DISQUS

Paul J Roberts · 11 months ago

Excellent! ...... I hate those too.

Michael D · 11 months ago

"thanks for the follow" responses are annoying enough, that ones that say check out my blog (usually mlm or marketing) get me unfollowing quick.

Keith Burtis · 11 months ago

Holy Crap! I'm glad you got that off my chest for me! Well Said!!!!!!!
I am a very cool guy and 'Hate' never enters my vocabulary, but I HATE twitter auto-responders!

Jesse Thomas · 11 months ago

Robot feeds are a total party foul. I get this all the time on facebook too, someone random follows you and then right away hits you up with random events and group invites.. Great point about being tempted "to go back and unfollow you on principle." I do that all the time!

Steven-Sanders · 11 months ago

Great article. Another thing to think about is the damn Be A Magpie junk that is going on at Twitter right now.

Most of the people I follow are smart enough not to use it, but alot of Twitter users are.

I dislike it so much I created the Dont Be A Magpie website to help people understand how ridiculous it is.

Twitter is definitely for building community and making friends. And that is the way it should be kept.

Scott Hepburn · 11 months ago

I'm with you on this one, CB. I know the logic in most of these cases is "one more touchpoint," but I just don't see the payoff. It smacks of "the old way" of communicating/marketing.

If you really have additional information about yourself that you simple MUST convey to a follower, create a Twitter landing page on your blog/site and link to it in your Twitter profile.

Jesse Thomas · 11 months ago

also known as mechanical douchebaggery

Shawn Workman · 11 months ago

I couldn't agree more.

I used to use tweetlater to auto follow and send a welcome message. I quit though. I remembered I am here to meet people and communicate with them. The only thing I use it for now is the @replies digest every hour. It is a quick way to see if there is anything I just have to respond to right away.

rafiq · 11 months ago

Agree 100% Chris. Automated self promotion AND those blue pills are the last things we want or need on twitter.

Matthew T. Grant · 11 months ago

I am a robot and this post hurt my feelings (or at least those bits of code that create emotional responses).

Michelle Evans · 11 months ago

Oh Chris you make me laugh every time I read the "putting your tongue in my mouth" theory... it so, so... so true. I don't normally like the "rules" of engagement because I can usually see reasons why some of the rules can and even should be broken. But thank you for this post. If I followed you I'm probably interested in receiving a little of what you have to say anyway. No need to beg for a click.

I'd like to add that if every single tweet (or, say 50% or more) is just to the same link, you've missed the entire concept of twitter. Just saying.

Philippa · 11 months ago

Chris, you are such a wise and honest man. I am glad I am following you. I don't think there is a post you have that I haven't been inspired by. Im glad Im not the only one who doesn't like the direct responses to follows. I already checked out your profile before I decided to follow you and saw you had a link to your blog. Don't need another reminder.

Manisha Shahane · 11 months ago

Thanks for putting this out there. I'm for authenticity - across the board - whether on Twitter or elsewhere. (One thing worse than a robot message is a robot message that actually pretends to be personal when it isn't.)

Javier Romero · 11 months ago

Thanks Chris, you are right on with this post.

Phil · 11 months ago

Love the title. Should be a sign-post on Twitter's home page.

It's OK to bitch. Especially about stupid uses of something that's (mostly) stupid.

I'm sure a lot of us feel the same way.

(I also like "unfollow you on principle")

Tracy · 11 months ago

I hate those too. I try to mix in both conversation and new blog posts.

Should I unfollow people who haven't followed me in weeks?

Ankesh Kothari · 11 months ago

I wonder why people with a lot of followers are the only ones who say "follower count doesn't matter"... It matters. A lot. Because with a lot of followers, your message - if crafted well - will spread farther and wider.

Twitter and FriendFeeds main use is not having conversations. We already have internet messengers for having conversations. Its main use is quick distribution of news. And having a lot of quality followers definitely helps with that.

Sending an autoresponse is not the problem. The content of these autoresponse messages is. Many people forget the first rule of networking.

First rule of networking = you need to have something that can help others. You need to help others first before you ask for help yourself.

So if you use the autoresponder with a message that says how you can help others - without asking them to visit your website or check your stuff out - you won't be abusing the system. And people will appreciate it.

Sam Alpert · 11 months ago

Chris,
You're right. I RT'd a post about autoresponding because I found myself being lazy re: going back and following people after they followed me, but I now realize that the robot thing is exactly what's not needed in the social networking space. Duh. -Sam

Liz Guthridge · 11 months ago

Thank you, Chris, for saying what I've been thinking for months! Robots have no place on Twitter. I will say I also enjoy following people who challenge me and stretch my thinking. Who knew you could learn so much in 140 characters with links?

Wendy · 11 months ago

Is it possible to agree and disagree at the same time with your post? I agree that Twitter should be about the people and not the robots. I agree that people trying to promote themselves through an automated message are annoying. But I disagree that the service itself is annoying. Even if automated, I like receiving a simple 'thanks for following, looking forward to your tweets!'. Even if it's automated, I feel compelled to answer back and open the line with this person. Whether it's via reply to thank them for following, or a direct message, if it's non invasive and remains polite, I still feel like I've been acknowledged by that person.
So yes, death to the robot auto responders that are trying to push the links to their blogs, mlm crap and anything else that just seems insincere and full of self promotion, but long live the polite use of this feature that makes life easier for the 'followee' and still personalizes things for the 'follower'.

JP Holecka · 11 months ago

With every new place where people congregate real or virtual the marketers will follow. There are a lot of great marketers out there that 'get it' and a larger number that don't. I have left so many groups on Linkedin due to the same behaviour "Hi I am new to this group if you need _______ then go to my website at _________.".

Being on the agency side I have always had to be the bridge between the marketers and the audience and help find the unique and appropriate way to communicate the message to the audience.

Now that twitter is here there is an impulse to market directly in this channel without the use of a professional guide or agency or even an understanding of what works best for this new medium. With Twitter it is conversation and I am not sure that this group gets it, nor do they want to. This group of marketers just jump from one medium to the next spewing the same brazen and crass style of marketing. I have a saying that goes "If most marketers had their way we would have a sky full of aerobatic skywriters getting the message out" Big, bold and unimaginative messages for all to see.

The only place for robots is on the dance floor with some block rocking beats!

JP

Keith Burtis · 11 months ago

I wish everyone would put their twitter names in comments. I would love to follow everyone that commented here so far. Not trying to be spammy. I like to follow like minded folks :)
@keithburtis

Wendy Peters · 11 months ago

@Keith Burtis good point! On Twitter I'm @wendypeters

Sprite · 11 months ago

(aka as BlondeByDesign)
THANKYOU! omgosh .. I'm not a fan of being annoyed, but when I follow a new person & they automatically send a DM with a Thank You & a link so I can "get to know them better" I immediately think "unfollow".
I almost want to say, "hey! You don't know me well enough to LINK my DM's"
But, of course, that might seem a little dorky. ;)

Robyn @ PurelyCosmetics · 11 months ago

I use a robot "thanks" (she says sheepishly). But since I'm not getting my new follower notifications for some odd reason, it's helping me too - I just look through my posts for those automated welcomes and decide who I want to follow back.

HOWEVER, I never have responders with links to anything - that's spammy, but my theory on life isn't. You'd have to get the robot reply to know what that is though!

Sam Alpert · 11 months ago

good call, Keith. I'm @salpert

Kathryn Hall · 11 months ago

Hmmm. Well, I do see one oddity here, in that I got here due to a tweet about a post. It's weird because I have gotten a few of those auto responses and I found myself thinking, "Oh, gosh. Is that the socially correct thing to do? because I never do it." So I was actually kind of impressed. But perhaps if I got it times a hundred it might get old. But so far, I don't mind, frankly. I have to assume their intention was to be polite.

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Ankesh - most folks with a large twitter following got it by being helpful or reasonably interesting, not by worrying about it. I guess that's my point, not that the number is good or bad.

@Wendy - it's nice to hear thank you, but does it diminish the feeling if it's a robot? Maybe not. Your mileage may vary. : )

@Anybodyusingarobot- it's not that I'm right and you're wrong. It's just a perspective. Opinions are like assholes, as they say. : )

Allison Worthington {aka. Mrs · 11 months ago

{golf claps} agreed.

Once ppl learn that it is rude, it will stop.

I hope.

{sigh}

Lizz Harmon · 11 months ago

Way to go, Chris. You said what so many of us think. There are people out there teaching this stuff, actually telling people that the "right" way to use Twitter is to follow every account (can't even say "every warm body" in this case) they can because by sheer numbers they'll get their volume of followers up. The theory being the more eyeballs that supposed get their messages, the more valuable they become. That's lead to those of us who are truly on Twitter to use it as a social media vehicle having to sort through their garbage.

It's a shame, because it's junking up the system. Do I think it will stop? Heck no! It's just begun. Wish I knew a way to clean it up. Your post here today is certainly a step in that direction. Thank you very much.

Be well, my friend.

~ Lizz

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Kathryn - my point with "new blog post" is that those are usually robot, and mine are always personalized and often as a question. : ) Twitter's great for blog traffic. Just try to use it like a human communicating.

JP Holecka · 11 months ago

Yes good call, Keith. @jaypiddy

You will not get a robot DM back!

JP

Sharnese LaNier · 11 months ago

No beating around the bush on this post;-) I agree with all your suggestions. Most people that want to build a like minded community, WILL review your profile, and your link. Michael D. pointed out a issue (MLM) that I am working hard to resolve. Every Sunday I host a call to help Network Marketers learn how to socialize and build relationships, give the resource/links when needed. Great post CB! Thanks for helping us out!

Sean P. Aune · 11 months ago

I couldn't agree more, Chris. Especially since I have directs set to go to my phone via text, it greatly annoys me when it is a stupid "Thanks for the follow!" robot. These need to end, and the sooner, the better.

@seanpaune

John Koetsier · 11 months ago

Coincidence, coincidence ....

Could it be that posting every 2 minutes on Twitter is a symptom of "robotic" posting behaviour? I tend to think so.

I was thinking about that this morning:
http://sparkplug9.com/2008/12/28/how-to-get-un-...

Tajah · 11 months ago

Thank you *so* much for this! Will definitely RT. I'm on twitter for the people, not the number of impressions or to show how cool I am.

An auto "thanks" basically tells me you're not a real person or genuinely interested in me or my updates.

I'd really like to know *why* people choose to follow me. Did you find me through another person on twitter? Facebook? A website comment? Or did you just find what I had to say on XYZ witty or insightful? Or are you just looking for more local people to follow?

hidama · 11 months ago

"Tempts me to go back and unfollow you on principle. "

I've actually unfollowed a user, in which I added out of a "follow-back" courtesy, as soon as I received an auto-dm. It's just one of those actions that I will not stand for.

So Chris, feel free to continue to "bitch." :)

Lizz Harmon · 11 months ago

Oh, sorry, @KeithBurtis, I'm @LizzHarmon.
Chris what's your "putting your tongue in my mouth analogy"?

Mollena · 11 months ago

You rule.

And, FYI, @wheeepony lives! http://twitter.com/wheeepony

I love that fuzzy little bot. Because it is whimsical and silly.

I DO unfollow bot welcome people.

The people I follow I follow because I dig what they are doing. As an insanely prolific and profane Tweeter, I don't want the inane song and dance of foolish random "adds." If I see you have a jizzillion people you follow, linkheavy tweets and bottastic responses, congratulations. You have achieved a Trifecta of Douchebaggery and I send a hex on your nether bits, that lo, they are plagued with locusts and boils.

