I’ve been a proud Twitter user for over seven years… but I have to admit that when I first signed up, I had no intention of keeping my account active. I only joined because I was required to do so for a college assignment, but within a couple of days I found myself growing addicted to the social platform.
I was always under the impression that Twitter was a place for people to follow celebrities and share a bunch of mundane, personal information. But little did I know that it could actually be used as a tool to make new connections and have interesting discussions. Within my first year of signing up, I connected with some amazing people that I still keep in touch with to this day. And as an added bonus I even got to discover new artists and communicate with some of my favorite celebrities. It’s been a pretty amazing experience overall. But in the years that I’ve been on twitter I’ve noticed that most users have some really annoying habits, and it literally drives me insane. I mean, why in the world would you keep spamming people to get new follows? And why go through the trouble of getting into a heated argument on Twitter, of all places?
If you’re a self-proclaimed Twitter addict who wants to make this platform a better place for everyone, then you should definitely take a look at these 18 unwritten rules all Twitter users must follow.
1. Make sure you actually have a profile photo.
Trust me when I say that egg heads are never taken seriously. People are less likely to pay attention to you because you won’t seem like a real person, so make sure you have a decent picture (preferably one of a human being).
2. Do not tweet out random links without a description and expect people to click on it.
You honestly can’t expect people to just click on some random link without telling them what to expect, it just looks way too suspicious.
3. Don’t beg people to follow you back.
Unless you actually want to look thirstier than a dry desert, don’t go begging celebrities (or anyone) for a follow back. I mean, if they really want to follow you, they will follow. Don’t force them!
4. Know that the amount of followers you have does not define your popularity in real life.
Being Twitter famous is great, but that doesn’t necessarily make you any better than other people in real life. Stay off the high horse.
5. Don’t follow people with the expectation that they will eventually follow you back.
A follow back is not always guaranteed, but if you’re that desperate to gain some new followers, then tweet things that people actually care about.
6. Don’t follow people and then unfollow them right after they’ve returned the favor.
This is such a shady thing to do and it annoys me so much. If you’re one of those people who are so desperate to get their followers up that they’re willing to screw people over, know that it’s NOT going to work out for you.
7. #Don’t #overdo #it #with #the #hashtags.
Too many hashtags can be really distracting and overwhelming, so don’t overuse hashtags!
8. Don’t like all of your own tweets.
Liking a bunch of your own tweets looks so needy. Just don’t do it.
9. If you’re curious to know why something’s trending, look it up yourself.
Whenever people ask “Why is (x topic) trending?” I think: “Well, it the time you tweeted that you could’ve just clicked on the hashtag itself and see what it’s all about.”
10. Avoid negative conversations or twitter arguments.
It’s safe to say that arguments break out on social media way too often, but don’t be one of those people who gets caught in the middle of one. It’s petty and immature.
11. Don’t treat Twitter like it’s a dating site.
I’ll admit that Twitter has allowed me to connect with some amazing people, which is absolutely fine. But don’t push it by trying to turn it into an opportunity to meet your future soul mate. I mean, searching on Twitter is one of the worst ways to go about it, if you ask me.
12. Don’t recycle other people’s tweets as your own.
Just don’t plagiarize content. It’s rude, it’ tacky, and it shows that you’re unoriginal.
13. Don’t retweet conversations that are meant to stay private.
If you see that two people are having a private conversations through a ton of mentions, don’t assume that it’s okay to tweet it out to all of your followers.
14. Do not, under any circumstances, ever tweet the phrase “What did I miss?”
It’s almost like arriving late to a party that’s in full swing and just standing there, expecting people to catch you up on everything that happened so far. It’s just not going to happen.
15. Don’t treat Twitter like it’s your personal blog or diary.
You can use an actual blog for that! I’ve noticed that a lot of people get way too personal when they tweet, almost to a point where I feel like I’m reading 140-character-long diary entries. It’s ridiculous.
16. Remember that you don’t HAVE to follow everyone back, even if they ask.
Follow the people that you want to follow. Don’t feel like you always have to return the favor when someone new follows you.
17. Don’t auto-post statuses from Facebook.
This will only annoy your followers. Keep your Facebook statuses on Facebook!
18. If someone unfollows you, it’s not the end of the world.
I know that getting unfollowed, especially by someone close to you, can be a tough blow. But you shouldn’t let this get to your head! I know it can be hard, but keep in mind that it’s just a social site, and it’s probably not even personal!
Do you agree with all of these rules for Twitter? Tell us in the comments below!
You can follow the author, Nakeisha Campbell, on Twitter and Instagram.
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