likely) know I’m a big fan of Twitter. One of the challenges for many of us, myself included, is managing the tweeps we follow more closely than others. Let’s face it – we can’t read every tweet or we’d go insane, so we categorize tweeps into lists to make life much easier. I came up with an idea recently that’s been a big help!

For those who are new, there’s a Twitter tradition called Follow Friday. Often it’s tweeted as #followfriday or #ff. This is a way to share with others your recommendation to follow someone you find interesting. The challenge for me is that I would have to send out long list of tweeps every Friday that would fill up my follower’s streams which gets annoying.  Early in my experience I also found that sending out tweets such as that caused me to lose followers.

To assist with this for my sake AND to make it easier for you I’ve created Twitter Lists for all the Tweeps I recommend others follow. I have two lists going simply because Twitter caps to total number allowed in a list at 500, so I had to begin more lists!

Follow Friday List Number One

Follow Friday List Number Two

Click into these lists and follow these folks!

Why did I include these tweeps? There are many reasons, but here are a few highlights:

  1. We’ve mentioned each other in tweets, acknowledging a 2-way dialog between real, authentic people.
  2. We’ve met in real life, had a phone conversation or you said something about how handsome I look in my profile pic.
  3. We’ve shared a laugh or two or 200.
  4. I think you’re particularly interesting from my thoughts about your business, hobbies, interests or other reason.

If a tweep is in my #ff list you’ll know that they are interactive on Twitter and hence receive my #ff recommendation.

Want to be included in this list? Let me know by doing one of the points above.

If I should list you and haven’t let me know. Tweetdeck has messed up my lists many times and I’ve only discovered these omissions by accident and my apologies for any oversights.

All the best!

  • http://www.williger.com Darren Williger

    I have to admit, the follow Friday tradition, although fun has become challenging as there’s so many great folks I’d easily recommend – the list idea is fantastic!

    Before Twitter created lists, I actually started a whole website (now a WP blog) of FavoriteTweeple.com and yes you were on it – was fun to organize by “these guys like guitar” etc. then WeFollow did that better.

    I’m created a new covert system to see who people really recommend – I watch who they engage with and try to jump in if interesting!

  • http://thetameone.blogspot.com Megan (@geodisplace)

    Thanks for adding me to your list. You get the crazy end of my tweets with my @geodisplace account. I always enjoy seeing whats going on your side of the country and keeping Willow up on Seattle ;-)

  • http://www.twitter.com/voodoobec Becky

    Thanks for adding me to your #FF list. I, too, agree that #FF is challenging, but I’ve found some of my favorite tweeps that way! (Including you, I believe.)
    I find it cumbersome to slog through lists of usernames looking for someone who may interest me. Another good strategy I have seen: someone I follow saves up her favorite tweets each week then RT’s them on #FF; it’s a good way to see a nugget of content from those she recommends.

    • http://www.freshconsulting.com Mike Whitmore

      Hey Becky, I like that suggestion too. I’ve saved lots of favorite tweets too and then I’ll go back (in some cases as far back as 500 or more days ago) and RT one of my favs. It’s “new” to many and a fun surprise, so to speak, to original tweeter. Thanks for the comment and the connection!

  • http://www.muschamp.ca/ Muskie

    Not a bad idea. I need to make more use of lists myself. I followed one or two of your faves.

  • http://zaneology.com zaneology

    Thank you for including me. Every time I see that I have been added to a list, I think “wow.”

    You are very wise to create lists. I have a TON of lists that are private and I use them for brand study/monitoring, quiet observation (LURKING), learning etc. – but I also use private lists as my own way of paying attention to PEOPLE in categories and niches of my own design. This is what enables me to make sure neat people liks yourself don’t get lost in the shuffle of following thousands of people in one stream. I find that when I follow more than 1,500 people, I see nothing. So, I keep it at 1,500 and have my own personal lists…but…I am constantly rotating people, brands and services around within…

    I am not static, nor do I like anything I’m looking at to be unchanging either. I like new point of views and re-thinking. And… I bet you figured that out!

    xo.
    @zaneology

  • http://zaneology.com zaneology

    Oh and GO BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON! *Remember, I grew up there. :)

    • http://mikewhitmore.com Mike Whitmore

      Hey Zane, which high school did you attend? A couple of my co-founders at Fresh attended Newport High (I think that’s the name).

  • http://twitter.com/terrinakamura Terri Nakamura

    Mike, this is a terrific idea. If only it could be widely embraced. But recently I’ve heard from several good friends who fiercely defend the whole #FF shoutout ritual, and in a way I can see why.

    When people have fewer followers, each and every #FF means so much. I can remember when I first started tweeting and was at first puzzled by then enamoured with #FF and couldn’t wait for Friday to arrive. So it’s difficult to say who whether the inconvenience to followers (when one floods their timeline with #FF shouts) overshadows the meaning it has for those who look forward to them.

    This is all to say thanks for writing this post & for including me here. I appreciate it!

    Cheers/Terri

  • Rg Gaber

    Hey Mike, I’m fairly new to the whole twitter thing, so it’s nice to have the benefit of your hard won insight.  I saw Keith Ferrazzi speak at the SAG Foundation and his “Lead with generosity” changed my life, that combined with “Never Eat Alone”.  Two powerful ideas to bring authenticity to our world.  Nice work you two!  

    • http://mikewhitmore.com Mike Whitmore

      Thanks Rg! Appreciate your comments and for reading too. Keith’s philosophy deepens human relationships and connections which, in my opinion, is fundamental to the richness of life. :-)

  • Jackie Bigford

    Thanks for the inclusion Mike.  I know when I started Twitter over 2 years ago I was a huge fan of #FollowFriday and like Terri’s comments below I could hardly wait for Friday to roll around.  It was such a fun way to get to know new peeps in the stream.

    While I do check to see you gives me a #ff shoutout I do not do them any longer, as I interact with so many people and I would never want to leave anyone out…and as you so correctly stated it very easily clogs up the stream. 

    What I do is every once in awhile choose several like minded peeps and give an explanation as to why I have given them a shout-out ie: #FollowFriday these great people who tweet about photography ect.

    I have been using lists from the beginning and it is where I go to see what certain peeps are up to, what they are tweeting and it is a goldmine for retweets. 

    See you in the Twittershpere
    @JackiesBuzz:twitter

    • http://mikewhitmore.com Mike Whitmore

      All great points Jackie and thank you for stopping by and commenting on this post. You’ve been on my #ff list for a very long time, so I felt the need to give you a much overdue shout-out. :-)

      Like you, I want my tweets to be substantive and not just noise as there’s a lot of that already out there on Twitter. The peeps in my lists, like yourself, are the tops of the Tweeps I’ve connected with. By you taking the time to comment you’ve proven this is certainly the case.

      All the best!