And boiled locusts.

Oh yeah. I went there.

Kudos for the post dude.

Peace

@mollena

Jack · 11 months ago

Some common sense... and sooooooo lacking in the the way lots of folks get awkward about the social stuff. Makes you think: why is the internet taking off like this in Web 2.0 (Social networks)? Does it have anything to do with human need for contacts aka relationships, etc????
But here's the rub: relationships are DANGEROUS, because when we let our defenses down, we might get hurt... that's why anonymity on the internet helps lots of us put ourselves out there... without the FEAR (false emotions appearing real).
But since we are conditioned thru X number of training years of living in Fear, we "attack" in "defense" in anticipation of an attack........
Still with me?
So if you are among those who are twitting like robots (I think I was for a day or so)....cool down!
The anonymity is real! Relax and twit authentically. Enjoy the satisfaction of putting youself out there for the universe to rejoice in you, and you can rejoice with the universe.... and when you cool down enough, you can blog, or podcast or whatever..... and as we evolve in cyberspace, we may even begin to find enough tranquility to (respite from the frantic pace) to let it spill over into the real world.... in flesh and blood relationships.
Ironic... Twitter seems like the ultimate Rat Race Tool... and it can be if you chose to stay in the race.
But..... if you open yourself up to PEOPLE like Chris Brogan, this can actually be a ticket out of the race. Homeopathy..... treat the RatRAcePoison with [seemingly] RatRAceMedicine.
@JackBresler

Ivy Clark · 11 months ago

Yea, it's like having a poster stand with your photo put up at a dinner party. Nobody's going to want to talk to that! Social is what it means - Social! Otherwise it would be called auto/robot networking instead. I feel the same thing applies to paid marketing online... it's not really that person's opinion anymore, which to me diminishes the value of the opinion.

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Lizz - I linked it in the post - here's the URL - http://www.chrisbrogan.com/when-not-to-sell-me-...

Rahsheen · 11 months ago

Anyone who thinks Twitter and FriendFeed are primarily about broadcasting a message is missing the entire point and probably doing it wrong.

Why is everyone so hell-bent on thanking new followers? They didn't really give you anything. Unless you're focused on numbers.

Do you put in as much effort to thank those you're following? The people that you follow are actually providing value to you.

@rahsheen

Janiss · 11 months ago

Thank you! There are a load of ways to be an entertaining, interesting presence on Twitter and still manage to promote/ market yourself/ your biz without being an auto-responding ass.

Tia Singh aka @TiaSparkles · 11 months ago

A-MEN! W.o.r.d. for w.o.r.d! Unfortunately this trend will continue as new people join and misguidedly think it's better than no acknowledgment... No matter how clever the DM, I know it's going to a 100 other people so there's nothing personal about it. Yes, auto responders are the same when one signs up for a newsletter but at least there you signed up for it! Not so in twitterverse. Although I feel a little bad for the people who are now the icons for robotism on this post .. but at least you removed their @names! Now if only twitter would just take away these pesky autoresponders!

Chaz · 11 months ago

Add me to the hallelujah chorus. Those messages are pretty much an instant unfollow in my book. The only way to get me to unfollow you faster is to use magpie.

Chris, once again you've voiced what so many others are thinking.

Ankesh Kothari · 11 months ago

@ChrisBrogan Thanks. I agree that being helpful and interesting is the key. I believe - with Twitter - math and reciprocation plays a role too.

(Also - wanted to let you know - that I like what you write most of the times. Hope that my comment that negates your view points with this post didn't bother you a lot.)

Thanks.

Twitter: @ankeshk

Tammi · 11 months ago

Thank you! If I wanted to communicate with a robot I'd go to a site that offered that. I want PEOPLE people.

Matt · 11 months ago

As someone who just started using Twitter, I totally agree. I've spent the last couple days trolling around looking for interesting people to follow. I've encountered the bots and I also think it's counter-productive.

I immediately thought it was spammy, in that if you don't have something real to say, don't say it. I don't appreciate the extra two minutes you spent crafting a boring and generic greeting. Especially if there's a link to your blog/website.
Great post.
@mattcheney

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Ankesh - if the only people I listened to were those who agreed with me, I'd be a sad, shriveled head. Your perspective was great, and I don't disagree with it. Glad you're here. : )

kelly · 11 months ago

Twitter robots are good if you want automatic replies to new followers - the bad of course, it is an impersonal reply. The reason why I don't use it is because I don't follow everyone who follows me, although I do follow 95% of the time. (Luckily there are desktop clients and tools that can send you all direct messages in "Daily Digest" form or else your head's gonna get bigger! And thank God, I don't need to reply to every Twitter message directed to me.)

@StevenSanders I am Be-A-Magpie user but I personally set it to once every 20 tweets so it doesn't "act up" everyday. Still I have no idea what people are getting after every 20th my of tweet, so may be you can give me a clue to how a Magpie tweet looks like?

Thank you for the discussion here Chris!

Karen White · 11 months ago

There is nothing more annoying then getting those bot DM's. People, those bots lack personality, character, and dehumanize the whole twitter experience. I'm new to twitter and certainly not where I'd like to be with my tweets, but botting myself through the experience of connecting and building relationships just seems like a major cop out to me. I like the way @molena phrased it as the "Trifecta of Douchebaggery" lol.

@KarenWhite_LV

Likke · 11 months ago

Okay. Now that made me delete about 5 people on my "following" list.

Stacy Brice · 11 months ago

A couple of thoughts:

1. I hate them. I even hate the ones that aren't trying to ram something down my throat. And I hate them because they clog up my DMs, making me work harder to see what people I actually enjoy conversations with are asking me privately. I'm not lazy--I just don't like having to work hard when things should be easy.
2. I understand some folks have good luck building lists this way--but people also have great luck with squeeze pages, and I despise those, too. By-and-large, I don't like anything that's seductive and/or manipulative; these bot things tend to be both.
3. I wonder if you (meaning you, Chris, or anyone else in the conversation) have a better idea. When I started on Twitter, I would actually visit each follower's twit stream, look at his/her website, and send a personal "thank you" note with a thoughtful comment or question, because that felt good, right, and respectful to me. But now, I'm averaging 40-50 new followers/day, and at ten mins per person, you can see where my very personalized approach just isn't feasible from strictly a time perspective.

Better/different ideas? And, is there any conceivable way one could use an autoreply that *wouldn't* be horrible?

S

Vanessa Richins · 11 months ago

The Dm robots and auto-tweet welcomes drive me crazy. So does autofeed anything when you get 5 billion of them at once. I think I need to pare down some of my followings because it's getting too noisy. Magpie - ugh.

I do have a few blogs set to autofeed - but you will see many more tweets of me actually on Twitter talking to gardeners and other random silliness. I probably talk a lil' too much on Twitter - but I work from home all day. It's me posting almost everything up personally :)

@treesandshrubs

Tajah · 11 months ago

I'm @Tajah btw. =P And now I need to go reconsider my followers.

Barb Chamberlain · 11 months ago

Feel the love for another great post.

I don't have tons of followers or followees, and I don't auto-follow; I'm trying to keep the stream manageable so I can actually get to know the people I follow.

I figure if people choose to follow me, it's either a) they saw something of interest in my tweets (geography, common interests, links to resources they like, something about my bio) or b) they want to sell me something. I look at the profiles of new followers and make a quick decision based on the bio & first page of tweets.

Today I tweeted my top 3 reasons for not automatically following my followers back--very similar to @mollena Trifecta, although I include "no bio" as a pet peeve along with all tweets=sales pitches and no sharing (as in, pointing out resources from someone else, not just self-promo) evident in tweets. Lo & behold, lost some followers. Maybe I should do that every so often, if that was indeed the cause.

I like @rahsheen's idea of thanking people WE follow, not our new followers. A few weeks ago I started making a point of sending an @ msg to people I follow, telling them how I found them or why I'm following them. It kickstarts the potential relationship, which is the point.

@BarbChamberlain

Andrea Hill (afhill) · 11 months ago

>if you’re too busy to be an actual human on a social network, don’t join another social network.

Fantastic sentiment, I wish more people thought about it!

In some cases I think there is very much a sense of "me too, me too", everyone is in a rush to be everyplace, without stopping to consider what adds value and what doesn't. You don't NEED to be on twitter, so if you're doing to be, make it a valuable experience.

Dushan · 11 months ago

Hi, okay, this was the needed kick I needed to get off Auto-DM. What also helped was the fact that the new Tweetdeck shows outgoing DM, and it looks a tad stupid to have a dozen times the same message in the DM-timeline.

@shtikl

Andrea Hill (afhill) · 11 months ago

Oh, and the second part of the "no-robot behaviour" piece -- don't update your twitter with your facebook, and your linkedIn with your twitter, and and and...

again, if you don't have the time to update them all evaluate why you're on the differing platforms. This is particularly true in the case where you have the same groups of friends/followers/associates across the different services. If you're not differentiating between the different services, why are you using all of them?

Morgan · 11 months ago

Great post Chris.

To me the social web is about authenticity. Getting to know real people, not brands, not marketing pitches, but real people who interest and are interested by me. The social web is not another broadcast medium to shout out branding messages and "target" influentials in my "desired demographics".

People that use auto-responders to Twitter follows demonstrate to me a lack of awareness about the environment they're in. It's a little like yelling in a museum. It isn't against the law, but it sure feels off.

Twitter is real-time, unfiltered, authentic content (except for spammers and those that don't get it). An automated response in this environment doesn't align with that reality. I don't want to hear "thank you" for following you. I'll thank YOU when you say something interesting.

The auto direct messages offering a link to your web site, a free e-book or whatever are the first sign that you as a person don't get what is happening here and that you don't value me as an individual. I know everyone gets the same message - it's a wasted interaction at least, and at worst it makes me think of you as a phony. It typically gets me to unfollow you rather quickly.

Give me you and your time. Say something interesting (it's with that hope that I clicked 'follow'). Don't give me an auto-responder. Give me some respect for the time that I'm invested in you - that's all I ask.

@QuantumGood · 11 months ago

Saying "I hate robot messages" is the same as saying "I hate people messages" because they are all different. You can't lump them all together. (Granted, there is less variation in the robot messages.) I use them when I have something worth saying to people who follow me. I don't always have something running.

I used a robot message with a link to my favorite Twitter joke for awhile. Huge positive response—a great conversation starter. Another time some family matters had me spending very little time on the web so I shared a little about that in a robot message and promised to be more active again when things settled down. Another HUGE positive response (of empathy). LOTS of conversations started.

Robot messages let me find out who communicates back. I can't write everyone who follows me a personal message. And why should I even check them all out? Those that respond to a robot message teach me something about themselves.

So I could have skipped the robot, and skipped the great two-way conversations that started, or tried to investigate everyone who followed me, or … waste time in other ways. I'm sticking with the robot, because it represents me well (though automatically) and starts great conversations. Isn't that what it's about?

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@quantumgood - if it's working for you, why change it? Makes sense to me. At least you're clever about it. Of the ~70 I got today, 0 were in the "clever" category.

Your mileage may very, people.

For me? No bots. Don't see them starting a conversation with me thus far.

Joanna Young · 11 months ago

Agreed, absolutely. I do think some people do it out of good intention, as a way of saying thanks but I'd encourage everyone to drop the practice - thanks are not required for a twitter follow. (And if you really want to say thanks, pen a personal tailored message)

Dale Chumbley · 11 months ago

Chris,

Very well said! I've been "griping" on Twitter the last couple days due to these auto DM's as well. This post nicely sums up my sentiments on the whole thing. If I have chosen to follow someone I have usually done a bit of homework already & don't need them feeding me a line of garbage. I've yet to have an auto DM that I felt the need to engage with in conversation. I also get the urge to "auto unfollow".

