Are You a Twitter Lurker?
Twitter is full of tweeters getting their name out there – promoting their blogs, promoting their company promoting their personality, even their body. Is it OK just to lurk quietly? The good news is yes it is OK to lurk.
Nearly everything you read will tell you that you need to have something to say on Twitter. The truth is you don’t. While Twitter would not work very well as a social site if no one said anything, or just a few people dominated, the great thing about Twitter is that it is a community and it can accommodate everyone.
People have lived in communities since the known beginning of mankind. It has been shown that to some extent, the larger the community the more variation is both allowable and tolerated. Twitter asks the question “What are you doing?” It does not demand that you answer that question. You can also answer it as ‘watching’.
The world needs watchers, and the extroverts of Twitter love watchers and listeners. They can enthrall you with their brilliant repartee, show you their latest blogs, and fill you in on the happenings of the world. You can set up a Atwitter account and just sit back and watch.
There is a lot of hype on and around Twitter about gathering followers. People do this for different reasons. For some it is simply an ego trip, for others it is a way to build their business. If you are on Twitter just to find a simple way to find information, then building a following is of no concern. Who cares if you have only 1 follower or none at all?
Lurker’s can find out all sorts of things about people that others don’t. It can be amusing to watch a couple of peacock twitterers trying to outdo each other. They tweet and retweet away showing off their social skills. Marketers bend over backwards to try to entice you into their wonderful world of products. Great men are busy branding themselves just to impress you. (Branding still always makes me think of cows). You, as a Twitter lurker can choose to respond or ignore. That is power!
Beware though. As a lurker you become a prize. If you have only one or two followers but can come out with the most amazing tweets people will be flocking to become one of your hallowed followers. “I am one of @usernames followers – a trusted friend”. Can you feel the power?
If you are going to be a lurker though, make the tweets you do make count. We all know the people who don’t say much but when they do everyone listens. That makes for good lurking. Save your tweets for the best ever and then bathe in it. Even if you are a shy lurker, you have something of value to add.
Some people might call Twitter lurkers annoying for not contributing. But surely Twitter is full enough of people looking for an audience as it is. It takes all sorts, so don’t worry about being a lurker – just don’t let anyone know.
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I am a lurker. I use twitter just to find current events.