When I started work on Twitter Power at the end of September 2008, I had about 5,000 followers. That was a pretty good amount back then: it was only a year ago that Twitter's blog was reporting that anyone with more than 80 followers was among the site's top ten percent of users.
Boy, have things changed!
In the six months since then, I've picked up another 41,000 followers.
I'd like to think that's because my tweets are so interesting but it's probably got more to do with Twitter's growth. In the last year, Twitter has expanded by an incredible 1,374 percent. This time last year, it had around 475,000 members. Now it has about 7 million.
But it's not just the rate of growth that's amazing. The kind of people who are using the site is fantastic too.
Just as MySpace has become the place for teenage girls who want to swap stories about their favorite bands, so Twitter has become the forum for middle-agers (yes, don't let iFart fool you, that's still me) who want to network and do business.
Twitter's biggest growth sector is said to be largest among the over-40s.
That's great news. It means that Twitter is more powerful than ever before. There are more people to connect with than ever before so you can get your network up and running faster than ever before. The people you'll be meeting on Twitter are likely to be serious and professional, but they will also be friendly and approachable. That's the kind of perfect combination we've just never seen before.
But all of this growth does have a downside. With almost 50,000 followers I can't possibly reply to all of the tweets targeted at me. I can't even see all the tweets sent to me. When I did try to answer every question I received in half an hour, I ended up losing a bunch of messages to Twitter's limits.
But that doesn't mean I don't value every tweet I receive. I really do. Even if I can't answer all of them, I do try to get to as many of them as I can and I love reading them. So if I haven't answered one of your tweets yet, do keep writing. I really do want know what you're doing right now.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
April 22, 2009 09:21 AM
Do you have any advice for getting a lot of followers even if I have no blog or no online following currently?
April 22, 2009 11:08 AM
Today I tweeted, "'Product Centric' is dead - or should be. Community building is far more valuable. I'd rather buy from my friends. You?" I get very irritated at tweets that only hawk wares and fail to engage in building community. I also tweeted, "I sell PRODUCTS - but I am reluctant to hustle my friends all day, every day. When friends want something I pray they think of me."
There is a social wave that began moving through society about 35 years ago and it seems to coincide with the maturing of the BOOMERS. I hope it doesn't dissipate once the last of us has "moved on".
April 22, 2009 11:16 AM
We won't stop if you don't. Love what you have to say and I really find value in your opinions. Thanks!
April 22, 2009 11:37 AM
I am flattered when someone follows me, but I am weird for not actively getting followers? Should I be actively getting followers? I have read the "rules" to get more followers. I tweet about my day -stuff that interests me and hopefully other twitterers. As I get more followers I feel obligated to be more something I am not. Then I think if someone unfollows me I should not take it personally. Not everyone is going to find a former workaholic mom laid off with three kids - two bipolar & autistic now adjusting to stay at home lifestyle in suburbia and I am okay with that.
April 22, 2009 12:40 PM
Joel, if you follow the 20/80 Rule of Pareto, how do you decide how and who to respond to on twitter? I am guessing that the main approach you take is to respond to trends that you see among your followers? I guess that's part of your work as a thought leader, and so I may be answering my own question.
April 22, 2009 04:30 PM
Hi, Joel.
When I saw the first phraze of this post I was allmost to belive will be a "flame" response to a specific post in an certain blog you have tweet about in the morning.
It was a split second nuclear war inside my head.
A part of me was ready to come stright here to argue with you why do you care ..
(btw, this is what I "tweet" back :
@joelcomm If I'll be You, I'll send to him as gift a "Twitter Power" book, online version :-P .. but public, right on his blog ;-)
about 13 hours ago from web in reply to joelcomm )
The flamer part of me stoped me being excited to see a doze of your acid humour smashing the guy's forehead :-P
There for I kept reading this post ... well well ..
I am not affraid to say public you are one of top 5 peoples I "know" online I give unconditioned respect and credit (the other 4 are Eric Holmlund, Mike Filsaime, Ray Edwards and Darren Rowse).
So few, I mean very FEW real big names from online world would have think to write such thing. This shows you respect others.
And mean to me that I was not mistaken thinking you deserve to be where you are. I congratulate myself I choosed to follow you.
ps: yes, I'm the one with that "interview" :-))
April 23, 2009 10:27 AM
My Twitter following is growing. It's great to see many business leaders (and "older" 40+ people) using Twitter.
I find it much faster to reply to tweets in Twitter than to respond via email - especially using my cell phone.
Steve
April 26, 2009 01:17 AM
I think one of the things about Twitter that offers itself up to the older group is its complete ease of use. Of course every social website and its dog's flash drive lay claim to their ease of use. There are still a great many middle-aged people that still see all this "technology" as foreign.
When you can text your Tweets through the phone that you always have on you. Or simply pop open a website that has one small text box and send button... it seems incredibly simple... and inviting.
Top that off with that fact that people are interested in following you just because you share your activities and ideas and Twitter becomes a powerhouse for people that like to connect and just chit chat.
Feel free to follow me @garysmithonline... I love connecting with new people and I'll gladly follow you back unless you're a spamaddict that auto-tweets all your wonderful products. (Its one thing to see the opportunity of social media and make use of it... its another to completely alter your twitter platform into a 24-hr infomercial)
April 26, 2009 06:27 AM
Twitter is getting bigger and everyday a lot will follow you if they find your post interesting. :)
May 28, 2009 03:57 AM
Hi,
I love the Great write-up. One of the ways to get more twitter followers is to give out quality information on the subject that you known best!
Best Regards
June 1, 2009 04:04 AM
Yes do not stop writing keep on writing and writing one day You will get with your dreams, providing valuable information is something many can't
July 20, 2009 10:32 PM
If Twitter has limits and you can't tweet all of your messages back then go and create your own system that will do that for you. Joel, it would mean that if you can create a diverter imagine how that would boost your twitter ratings because you'll be the only one on the planet who has their own follow-up system.
September 14, 2009 04:07 AM
I think the reminder is also to keep writing content that is meaningful and sincere. Else we'd just be spamming and be considered nuisance marketers.