Thanks!

@DaleChumbley

TheJennTaFur · 11 months ago

Wow..many people this week have had more gripes with this Auto DM response. I agree with everything. Tired of it.

I do unfollow anyone (I don't have the urge. I unfollow and BLOCK so they cannot re-add me again!) who sends me an automatic DM especially if they call themselves an expert on twitter and they have only 50 or less tweets.

Yesterday, I received an automatic DM from a new follower who had about 3000 tweets and the were sharing their free PDF book on how to use twitter for beginners.

If this individual actually took notice of my updates, I have over 20,000. Hmm..I am not saying I am an expert on twitter but I am not a beginner on twitter. That rubbed me the wrong way : /

Thanks again!

kelly · 11 months ago

I sorta agree with QuantumGod. If you don't send messages automatically to hundreds in your list, how do you know which are the people who would respond to you personally? But I do agree it's irritating when people do not know how to creatively use automatic "twits". (I have never used 'auto robot messages' other than the ones my blog automatically twits to twitter.)

Question: What if it's an automatic thank-you to my new followers with a link to a greeting ecard for them? Or a link to a free experimental toolbar (no malware or spyware nor virus) download? Or a digital pin-up calendar you can use on your desktop as a screensaver too? Dan (Dhollings) is using 'robot-messages' with a lot of success.

Vanessa Richins · 11 months ago

One way I find the people who like to respond personally is to tweet general questions to all(usually about gardening) throughout the day. I get some people responding to me, and often they start talking to each other too.

It helps me learn what information people are looking for. I learn new things myself, get to help people out by answering questions, and I get to talk about a topic I love. Plus - they can see that I am a real person!

An auto-DM with a joke or something similar would be welcome. But I get way too excited about DM's, only to check it out and find it's yet another "Thanks for following, here's my website...".

I have unfollowed a couple of people tonight because of this post, though only because they were extreme cases. I went and looked at one's profile page - the whole thing, except one tweet or two, was the autobot welcoming all of the new followers by name.

Except for the possibility, I suppose, of noticing people with interesting names, what value do I get when all I see are welcomings and nothing else? As more and more people use these, all the useful tweets get mired by the wayside as the bots parade by...

Ahmed Naguib · 11 months ago

@chrisbrogan Totally wrote about that on my blog, I agree with everything you said, Twitter is about interacting with people and sharing info. not bots interacting with people!

Matches Malone · 11 months ago

Great stuff, Chris. Good to finally have an authoritative post on the matter. Thanks!

Danny Brown · 11 months ago

Thank you for communicating with me with this post - I look forward to reading more. You can find out more here:

http://chrisbrogan.com

Hehe... ;-)

Cheers Chris - I've started responding to some of the dumber ones with a DM full of links to useless pages of info - shitdiots! ;-)

Kelly O · 11 months ago

Chris, I could not agree more with you. I also "unfollow on principle" when I see bot-responses, or lots of "hey, come check out my services at www.don'tknowwhentoquit.com."

I just don't really like the impersonal way some people handle social networks. As others have pointed out, these are SOCIAL networks. It means you're trying to connect with people. It's just like a regular social setting - it's not how many people you know, it's how well you relate to those people and how you treat them individually and as a group.

I much more appreciate people who actually read tweets and take the time to respond to comments rather than the instant response to an add. I try to limit myself to people I find interesting, or people I want to stay in the loop.

AngelaConnor · 11 months ago

Someone sent me a DM back saying they can't wait to "change the world with me." Okay, I may be pretty profound to some, and even myself at times, but "change the world with me" because I followed you on twitter? Give me a break! So here's my rant to add to yours. This is EXACTLY why all of that talk about automating twitter and creating authority-based search based on number of followers is a bit asinine. SM is not one-size-fits all, and we have to stop trying to make it that way. You may have 2,000 followers but that does not mean you are any smarter or add any more value than the person with 200 who just may not have the time to invest yet.
Rant over.
Thanks
@communitygirl

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Kelly - the post and the majority of the comments give you a sense of the answer. If it's automatic, I don't care if it's a free ticket to Scarlett Johanson's dressing room (and it pains me to say that). I just don't want an automated direct message to be the payload of my first contact with you.

JOEJJ · 11 months ago

this is true

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=763vmCrRBDg

J.C. Hutchins · 11 months ago

I was just fussing about this topic last night, and I couldn't have put it any better than you did, Chris.

There comes a point in one's Twitter Experience -- and how this point is defined in a mystery to me; there are probably online tools I'm not aware of that do this stuff -- in which users appear to be targeted by bot-like "follow triggers," and are automatically followed by these FollowBot users.

I'm often mystified by why most people follow me on Twitter, and suspect it's not because of my relentless nerdy quoting of "Back to the Future" movie lines, my shameless adoration of AC/DC, or my @replies to my audience.

Regardless, these days, I reciprocate nearly all of these follows. And like you, Chris, I'm turned off by the spammy intro DM bot-tweet. If anything, it adds credence to my "follow trigger" FollowBot theory, and it feels disingenuous -- even if it's not intended to be such.

Chris, do you -- or your stellar audience -- know if such "follow trigger" FollowBot software exists? I'm terribly curious about this.

Thanks for the great post.

JaWar · 11 months ago

Chris you went the &%* off on this one.:-) If the auto bots had a link to something I was interested in it wouldn't be that big of deal, but they typically don't. Ok, they never have. lol Maybe they will after they read your blog, but WAIT they can't there automated.

"THINK, PLAN, EXECUTE!"-JaWar

Carlos Lorenzo · 11 months ago

Well, Chris I agree with you on the DM issue. Way too many people are using this for marketing. I suppose the only solution not to sound like a robot is to let new followers unacknowledged. But still first DM serves a means for a polite welcome, a first impression on your follower. When I meet someone I still like to say "nice to meet you", there are not too many variants for that. I don't use robots but answers may sound so since greetings are tedious and repetitive. Still we can't be polite just because there are too many people knocking on the door trying to sell their product and speaking louder than kindhearted people. I don't agree much on the number of followers issue. As someone said above, the more followers you have the more influence your message can exert (valid or not!). You can be a real guru, and your words be those of a prophet and yet they wouldn't be much worthy without followers. Of course, it is wonderful to choose who you follow, not because you want to make more followers, but because you want more friends and new sources of information. That is great and one of the good things Twitter has. On that part of your statement I do agree. You are right about Twitter being an opt-in platform too.

Christopher Penn, Financial Ai · 11 months ago

Everybody needs a robot!

Or a ninja.

Seriously - if you're going to use a robot, that's fine, but write an intelligent robot script rather than just recycling the poorly made bots out there. Twitter's API combined with other tools can give you an initial response bot that would pass a Twitter Turing test.

marshal sandler · 11 months ago

I agree with the folks who don't like auto responders but Rumor has it that Cooper Union and Stanford will be adding a course in their Computer Science Classes this fall in how to communicate with machines ! They will eliminate written and oral communication with the touch of a button (: > ms they are getting pretty close !

Derek Richardson · 11 months ago

Well done Chris! Internet Marketers are the biggest culprits trying to hook you into some kind of trash!

Ed · 11 months ago

Autofollows help to hide follow spammers.

Diane K. Danielson · 11 months ago

Hi Chris - Thanks so much for this post. Just last night I was thinking that the auto thanks were going to be the death of Twitter. But, there is one point in your post where I would slightly disagree with you. You mention that you should use search to find like-minded folks. In my experience, one of the best values Twitter has had for me is that I'm following a few "not-like minded" folk. Since most of my friends and colleagues are "like-minded" folk, Twitter has actually introduced me to groups of people I had never known, nor would likely ever know.

Jen @ Eco-Office Gals · 11 months ago

You said it so much better then I could! Now want to approach the tweeps that beg for followers by promising to follow back.... Or announce that they are going to some program to unfollow everyone that doesn't follow them?? UGH!

Matthew Gilbert · 11 months ago

Agree completely I tweeted a couple days ago that instead of asking "What are you doing?” Twitter should ask us "What are you sharing?" Seems much more effective to share knowledge than to just list useless, disconnected information (e.g., I am brushing my teeth!).

The "autobots" (with due respect to Optimus Prime) don't further the conversation, they are just more talking without listening. Whenever I receive one I evaluate whether or not to continue following that person.

Likewise, is it also necessary for someone to make dozens of public tweets thanking their new followers for following them? It gets so tiresome. In fact I quickly unfollowed someone after the only tweets I started receiving from him were lists of "thank you @XXX for following me."

Add value, not noise.

Matthew Gilbert
@doctorious
doctorious.org

Steve Garfield · 11 months ago

Thanks for the post! Looking forward to learning more about you! Message me to chat! I look forward to tweeting with you. Have a productive year. I don't use profanity. Visit http://stevegarfield.com to learn more about me. ;-)

Kelly Harman · 11 months ago

Thanks for clearing up the mystery. I'm new to Twitter and was very confused about receiving what "appeared" to be automatic replies. Several were promoting websites that promised quick riches on the Internet, and that was annoying me. You bring a lot of clarity to the social media space for newbies like me and I enjoy reading your posts.

Helen · 11 months ago

I don't know whether they are robots or just stupid people, but I know some Twitterers who start every day with the same tweet and than thank their new followers (with the same phrase every day too). That's incredibly annoying. Of course, it's sometimes difficult for newbies to take part in the conversation, to discuss something etc. (I'm kinda such new shy user too :)), but people should at least try to bring something interesting to their tweets. I suppose the best way to restrict such "robotic" users activity is just unfollow them as soon as you see they can give nothing interesting to you. So, let's try to make Twitter (or at least our Follow lists) better!
Thanks, Chris, for the great post.
Helen
Flash'y'mania

Jay · 11 months ago

If ppl really had time to thank Everyone for following them manually, well they are missing the point anyway!
Instead of thanking for following, start a meaningful conversation, share some information that really interests you and may interest your new follower.
I did'nt really know these were robots until I started getting the same msgs.... shows how unoriginal these ppl are anyhow.

No 2 Twobots!
@jaycameron

Mike Macleod · 11 months ago

I fired my robot over the holidays. SocialToo did a great job convincing me that an auto-follow DM was a great idea.

Dr Robin Rushlo · 11 months ago

Gee the world teaches people to be robots, Take this for instant pain relief, eat this for instant fat relief, push this button for instant smiles. Get real people. Chris hit the nail so hard it nailed some of your to the wall. Learn to write and learn what to say. Write at least one to two articles a week so you can expand your use of the words in the world other than "LOL, TY,YW, etc etc.
Go yell it from the mountain top Chris I do not think everyone heard you.
Have an awesome day.

Marc Eastman · 11 months ago

First, yes, I can't stand the auto DMs either. Wouldn't use them, but I can understand using them. Just like autotweet of blog posts, which I do use. And, I'm sure this is something that becomes far more annoying when you have God knows how many people doing it to you as witnessed by the pics you include here.

And, let me say that I enjoy your blog, and find following you on twitter quite useful, helpful, and entertaining.

But...

For me, this post leans a little bit toward not remembering where you came from. If we all had 30,000 followers, 15,000 subscribers to our blog and who knows how many pageviews a day, no one would use the auto DM.

chrystie · 11 months ago

Bots probably won't be around long, remember IRC? Bots were everywhere but now bots are very rare in IM.

Pascal Venier · 11 months ago

Thank you for your post. This is an automated comment.
I am looking forward to reading your next post.

... only joking! Totally agree with you.

Beth Harte · 11 months ago

I received 6 auto-responses within a few hours yesterday...and I hesitated to unfollow. Now I have two things to send back to them: this post & Amber's Click my Junk post. Perhaps an education of sorts might help people to rethink auto-responders.

Also, thanks for this: "Twitter is a communications platform (like a phone). It’s not a marketing channel. It’s a phone that can be used like a marketing tool, if that’s your angle." (And, we all know where the telemarketing angle is going....just saying.)

Adam Teece · 11 months ago

I hate robots in principle too. I do think they have their place though. I am working on a podcast and created a separate account that will do automated follow back and release updates based on the podcast. But it says in the Bio that it is automated and who to follow for a real person. Some of the blogs that I read I follow their twitter account that is specifically set only to post links to their blog posts. I think as long as the robot actions are separate from humans and we have the option to follow the robots or not, it should be fine.

Matthew Gilbert · 11 months ago

@ Marc Eastman

I am not sure I understand your interpretation that this post "leans a little bit toward not remembering where you came from." I think these guidelines are sensible and apply to someone with 1 follower or 100,000 followers. It's about authenticity and honest intent.

As for not needing a DM if you have "30,000 followers, 15,000 subscribers to our blog" I would think someone would be more prone to or supportive of using auto DMs, not less just as a means to manage the volume.

Having fewer followers almost necessitates a more personalized relationship both because you can physically manage one more easily and because the nature of the relationship is more direct.

Matthew Gilbert
@doctorious
doctorious.org

OutsideMyBrain · 11 months ago

Hey Chris,

You definitely struck a chord on this one. I'm afraid though, that the people who need to read this post WON'T, because they are off doing something else, while letting their bot, spam the legitimate Twitter community!

Thanks for the post!
Bradley
@OutsideMyBrain

Mark Kolier · 11 months ago

Chris it just proves that they really don't get it. One thought - be genuine. Robot = disingenous!

Demian Farnworth · 11 months ago

Sad thing is, the people who are using robots are probably too busy to read this post. But it does keep those who've considered using robots [*cough* me] from making that mistake. Thank, Chris.

Dean Ouellette · 11 months ago

Chris, as usual you hit it on the head. Communities are not built on auto response, the are from person to person contact.

Dennis McDonald · 11 months ago

While I basically agree with this, especially when a robot pretends to be a human, I'm not sure where to draw the line between "authentic" and "unauthentic" communications. Using a search engine to search Twitter messages, for example, might be thought of as "unauthentic" by some people who say, "Ha - you're following so many people you need software to keep track of what they're saying!" Using add-on tools to group the people you follow could be viewed as a similar intervention. These things are just tools, and some people use the tools to manage communications with large numbers of people. If I get an obviously automated message, though, I do "unfollow" the source, too.

Kathleen Barnes · 11 months ago

I agree. I am, however, taking your advice to follow nearly everyone who follows me. I send a personal DM thanks to everyone who follows (except those dreaded brown boxers with no bio). Sometimes there is absolutely nothing in common that I can discern after spending a few minutes looking at their bio, recent tweets and website (if any). So I say something generic like, "I look forward to getting to know you better." Lame? Absolutely! At least I said something.

Jim Banks · 11 months ago

Ironically, a lot of the guilty culprits are some of the bigger bloggers, who I am guessing are employing best practise to try and strike up some dialogue.

I do actually write on occasion when someone follows, primarily because I followed them for a reason and I'd like think they did the same back, but normally it's a forerunner to something altogether more personal and I'm hoping that people can spot the difference.

, Hi/Hello/Greetings (delete as applicable)........

Mom On The Run · 11 months ago

Arrrgh - I've thankfully only gotten one of those DM's - maybe I'm following quality people?

Amber Naslund · 11 months ago

Well, hell. You know I don't have much more to add here. Click this, you lazy junkclicky spamtastic DM craplicious bot-types. And no, I'm not coming to your life-changing seminar or accepting your "gift" of a crappy ebook I didn't ask for, or asking my followers to follow you. Eva.

If you can't manage to introduce yourself and have a conversation like an adult, I'm doing the equivalent of hanging up the phone on you. It feels every bit as intrusive as a telemarketing call during dinner, and if you can't be bothered to say hello in a moment that feels conversational in the first place, I doubt I'm going to find you much interesting anyhow.

Amber

Lisa Nardi · 11 months ago

I don't use a robot, but I also don't individually acknowledge all the new follows. Just me. Too time consuming and personally, I think that the return follow is sufficient.

Ted Murphy · 11 months ago

Chris,
I couldn't agree with you more. The only thing that annoys me more than twitter robots is email popup forms when I visit a blog. I don't care if either method works, it is just plain annoying and adds no value to me as a reader.

Please download my free e-book at http://.... ; )

phdinparenting · 11 months ago

Absolutely! I hate the robot DMs. I do like the thoughtful ones though, even if they have the same purpose. If someone DMs me to say "I checked out your blog, particularly liked your posts on XYZ and think we have a lot in common" then I will probably go and check out that person's blog too. If it is just DM spam though, forget it. Signed,
@phdinparenting

jodiontheweb · 11 months ago

good post. I've never used robots & I try to individualize my "thanks for following me" tweets to learn more about the person.

-j

Chris Rossi · 11 months ago

Hey Chris,
It sounds like many people are in agreement with you on this one, including myself. I know everyone uses Twitter a little differently, but for me, I enjoy the personal human interaction, sharing of information, and networking. As soon as I see the auto DMs I get a little sad as the promise of meeting another interesting person to interact with disintegrates. Thanks for speaking out :)

Chris

Mary · 11 months ago

Thanks @chrisbrogan. Gotta say I really appreciate your Twitter wisdom and insights! Couldn't agree more about the robots ("Danger, Danger, Will Robinson!").

Also agree with John Kostier. Those robots who feel compelled to twit what they're doing every 2 minutes can be annoying. Mostly because what they're tweeting isn't interesting (or relevant to me, and I'm assuming much of the Twitter Universe).

Keep up the great twits and blogs, Chris!
@mldeming

P.S. Like your "new" look!

katbron · 11 months ago

So agree - good post. I know some see it as courteous, I think it is annoying. The most annoying are the ones that thank you and then ask you as Amber Cadabra says to "junkclicky" lol.
Thanks for the post!

Richard Reeve · 11 months ago

It's funny, I did a post about this a few weeks back explaining how I came to realize the wrong-headedness of auto generated DM's and folks new to twitter argued with me disregarding my experience and opinion. I think there's an initial glamor to automation that dupes us when we first get our bearings in this space.

I'd love to ban the auto-generated welcome messages all together as they clutter the potential usefulness of the DM stream for me, knocking important business many pages deep. I have all my DM's sent to gmail so I can star the messages I need to hold onto since twitter does not allow for that (yet?).

phil campbell · 11 months ago

Could not agree more. Very inpolite. the notion is a good one to respond and say thanks and to maybe tell people about you but it comes across very anti social media by letting me talk to a robot. It's like getting an intern to run your social media networks for you. it's a falsehood!

and nobody likes to be hoodwinked or feel like they have been.

Steve Garfield · 11 months ago

One more thing, if the email from twitter announcing that you have a new follower could include the followers bio with a link to their site, that would help you see who's following you, rather than make you go back to twitter to see the info.

EA · 11 months ago

The one thing Twitter and social networking has done is allowed anyone to write what they perceive as good etiquette when using a service. All of sudden everyone's an expert on how to act on a social network. As long as social networks exist there will always be those who think they do it better.

Rosh New media photograpaher · 11 months ago

Thank you, thank you, thank you.
The automatic responses are increasing too.

Also, what is with the 2000 following. 164 followers and 2 updates I keep seeing. I have a feeling the 164 people used robots to automatically follow back. It's one big robot conversation.

Rosh

John Kreiss · 11 months ago

Interesting post Chris.. After reading this post, I can really see how these messages can put people off. It's impersonal. It's like getting a form letter or a telemarketing "Robo" call.
John P. Kreiss
SullivanKreiss, Inc.
http://www.sullivankreiss.com

Scott Lockhart · 11 months ago

I had twobots doing my bidding for a very short time a while back and ended up getting rid of the auto-reply very quickly. I never had anyone complain about mine as I tried to make it sound like me with no links etc, but I figured if I was annoying others as much as they were annoying me. I had to stop it. I did. By the way, this comment was auto-generated. @regator

stevenimmons · 11 months ago

Absolutely agree with this post. The problem is people trying to utilise a platform with limited personal input. It comes to 'the scalability' problem as I see it, and a lot of people like short-cuts (hence the emergence of 'robotics')...

Howard Yermish · 11 months ago

I agree that the automated follow DMs and replies just feel icky. Prior to this post, I always had Twitterfeed post to Twitter whenever I posted to my blog. While this only accounted for maybe 2-3 posts per week of the 100+ "real" posts, it still felt strange. Instead, I started having the conversation about my blog post with people on Twitter. So I've turned off Twitterfeed for my blog. @hyermish

Jennifer Mills · 11 months ago

THANK YOU. What is the point of social media if not to build relationships? http://www.marketing-helper.com/?p=60

Kyle Roussel · 11 months ago

*stands and applauds*

Bravo!

But this just goes to show how greedy people with even the best intentions can be. They join (hopefully) with the intention of connecting with others, but still can't resist the temptation to direct people to the stuff. It's ok to spam people, as long as you say thank you first? I don't think so.

Jeff Korhan · 11 months ago

Amen to EA. Everyone thinks they are an expert, especially when it comes to marketing. That's O.K. though. We all are entitled to our views, and that makes all of this that much more interesting. I say use Twitter as you will. It's an open forum.

Personally, I send almost every follower a human message to try to make a personal connection. Heck, I might even say thanks for the follow. But I also read and comment on their bio, the town they live in, or just about anything else that I think we may have in common. Most seem to like this personal touch. A few might not think this is cool. That's O.K. Use Twitter as you will. --- And Have a Great 2009!

Sonny Gill · 11 months ago

These points can't be said enough. Actually, Twitter should just copy 'em and post it in their FAQ section or something.

People really don't get the point of twitter if they want things automated. It's not so simple and requires EFFORT. Luckily, these people are easy to sniff out and we can go about our days - but hopefully this will help EDUCATE them, instead of us banishing them into the Twitter underworld.

Hopefully posts like these shed some light and help them understand Twitter a little better.

Michael Benidt · 11 months ago

Chris Brogan is why Twitter was invented - and comments from folks like Jesse Thomas is why "Leave a Comment" was invented (that's all I'm saying - do your own "find on this page."

Rick Morgan · 11 months ago

Fail to keep Twitter "Human" and we risk the viability and survivability of Twitter.

Bwana · 11 months ago

I don't see anything wrong with an automated message thanking a user for following me, and to let me know if they have any questions about my tweets. That's what I do, and I'm getting great feedback on the message. As for advertisements, that's not my style. Different strokes for different folks. Now people telling me how to use Twitter, that's annoying :)

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Marc Eastman - I didn't need a robot to find followers. I remember every day where I came from. Know why I'm where I am? Because I take the time to respond as a human. I don't think it's about the robots. I think they came later as a tactic.

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@EA - you're quite right, and anyone telling you how to do something is suspect. You know what blogs are? Opinions. Yep. They're lots of things, but technically, the defining piece of most blogs (and even this is an opinion) are opinions.

Don · 11 months ago

Chris,
Thanks for the article. I'm new to twitter also and I see the value in it. I've followed others out of courtesy for them following me. Now I read their profile first if I see too much "go look at my site / blog" tweets I won't follow them. Depending on how much I've see I will block them.

I've felt sort of guilty for being this way but I, like you, believe in the personal aspect of Twitter and social networking and don't like to feel like I'm "prey".

With all that being said it's clear to me who's giving value and who's not.

I said all that to say this...with this article I now have permission to clean up some of the followers and followed. And YES I'll sleep good tonight after the dust has settled.

Once again....Thanks Chris,

@donpinger

Blog Expert · 11 months ago

It does show your new follower that you do recognize them. I do not think this is such a thing as your making it out to be. But everyone seems to think Chris is always right. Not on this one.

Tony Farley · 11 months ago

OK! I turned my message off.

Tony

iGoByDoc · 11 months ago

I totally agree with you on this one Chris.

Of all the robot DM's I have received, only a couple have been clever. 99% are marketing messages of some sort. Besides, before I follow someone I most likely have checked their profile with links to their site/blog already.

A few hundred followers back I would always send anyone who followed me a personal thank you DM... however I have found that only a small and I mean small percentage would even send a response back. To me, any sort of welcome or thanks DM almost seems irrelevant... I may be wrong, but I am venting I guess on that one.

Anyway, I agree with you... just stop the Auto marketing DM's. I have yet to stop following people who do use them... but getting to the point to where I may.

Maybe the best thing we can all do is point twitter folk who send us these DM's back to this blog post! If we did maybe that person would get the hint. It may make them unfollow you or me... but someone has to teach folks twitter etiquette (if there really is such a thing)!

Have a great day!

-Doc
iGoByDoc on twitter

Tanglust · 11 months ago

I am with you on this one. I use Twitter as a way to connect with new people who can expand my point of view. Never use robots, I am a real live person with feelings, doubts, insecurities, positive attitude and generally amicable. I love having conversations w/people on twitter, not so much clicking on links ( yours was an exceptions) Thanks for listening.

Joel Strellner · 11 months ago

I 100% agree with you, and in fact, I do unfollow people if I get a dm like those you showed. At a minimum, they could at least make the effort so it does not look like an automated reply... they could start with not replying instantly, as that is the first tell-tale sign that it was automated. In all honesty though, I wish this crap just stopped all together.

Zena Weist · 11 months ago

Agree wholeheartedly with Brogan on this. Auto DMs are worse than email spam to me because you are SMSing me and for me, my text messages are 1:1 convos w/ people I know.

If you want a relationship with me, get to know ME....oh, I forgot this twitter thing IS all about YOU and your monologue, forget dialogue/communication/chatting - continue shouting at me - yep, that will work. 1:1 medium using a mass blast tactic (email spam) - good luck with that.

Jennae @ Green Your Decor · 11 months ago

I couldn't agree with you more on this one. I absolutely HATE those stupid "Thanks for following" messages because it is so obvious they are robots and even more obvious that they are nothing more than a ploy to get more clicks. I agree -- makes me want to unfollow the sender on principle.

Laura "Pistachio" Fitton · 11 months ago

I took a survey on this (but never got a chance to publish the results), and people were pretty clear about HATING auto-dms with "links to my stuff" "free eBooks," or anything self-promotional. Most people agreed that a simple "thanks for following" was okay. Feelings towards companies using these tools were pretty specific and different from the "rules" for personal Twitter accounts.

Realistically, I think they're probably not nearly as irritating when they are in frequent. For most users, they're just not that frequent. For accounts that are fast-growing, they are a real annoyance.

I also think the numbers we saw are probably outdated, as in the 6 weeks since I did the survey, use of them has become MUCH more prevalent.

shane_onegoodie · 11 months ago

I agree on the robot responses. There is one robot I love, though...the ROOMBA! It's a fine robot and it does its job.

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@shane - if a Roombah DMs me a link to their free ebook, I'm unfollowing. :)

Gina LaGuardia · 11 months ago

Amen to that. I know that they're not mal-intentioned, but, for sure, auto responses just make me feel cheap. Thanks for outing them. Hopefully, we'll have some converts who realize that the power of true communication can't be harnessed without a human... no matter how busy that human may be. :)

Craig · 11 months ago

I agree I hate robot messages. It's all about finding people you would like to connect with them, and engage in conversations with them about whatever. Also, auto DM's should be banned for life.

Alex Irving · 11 months ago

Boy! You certainly hit a nerve judging by the number and immediacy of the comments stream. The wonderful thing about new media is that although companies and hawkers are trying desperately to find ways to use them, they are failing miserably. Anyone who relishes this unusual new world of sharing simply 'ignores' the 'boorish guy at the party who cannot stop talking about himself'. Thanks for giving voice..

Alex

dc · 11 months ago

I have never used the auto-reply feauture on any social networking site.

Shama Hyder · 11 months ago

Alright Chris!!! For once, I might disagree with you. = )

I think there is a fine line between using auto responders and ABUSING auto responders.

I make friends on twitter, lots of 'em. But, I also don't have time to answer every single "so, tell me about yourself." So, I have a link to my about page. No SALES. Just sharing who I am. I don't feel bad about this. The people who care to know more, click. Those who don't-don't.

When I welcome a new follower, I genuinely express my gratitude. It doesn't matter who they are. So, I see nothing wrong in thanking them via auto responder.

All in all, I think auto responders can be useful if used correctly.

Mia Carla · 11 months ago

Yup, yup, yup. This the crux of successful social networking: be human.

I think once people know it's not cool, they will do otherwise.

"Oh, gee. I can't cut and paste everything?" No. You can't.

Get used to it. Spend some time. Invest yourself. There are no shortcuts in life.

Noelle Mena @TakeRoot · 11 months ago

I have found a big mix of this view on twitter. I do not mind AT ALL receiving an auto welcome DM if it is strictly a WELCOME, not a sales add of ANY kind. I use auto DM's myself and just say please Tweet Up and say Hey! I mean isn't thats what it is about anyway? We follow someone, shouldn't we 'The Follower' reach out too? When I follow someone, I think its up to me to start interaction with them. After all I picked THEM. They might not have come looking for me. I think this whole Auto DM issue has gotten way out of hand. I am busy and love twitter to connect but realistically to take time to open up a webpage to welcome every person is crazy. I respond to anyone who @'s me. And I reach out all the time to people who I follow that do not follow me.

Cameron · 11 months ago

Hi Chris,

I'm pretty new to twitter, and although I don't do as much as I used to, I made a point with my 1st few followers to DM or @ them a welcome. It was all personal messages, nothing was "robotted", but I'm not sure how people would know that, because I think most of them were something along the lines of "Hi, thanks for following me.. ", because I thought it was the polite thing to do. Sometimes, I'd add something more, if it made sense in context, but now I'm scared to send anything, because if it's a simple 'hi' or 'welcome' people might think I'm robot-boy.. which isn't my intention, my intention is to say 'hi' to a total stranger who's following my tweets :) in the hopes that over time, they won't be such a stranger anymore - know what I mean?

I suppose I'm kinda new, not sure what the social norms are yet, but my heart is to be polite and friendly - sucks if robots do that better than me :)

oh, my twitter is: @cameronolivier

cam.

Scott Mahler · 11 months ago

Here here! I made the mistake early on of following anybody and everybody, and now find it hard to find the people I'm really interesting in hearing from. My New Year's resolution: clean out my twitter account, and leave only those I can learn from, be inspired from or get a laugh out of.

Lacy Kemp · 11 months ago

Amen. Seriously. This crap drives me nuts.

Ron McDanel · 11 months ago

I am in the minority here. They do not bother me.

They do not trick me and usually I ignore them, but a one time email like that on where to find more info is not bad, in my opinion.

If it was more than one, I would have an issue with it.

I subscribe to your blog feed to email, Chris. I am guessing you do not manually email me that every day.

A better discussion may be around - What is responsible automation? If you think any automation is bad, then you are not very realistic and you are missing the point of technology, which is to make us more proficient. Can we be proficient, automated and authentic all at the same time?

russ somers · 11 months ago

I prefer to keep the robots within our social networks where we can monitor them. If we kick them out they may establish their own networks. From there it is only a short step to Skynet.

Ray Luebbert · 11 months ago

I'm so glad my Bot isn't like that. I'm working with The Robot right now, and became a huge fan of the automated response (http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/11/25/motoro...). I especially like the lack of human contact. It's awesome!

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Ron - but a feed is a feed and you understand what you've signed on for. On twitter, the closest equivalent I can think of is an answering machine, only one of those messages that pretends it's really you. I'm not saying that automation in and of itself is bad, unless you found that missing paragraph. I'm saying that if you're joining a social network, then using robots to do your personal lifting might not really be advisable.

@Shama - you, I know, are probably being very human about it. Is everyone? Are MOST people? Of the 70 robots I got yesterday, one passed my own little Turing test. So maybe you're the exception to my rule? But in general, nothing for me, thanks.

To all - one recurring theme of people who like bots- I want to thank xyz for following me, because it seems rude to leave silence. So, that's like adding a number to your phone book, calling it, and then saying, "Thanks. The number works." It *kind of* makes sense, if you leave it there. But carry the analogy further? Does THAT make sense?

Neil Corman · 11 months ago

I am not a fan of the robots, but then again I am not a fan of the holiday cards sent which aren't signed and just pre-printed with names. If I am that important to be part of your social network please take the time to toss me a message which is not canned and in seconds of a follow. The whole purpose of networking whether social or face to face is to make a connection. Saying thanks for the follow and click here for more information doesn't bring that connection. Instead why don't you type a DM saying something personal and already start to make a connection from that point you can build on and bring even more value to your network.

Dan Cotton · 11 months ago

Thanks for calling out those who think robot behavior is the way to go. Twitter is a place to engage in good conversation and not be hit up with an annoying dm when someone tries to follow you.

Justin Goldsborough (JGoldsbor · 11 months ago

Some great points and comments here. 3 that stuck out to me:
1) From zenaweist...Don't shout at me, talk to me.
2) From chrisbrogan...Share the good stuff, which isn't always your personal blog post.
3) From mia carla...Be human.

IMO, Twitter is like an online networking event. Now tell me, would you go to a networking event and immediately start spewing to ppl you haven't ever met before about your Web site and blog? Or would you have a conversation with them and then maybe give them a card or exchange e-mail, blog info, Twitter handle, etc so you could continue the convo later on?

There is a difference there. And it shouldn't be any different on Twitter.

One more pet peeve, pls do not thank me for following. A better thank you will be the meaningful conversation we have down the road.

Julie Linhart · 11 months ago

I consider myself a fairly new twitter user and I think when newer users see others using autoresponders many thoughts cross their minds. For me - I absolutely hated it. Then I started to wonder where they got that app and you start to think that you should be using it too - since that is what the "bigger" twitters are using. I'm glad to see that a "bigger" twitter hates autoresponding too. Many of us are learning from many of you - set a good example for new people to follow (because new people will be following, learning and mimicking).

Terri Zwierzynski · 11 months ago

When I started really getting into Twitter, I got annoyed with the people I would follow, who wouldn't follow me back. After all, Twitter is about conversation/relationships, right? Can't do that one-way.

Then I realized that the folks with lots of followers who don't follow many back, are here for a different reason than I am. And that's ok. And it's ok for me to then unfollow them -- no disrespect, they are here at the party to dance and be watched, while I'm here to socialize (bad analogy, sorry!)

That said -- I do use an auto DM. Since I get 20-50 new followers a day, it's not logistically possible for me to individually reply. I have something valuable to share with my followers, which is a free ebook, and I want people to know it's available, so I use the auto-DM to let them know about it.

It seems to work for me...about 10 percent of my followers do sign up and download the free ebook. At least once a day, someone replies to say thank you for that ebook. And I *do* respond personally to all of those thank you's. I look at who they are and send an appropriate "you're welcome".

So, if you follow me, and the auto-DM message about the ebook annoys you -- by all means unfollow me, because you probably aren't going to be interested in the other things I have to say and share. And that's ok. :)

Terri Z @TerriZSoloCEO

Nicholas Chase · 11 months ago

Chris,

I take a clue from Gary Vaynerchuck. I always thank the follower with a nice message, I do not use robots.

I can see where if you suddenly have three-thousand new followers that an automated DM would acknowledge the kindness, but still I would respond to each one individually and personally.

This is the only way to achieve success in social media networks, and especially highly visible ones like Twitter. A personal response does two things. It acknowledges that the follower has value, and starts a meaningful conversatiobn with someone who does not know you except by your 'tweets'.

I'm a student of web marketing 3.0, and I can assure you taht I remember you because of your kindness in remembering me, a newbie. It is now in my interest to help you in kind. Attending your presentations at BlogWorld Expo and
( #ASW09? ) in Las Vegas have been beneficial to insure tha I conduct myself on-line in an appropriate style.

Thanks Chris, you still 'get it'.

Respectfully,

Nicholas Chase
www.twitter.com/nachase

Scarr · 11 months ago

Here's a thought for Twitter; maybe they should depreciate DM's completely. Unlikely but it would keep things a little more pure as I see it. DM's can be left for other avenues that are more refined (like Facebook or vanilla eMail).

Terri Zwierzynski · 11 months ago

P.S.--I do find the auto-DMs with just a "check out my blog/site" message to be annoying. How would I know if I'm interested if you don't tell me what your blog/site is about?

doughaslam · 11 months ago

Chris-- thank you! this is my kind of bitchin' (in fact I have bitched about this frequently, as you probably know, and also blogged about it, which-- well, more people will see this).

My point-- not all these robo-DMs are spammy "click my link" crap-- though those are the worst- but they are still clutter, no matter how well-meaning.

Dear Everyone: Cut. It. Out.

Monica Bower · 11 months ago

Chris, get out of my head!

it all started back when some mid-level manager at some tech company or other - maybe Osborn - decided that sending a reply whenever they received an email - probably a tech support question or complaint about their laptop being too big to fit the carry-on requirements - was better than making the already annoyed customer eat static. At the time it was a 'wow gee whiz' thing and probably served its purpose. Now, as these things so often do, it's become a standard, and when you don't have a robot sending back a 'thanks for complaining' message everyone gets suspicious. Though I've resolved to stop talking about Twitter it gets REAL stupid when it ends up there, or on MySpace or Facebook or wherever else that it's totally without context and inappropriate. But mid-level managers don't care about that, they just want to do things the way they've alwys been done.

LinksMonkey · 11 months ago

Chris,
Your post inspires me to start using an automated DM:
"Thanks for following, @yourname! Look forward to hearing all the details of your mundane life. Be sure to visit my cheesy Web site and buy junk."
BTW, I think the 'bots prefer to be called "Android Americans".
- Brian
@linksmonkey








- Brian
(http://twitter.com/linksmonkey)

Sylvia Webb · 11 months ago

Chris,

First my apologies for the auto reply to you even though it did not include a message to go to a blog or website.

I really appreciate your candidness. I've only used Twitter for a few months and overwhelmingly I've read suggestions to use autoresponders.

Personally, I don't mind the auto responses when they do not include spam or other stupid statements. I have a few followers that are busy executives and I can understand that they may not have the time for a personal thank you to their thousands of followers.

Moving forward I promise to be a better Twitizen.

@emergingtech

doughaslam · 11 months ago

Sylvia, people like you are the reason I don;t "block" or "unfollow" people who do this. Most are just trying to greet us. that's ok-- it's still unnecessary and I prefer you didn;t but it's far from evil. In fact, I just followed you now.

Shinil Payamal · 11 months ago

Hi Chris,

Thanks for (yet another) awesome blogpost. You really hit the nail on its head Boss! I made this mistake of setting up auto DM using SocialToo.com after listening to one of the Social Media Gurus but realised how silly it was of me to do the same and I stopped it.

P.S.: Could somebody "follow" me and let me know whether they got an auto welcome DM or not. I don't really trust SocialToo.

Best Wishes,

Shinil.
@shinils on Twitter - http://twitter.com/shinils

Kneale Mann · 11 months ago

Fantastic post, Chris! Happy New Year.

krissy knox · 11 months ago

Okay, I'm going to turn off that auto thingy, LOL. I was encouraged to turn it on by somebody of great prominence, so I thought I was supposed to. It's not that I don't have a mind of my own, but they said it was the right thing to do! Also, it automatically, I believe is set to allow anybody who wants to follow me, to follow me. What do you think of that? Should I attempt to fix that? I have no idea how that happened! I unchecked the box that read "allow autofollow" or whatever it was. Somehow SocialToo suddenly allowed everybody and their uncle to follow me, LOL, and sent them a message. At least the message was already prewritten by me, and wasn't obnoxious. :) But I think I will go turn it off. I'll have to go turn off auto follow (who knows how that got on, I don't want others to auto follow me, do I?) also, though, correct, so I can send someone a message when I follow them? Otherwise, how will I know they are a new follower and have signed up. I will have to look at each new person who wants to Follow, make a decision, and then write a DM.

You may be horrified that I am even asking the question, LOL. I am extremely careful on who I follow but haven't paid attention as much to who follows me. I figure if they want to follow who really cares. Unless I find out there's a problem. And they are gossiping and spreading lies through their network about me. Then I will block them. Oh, another question! If you block someone, can they follow you through an RSS feed? And how do you follow someone through an RSS feed on Twitter? Sorry, I'll go look these things up on Google. Sorry to take up your time, Sir.

Anyway, I'm off to change my settings on SocialToo. Perhaps I'll get rid of it. I don't even remember what it is for! I've never needed a tool to find friends on Twitter! I've used Twellow in the beginning when I found it by accident through the google search engine, and chose from people from there, but never used it as a troll type thing. At one point I found out other networks were talking about me, and saying I was using a Troll service to find followers. I forget what the Troll services name was. I looked it up and was horrified. Why would they think that? They couldn't believe some of the people I had in my network. So I just asked people b/c I wasn't intimidated. I found them through Twellow. I guess they thought I had too much guts to ask. They could have asked also.

I guess I am getting off topic here with the Troll topic, but I am mentioning b/c I said I had SocialToo, and I can't remember what it is used for, but if it is used to find friends, that is not what I used to find my friends, and I just wanted to go on record has saying that, LOL. I just picked up SocialToo very recently b/c somebody important told me too, to thank people for becoming my friend.

Now I am off to change my message. Don't know if I'll be dropping SocialToo also. Thanks for the important post. Sorry I blabbed on and on.

Krissy :)
visit my main blog: Sometimes I Think
visit me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/iamkrissy

Nicholas Young · 11 months ago

With regard to Keith Burtis, these are my sentiments as well. In fact, it seems like I lambasted somebody the other day when they did this very thing. I ended up getting called by several demeaning names, but I didn't care at all. It was their stupid mistake, and I just clicked "unfollow." Easy.

jeanne · 11 months ago

Look, you've already helped someone (krissy, yay!) so many people do this crap outta ignorance, i think.

brilliant post. Took the words right outta my mouth.

Barb Giamanco · 11 months ago

Chris and all,

Thanks for the post and the comments. As someone fairly new to Twitter, I wasn't initially sure of the "protocol" when it came to welcoming people who decided to follow me. As I started to follow people, I received some of the automated thank you messages and thought - that's nice, maybe I should do it too. As more people started to follow me, I began to recognize that many were using the automated reply as a way to sell me. I thought that a bit inappropriate given we had no relationship yet. Thanking me, but then directing me to their website to buy their stuff, encourage me to listen to their latest podcast or go read their articles felt self serving. That's certainly not who I want to be and even though my note just said thanks, I can now see how I might have been turning people off without realizing it.

Soooo, after considering all the comments, I have turned off my automated reply and feed letting people know about my latest blog post. Chris, I'll borrow a page from your play book on that one. Thank you for the suggestion.

Finally, let me say that I do think Twitter can be social and personal AND it can also be used as a business tool when done right. Just like I might tell someone at a party about the work I do, or the latest article I wrote, I want to be able to do that with Twitter also. What I'm hearing others in the community say is that this is a natural by-product of what happens as you participate, help others and get to know people. I wouldn't meet someone for the first time and launch into a sales pitch, so I totally agree that when someone does that right out of the gate on Twitter, it is a major turn off.

BTW - I'm @barbaragiamanco on Twitter.

Christina Carlson · 11 months ago

I think it was very classy of you to leave the offenders' names out of your post. (@prstini)

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Barb -- I quite agree about Twitter as business and personal. TOTALLY and utterly agree.

What I disagree with is the presumption that robots make that I'm your prospect. Make sense?

Ron McDanel · 11 months ago

@Chris - just playing devil's advocate. Either way I signed up for messages (Email or twitter) from someone. Either way I can choose to stop following/subscribing.

I get 6 per day so I do not mind. You get 70 - that must suck. I see your point.

Barb Giamanco · 11 months ago

Chris - yes, makes total sense! It's a good discussion, because there is no handbook on Twitter etiquette, although some real world stuff - like I wouldn't sell you the first second we say hello - apply immediately in this world too. The people who are doing that are the same ones who call me on the phone and launch into their pitch before they know jack about me or my business.

What is confusing when you are new though, are the more subtle things like the "automated message". I thought I was being nice, and I guess that's the great thing about social networking...the community helps you learn if you are willing to listen:) --Barb

benmarvin · 11 months ago

Dude, you're such a fag. Stop telling everybody else how to use Twitter. Not everyone comes to Twitter with the same intention.

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@ben - Perfect! You're absolutely right. You're using it for experimental comedy (or so it appears). Thanks. You're right, of course.

Jeff Crites · 11 months ago

This topic obviously needed a strong, venting post to allow a massive comment stream to clear up once and for all the general feeling about Auto DMs. I have never used them and can tell immediately when receiving one that's it's a robot. I respond to people personally even though it takes more time, because I want to start convesations off the right way. But let me add this food for thought, while we're engaging in an Auto-DM smackdown:

1) assume the best in many folks, especially people new to Twitter. There are plenty of people with good motives who've used Auto DMs (some have commented in this stream). It takes time to learn the ropes ... so give folks a chance to learn best-methods. Some Auto DMs, however, are clearly over the line. Some know exactly what they're doing ... treating everyone like numbered cattle to be prodded with "money maker" pitches after reading a MLM ebook on "how to get 2000 followers in 30 days". Don't follow, ignore or BLOCK.

2) Chris ... I think you could've made your points in this post without posting pictures of all of the people in their Auto-DM examples. Even though you crossed out Twitter names ... one DM in particular looks harmless (though I agree Auto DMs are offensive in general). To post a guy's pic who sent you a note saying "thanks for the follow, message me to chat, and I look forward to tweeting with you" ... is over the line IMHO. That guy might be mortified to be spotlighted in public like this (pictures are recognizeable) ... when his intentions might've been all good, while his methods not so good.

I'm as fed up as the next person trying to wade through all the spam crap and auto DM link pushing. But I urge caution ... so we don't strut around acting like everyone who joins Twitter should instictively or instantly know all the 'rules'.

Chef Patrick - DNKitchen.com · 11 months ago

Chris, thanks for putting me on blast as one of those people :)

It is ok though, I'm not mad. I see your point

I am new to the twitter community and still learning the best way to do things. After being on Twitter for just under a month I have accumulated 610+ followers. This makes it a little difficult to comment everyone back. My initial thoughts were to send my followers an automated message thanking them rather then nothing at all.

After reading this post and everyone's comments you have made me a believer, I will remove my automated message back right now.

Chef Patrick - DNKitchen.com · 11 months ago

I'm trying to remove the auto msg but social too keeps timing out. i had this problem last week as well.

Ari Herzog · 11 months ago

It's hilarious reading this blog post today, Chris, for exactly four months ago, I wrote a very similar blog post: Why I Don't Want Robot Friends.

Though, I focused more on Twitter broadcasters and less on direct messages, but the same concept applies. Good stuff!

Rebecca Levinson · 11 months ago

I agree Chris, I think @jessethomas says it well. I am getting business for Twitter and there's nothing automated about it. It's real conversations with real people. Hello, networking is real and it's social.

I also don't like automated tweets, imo, it just says that you are too busy but want to ad spam. No thanks. Just don't twitter. It's o.k to say no to some things if you are spread to thin to be 4 real.

Meg · 11 months ago

I totally agree with you, but I don't stop there. I'd go so far as to say ANY form of automation on Twitter, be it auto-DM, auto-follow, auto-linking, auto-feeding -- really, truly, ANY of it -- makes me lose my interest in someone's stream very quickly. Even the whole "my latest Tweet is now my Facebook status" thing drives me nuts. Social media is not about "saving time" -- you put the time in genuinely that you can afford to put in, and then you have to let go. Ron Popeil would be proud of the "set it and forget it" methods of making social media conversation, but I'm not a fan.

I only really make an exception for bots that provide information I'm seeking.

If you're a human being or a company seeking to interact with human beings, BE human. Do what's possible within your humanness. I don't care if that means you tweet a little less -- I'll care about the tweets you do much more than I might if they were plentiful and auto-generated.

Otherwise, use the timesavers and apps to organize input, not output.

Cindy · 11 months ago

I love your twitter posts! I find them very intriguing, but this blog post takes the cake. CLASSIC!! and well said.

Laura Smith · 11 months ago

Oh my, lots of commenting goings about here. Not sure this is of use but took me ten minutes to scroll down, so here goes...
I commented before on @CCSeed's post about this auto DM business. http://tinyurl.com/5bnap5 My initial encounter with this DM that seems to be jamming everybody up so was not exactly pleasant but not the end of of my Twittering world either. It seems to me that all the talk of how unappreciated the auto DM is will in and of itself police the practice. So, TY for all the fuss =). This self policing tendency is what I have come to truly appreciate about Twitter. The tweet that has me a little more 'please don't do that' is this DM Fail. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a funny oops as much as the next guy. One of our favs around here is the an accidental mooning of the FedEx guy. But it's not cool when the joke is at the expense of unsuspecting, possibly shy and ,just trying out their SM wings' folks. I truly appreciate you guys developing such a nice place to hang & Twitter. Have a wonderful night. ~ @DevotionL

ePi.Longo · 11 months ago

Totally agree with you, Chris! We're not death people, so plz be human (not robot)!

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@Chef Patrick and anyone pictured in the graphic - I'm not trying to single you out. I just wanted to show that it wasn't an isolated thing. I'm getting around 35% robots to not at present. No offense meant towards you.

Regarding the 600+ , I feel you. Question might be: how much do you need to answer? How attentive does twitter (the entity) demand that you be?

At 28k, I'm surely missing the lion's share of flow, but if you browse my stream, you'll note that I talk back often.

Again, no foul towards anyone in the pictures, and the people aren't evil- the tool isn't pleasant. Big difference.

flitting · 11 months ago

just joined Twitter today and already running into robots... you are SO right.

we have them on Gather.com as well... most annoying. Perhaps they need an unsocial network just for them

Lucretia Pruitt · 11 months ago

I meant to tell you how much I love this post - but I got distracted by non-robotic behavior on Twitter! :)

Adding this to my "oh why bother coming up with a different way of saying it when I can just link to this post so much faster" bookmarks. :)

Scott Monty · 11 months ago

Confession: I use an auto-follow function. But in my defense, it doesn't contain a link, nor does it market anything to people. It simply instructs my new followers on how I prefer to use Twitter.

My auto-follow text goes something like: "Thanks for following me. If you ever want to get my attention, just '@' me."

Am I still crossing the line in your book?

Matthew Wayne Selznick · 11 months ago

I do a "Welcome new twitterpal @nameoffollower" when someone follows me and I follow them back. I don't use a robot -- I take the time to tweet to each person whose follow I reciprocate because (look, more italics...) it's about people connecting with people.

This simple acknowledgment often sparks a conversation, and pow, two people who may know each other only peripherally are on their way to becoming connected in an actual way.

Because I like to poke at teh stoopid, I often tweet about people who I'm not following back, to call them on their linkbombing, mlm, affiliate marketing, projectile promotional vomiting shenanigans.

This, too, often sparks conversation. And that's what it's all about.

chrisbrogan · 11 months ago

@scottmonty - that's hard. As your friend, I'm biased to say no. But when I think of that usage, it's not exactly bad or icky. It's helpful.

Might not bug folks, I'd suspect. Anyone?

Shannon Ehlers · 11 months ago

This used to be my view on answering machines, then I got one and I love it. Then after that, it became my view on caller ID. Now I have it and I love it. I'm not sure that there is a valid analogy between these things and "Robo-Tweeting" but just throwing this out there for whatever it is worth.

A Maui Blog · 11 months ago

Ok, there's 260+ comments already but I just want to add my "I agree" with you comment. I don't like those robot replies thanking me. I manually follow and unfollow. I check out the person's blog or website first. If it's about "make millions on the net easily" kind of site, forget it, I won't follow.

I too would like to make some money from the net, but I add human touch to it. I know I won't make millions, but I will make lots of friends along the way - and that's very important.

Debra · 11 months ago

I'm new to twitter and love it. I'm not yet familiar with the autoresponder because I personally create my own messages. Thanks for the tips. This is a good guide for newbies like me. You're right, we should not be robots and we need to be reminded of the proper etiquette in social networking.

Jon Phillips · 11 months ago

That is such a great post! Totally agree!

I got tired of clicking on people's junk and getting non-personal and very 'cold' messages, so I set this up: http://turnthisthingoff.com/ :) (works for me hehe)

Carl V. Natale · 11 months ago

(@mainebusiness here) OK, cross off setting up the automated "Thanks for following me." message from today's to do list. Actually I refrained from doing it because I wondered if my tweeps really wanted another tweet from me that really doesn't add value to their day. But I do appreciate the sentiment that people appreciate a courteous thank you - even if automated.

How about doing this instead? Try catching a Twitterer doing something right each day. Send a tweet that expresses how entertaining, informative or valuable they are. Find someone new each day. It's a more genuine thank you that boosts their egos and profile.

BTW, I have a second Twitter account that is much less active. At the moment it captures all my blog feeds. When I have a strategy for it, it will be more conversational. But I will keep the automated feeds. I like the extra blog promotion plus I hope to converse enough that it doesn't overpower the account like it currently does.

Michelle / chelpixie · 11 months ago

Please don't tell me about your ebook, your blog, your etc.

A couple weeks ago I got an auto DM, I politely DM'ed the lady back and said, hey this isn't working for you. She didn't have a clue why and spent the next few DMs going back to what she was all about and what she'd done in the world. I try every day to be helpful, this time it didn't take. I unfollowed her.

Sadly, now I just unfollow immediately. Auto DM'ers, you FAIL.

winston lawrence · 11 months ago

The robot reply thing isn't that big a deal to me yet but then I'm not dealing with the numbers that you are Chris.Auto DM's are much less of an annoyance than auto Twitterfeeds.

What has pushed me to unfollow pretty quickly are folks whose posts are almost completely automated twitterfeeds. Generally they have posted something that looked interesting so I followed and then usually in a day or two realize that they post pretty much nothing but twitterfeed links. The other group that I have unfollowed has been a couple of the twitter elite that seem to post nothing but links to their own web site blogs or applications. What I can't figure out is why these two groups end up with such large followings for so little value added.

http://twitter.com/digitalbeat

Ferg Devins · 11 months ago

funny...I was wading through followers and catching up with DM to thank them for following and actually had a couple of people ask whether it was automated...gosh...was I that clinical and sterile in the message...guess so ! Was truly a wake up call though with respect to thank for the sake of thank or actual thank in a meaningful and engaging manner...I still think it's a nice courtesy to thank and be thanked...humanizes the contact more...cheers Chris...best for 09 @MolsonFerg

Joe Mescher · 11 months ago

Yes!

Auto responses grate my nerves. If I want to check out a website I'll do it on my own terms. Getting spammed throws up my BS filter like none other.

Reminds me of the cheesy commercial a few years back when the software salesman keeps knocking on the customers door saying, "Soooooo, How much SOFTWARE do you wanna buy TODAY?"

jakrose · 11 months ago

Chris,

I have been wanting to write this blog post for a while. I actually have a gmail filter that deletes any DM notice that has "Thanks for the follow" or "Thank you for the follow" or any other pattern I pick up on. I used these auto replies for about amonth early in my Twitter use, but quickly realized the error of my ways. I think the same is true for most people using them now, just a lack of experience on Twitter has not revealed the error of their ways to them yet.

However, I cannot completely knock the auto DM reply as I am still using them for a client twitter account that auto replies with a nice discount code for the company's website. I have been tracking the replies purposely to help me decide if this is annoying or helpful to these followers. After about 3 weeks running it, we have had 389 thank yous of all kinds and 1 complaint. Now I am sure some did not bother to complain and just either blocked, unfollowed, or moved on. Still not completely decided on whether this example is a good use, but the numbers are hard to argue with, especially the resulting sales.

So needless to say, I see both sides, and think your "your results may vary" line captures it well. I think the most important question to ask when considering the robot activities is:
"Will this offer value or annoy?"

Another important questions is:
"Am I able to do this without automation?"

Great post though. Thanks for creating the conversation.

@jakrose

Ian D. Nock · 11 months ago

Bang on... the only place I do not like real people is on the radio.

kelly · 11 months ago

haha @Ian D. Nock! Chris, thank you for your detailed reply because it makes me understand many people's perspectives (including yours). I have never used bot-messages except when my blog tweets to Twitter (which is rare since it twitted 3 times before I deactivated it)! And yeah, all my messages are personally sent out without autoreply-bots.

HAPPY NEW YEAR Chris and readers!!

Raul · 11 months ago

I was just writing about the "social media as an echo chamber" and this post does remind me of it (don't take this the wrong way, Chris. I respect your work a lot and my Vancouver social media friends all speak about how awesome and sweet you are. All the folks from Vancouver who met you at BlogWorld Expo speak very highly of you and I look forward to meeting you in real life sometime soon).

The post I am writing is still in draft form, but I'll send it to you. The reason being that even though I've read no less than 5 posts about why auto-DMs suck (several of them from my friends, more recently from Tris Hussey), I still enjoy reading YOUR perspective.

That is to say that, even though I've read more than enough posts about why auto-DMs suck, it's always nice to read others' perspectives. And that's why you add so much value, Chris. Because regardless of what the echo chamber is saying, you put your own perspective in it. And for that, I am grateful.

Be well.

Raul

Jim Burch · 11 months ago

Useful addition to growing field of Twitter Studies. But Twitter and its ilk will seem a tad like the Pony Express or the telegraph pretty soon, and I wonder if the navel-gazing will have proved all that productive. Cheers, Jim

PurpleCar · 11 months ago

Well, you know Scott Monty and I had it out on Twitter about this weeks ago (I blogged the whole thing). I totally agree with you Chris.

When people respond to these ADM's (auto direct messages), I'd bet the conversations sparked are few and far between. The more likely scenario is that a person may respond to the ADM and hear nothing at all back. Or, as one user told me about Scott, he @replied to Scott after getting his ADM but heard nothing back. How disenfranchising. I hear that Scott is a pretty stand-up guy and the one user may have slipped through the cracks, but if you make promises in an ADM you can't let even one slip through. Scott is tweeting for himself and not for Ford, so slippage isn't as serious. If his were an official account, his ADM would be an impractical promise and a dangerous one.

In general, I think the ppl who use ADMs aren't interested in conversation at all. They want to spew; They don't want to listen. They are more interested in the numbers game (thanking followers? For what? For "coming to my party" as Scott Monty said on my blog? Twitter isn't a soiree. It's a tool. Thanking followers shows you are elated that you have bigger follow numbers).

I personally am at a crossroads now. I need to immediately unfollow these ADMers, but that would be like hanging up on telemarketers. To the phone intruders I used to say, "You need to take me off your list" (before the DNC list went into effect). On Twitter, I've taken to sending them a DM with this message: "I'm sorry. I have to unfollow you. I hate auto direct messages." I'm also thinking about changing my homepage background to contain the same type of message.

I'm not up to 70 ADMs a day but I get several a day (and it's increasing). It's going to eventually get me to stop using Twitter. Like the Do Not Call list, I want Twitter to introduce an ADM blocker ASAP. I want to be able to opt in/out of receiving these vacuous, pointless, disgusting breaches of basic etiquette.

Gary Cohen · 10 months ago

The worst part is that if you get an auto response for following someone, it comes in as a DM. It seems personal. And when you DM back it says: Person is not following you which means you cannot DM back! Now that is an "impersonally" personal response if ever I saw one that makes me feel oh so special. Like it's cool for your auto assistant to DM me but it is not cool for me to to DM you i.e. it's cool for you to dis me? Now that is what I call a good relationship - not.

Roz Allen · 10 months ago

Dig it Chris. Great post.

J. M. Strother · 10 months ago

Great post. Your thoughts on it are very similar to mine. I really like Twitter, but not necessarily all of the twits that misuse it. Unfortunately I think it is just a matter of time before the spam artists kill all that is good about the service. But for now I get more benefit than pain out of it. You know the old saying, all good things must come to an end. I just hope its later rather than sooner. Have a great 2009.
~jon

Vicki · 10 months ago

Oh, Chris, I do so enjoy the way you write!

Jenny, Bloggess · 10 months ago

A-f*cking-men.

Dana · 10 months ago

Get Real! Have Some Fun. Be Real and Have Some Good Conversations for NO alterior motive but just to maybe help someone or brighten their day

Makes Good Sense to me!

Haroun Kola · 10 months ago

I've got an auto message on my twitter follow. I think I'll stop it now :)
I wanna be seen as a real person not just as someone who wants your click.

Shay West · 10 months ago

Chris:

For me Twitter is all about learning...asking questions...finding people who have viewpoints, activities, businesses, etc. that interest me...professionally or personally. Before I follow someone, I look at their twitter profile, some of the people in their stream, their website, and sometimes look for these folks on other social media platforms. And of course that means I don't have a huge, huge following yet, and it takes time--an investment of MY human capital--to look at info on these followers. But hey, it's an investment in cultivating relationships. If I follow someone, I will respond with a "Thanks for the follow" message, but will also try to include a conversation starter in the DM.

If I eventually meet people who I wind up doing business with, I want it to be due to the relationship that we've developed, rather than by shoving a "Hi! Here's my new and improved spammy e-book" message down their throat.

Relationships that are worth keeping require reciprocal cultivation and interest. To get to that point, we have to listen, find those people who interest us, and try to establish communication so more listening and learning can happen.

While spammy stuff will continue to proliferate on Twitter and other social media platforms, let's hope that enough folks continue to understand that social media is for generating conversation, learning, and hopefully strong relationships.

Jay Philips · 10 months ago

I totally agree. I am at the point where I don't open any links from people that send me automated messages. If you want me to check out a link send it in a tweet so everyone can check it out.

The only automated Tweet that I do is for my blog. When I publish a new blog a new tweet is sent out but just asks people to check it out.

Thanks for the great blog.
@jayphilips

Megan Maguire · 10 months ago

Thank you for saying it, Chris. Let's hope people listen. The number of times I was woken up in the middle of the night by a 'Thanks for following' post to my phone, before shutting off that feature...

Amy Collins MacGregor · 10 months ago

Your point about Twitter being who you follow was RIGHT ON!

Couldn't put my finger on what was bugging me about some of my fellow twitters before I read this... on-line socializing and tools like twitter only work when the majority of people try to provide instead of request.

Twitterers with single-minded, poorly-concealed marketing agendas should be strapped down and forced to watch 3 am infomercials.

Carrie · 10 months ago

Bravo!

Andy Jones · 10 months ago

Excellent post for all Twitterers. Speaking of talking robots, did you hear that the Department of Defense hopes to build computer programs to talk to toddlers who are writing to their parents who are soldiers serving oversees? Check out the Bob Ostertag post on this topic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-ostertag/dod-...

alexes · 10 months ago

I have read with interest not only what you had to say, but also all the commenters. Like anything, any kind of an autoresponder (robot) has its uses, but in a social community - not a chance! Personally I find it a little insulting as the point to being social on a social community is to build a relationship with a real person not necessarily to build a list of names to market to.
Your viewpoint has come at the perfect time for so many.

Best Regards,

d betz · 10 months ago

Amen brother! I am new to Twitter, but I would never do the robot thing! It is sort of like the "intrusion marketing" on TV or radio where they repeat the toll free number three or four times. I would never buy those products either on principle alone!!

Dawn · 9 months ago

Thanks for Tweeting about this post. I run the Twitter feed at my job (and have for a year), and now that suddenly the marketers have discovered this newfangled technology (sigh), they want to take it away from me and operate it themselves. You've just written exactly what will happen if I part with my password. Which is why, I won't! :)

Wendy Peters · 9 months ago

Dawn, you make us marketers sound like the enemy. *sigh* We're not, at least not some of us. Some of us really would like to find a way to work together and recognize that there's more than just one voice in the company. On that note, from my perspective it's important that the marketing and communications people be on top of this stuff. Anything that is being said about the company by any employees should be consistent with the company's messaging and overall direction. I've seen too often where an employee thought they were helping and had the best of intentions, but in reality they hurt more than they helped (e.g. the employee that was twittering for Exxon Mobil. She set up an account on behalf of the company, but some of her information was inaccurate. A company can get in a lot of trouble if they're putting out inconsistent information).

Walker · 9 months ago

Robots do not make laws
they follow them'
humans make laws
but break them

app · 8 months ago

Chris, you were the guy that introduced me to the first social network to really steal my heart: Friendfeed.

And I thank you for that, from the bottom of my heart. I truly do. I really love it.

But now there is a situation with my not spending all that much time on twitter and people still continuing to want to follow me there...and the daily number of new followers is increasing, despite the fact that it says on my twitter profile that I don't use twitter all that much..

Is it wrong for me to send these people an automatic DM telling them I don't pay attention to twitter that much and if they want to communicate with me they are better off following me on friendfeed instead (with link to my profile there)?

I want them to unfollow me on twitter, and if they use friendfeed, follow me there. Is that so wrong?

If you called me on the phone and got my answering machine or voicemail, and the outgoing message gave you a number or address of where I was, enabling you to communicate with me directly, which is why you called me in the first place, would you get pissed at me for using automation tools to tell you this?

I am not sending out a link to any of my websites, nor am I trying to sell my followers a useless book (or some other crap), nor am I autoposting "new blog post" notices. The links to posts on my blog are quite rare and almost all were posted manually by me, usually as part of conversations, or because I wanted to ask my followers for feedback on something that would take much more than 140 chars.

My feelings about twitter have not changed. I find that having a conversation there is very awkward, but I don't want to lose my followers. Quite a few are really wonderful people. I try to check in around once a day on Twitter, to check my DM's and @replies just to make sure that no valid communications go by unacknowledged. At the same time, I am still feeding the followers that choose to stay with twitter, all the goodies from all over the internet that has my attention, and I feel the amount and quality of good links shared has even increased, since I started automating my twitter posts by connecting it to my Friendfeed account. (this might even be contributing to the increasing number of new followers).

I don't want to abandon my twitter followers, so my compromise is based mostly in automation. How is this wrong? If they don't like it, they can unfollow me any time they want. Most don't, so I guess they don't mind.

Now if you want to hold that against me, that's your prerogative. But before you do, I want to mention that you are more or less doing the same thing on friendfeed, and I am following you there, and not holding it against you.

Rachel Levy · 8 months ago

I agree with you completely. But, how about auto-follow. Isn't that just more Twitter robots?

Matthew Bibby · 8 months ago

Chris, I first read this post last year and have returned to let you know that the phrase 'click on my junk' has become part of my vocabulary!

As always, great post.

Matt.

Loreen72 · 8 months ago

Perfectly put Chris! Auto followers and DMs are crazy! My favorite: Follow Me Back when I followed them first! Sometimes - I do take the extra min and go unfollow.

julia stander · 8 months ago

I'm learning as I go, thanks for this post. I read somewhere where you should follow those that follow you...but I'm not so sure. Your points are spot on and I guess I need to make my personal responses look less like robots when I do choose to respond.

Tony V · 8 months ago

Let's be truly honest and "authentic" for a change, shall we people?
The Internet, and everything it represents, is, was, and always will be, nothing more than one huge marketing scheme. This ruse of "Social Media" is very cute in a sophomoric and lalalandish sort of way, but most experienced people really see through self-righteous pomp and hypocritical blather.....eventually.
Net Freedom; Open source; social networking - simply more verbose propaganda from the manipulators and politico-socio-economic shepherds who have always sought to control human thought with insincere platitudes and beatitudes for the benefit of the elite, and to the detriment of the gullible.
By the way, your last bullet point, if sincere, sort of completely negates your whole rant, doesn't it? (case in point...)

Matthew Wayne Selznick · 8 months ago

The Internet, and everything it represents, is, was, and always will be, nothing more than one huge marketing scheme.

There are so many ways to refute this I don't even know where to begin.

How about we go back to the beginning, when the Internet was used to exchange academic and scientific information? That kills the "was, and always will be" part of your claim.

Of course, it's still used for that purpose, so that kills "is," too. We don't even have to get into open access, project gutenberg, librevox, and all the other ways the Internet facilitates the distribution of knowledge and information to places and to people that otherwise would not receive it. Often for free.

To be honest and authentic means you have to look beyond the negative and recognize the positive impact of this particular technology, too.

Matthew Gilbert · 8 months ago

Seems like people are still getting Auto DMs, so in the spirit of the Emma Lazarus poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty, I invite you to "Send Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Twitter Auto DM’s Yearning to Breathe Free!" At this point we might as well archive the best of the worst, right? So if you still haven't deleted them, please post your favorite Auto DMs on my blog at http://cli.gs/auto-dm.