Some more random (very) thoughts about Twitter and tweets

Once again my Twitter count has me concerned about its authenticity. Right now people reading this are probably thinking that this is a complaint expressed many times by this blogger. Really, it shouldn't bother or concern me in the grand scheme of things but it does.

Let me clarify that Twitter is a useful communication tool. As a writer, it's a means in which to publicize my blog updates. I mean, there's no sense in sharing one's view if nobody reads it. Right? My philosophy in as far as "following" people/places/things is that it has to mean something to me personally. Being that I'm an aspiring playwright with hopes of having one of my plays produced before I depart this world for that great theatre in the great beyond (feeling very philosophical), I'll follow and tweet theatres and theatre-related people to keep abreast of the business. As an artist, tweets and updates from creative types following me will be reciprocated, as are humor writers/writing blogs and literary matters. Then there's the cornucopia of tweeters who might not be related to my interests but intrigue me on a personal level to follow them.

It's somewhat trivial but there is something annoying upon discovering that my "follower" count has dropped. True it doesn't happen that often but it's disturbing not knowing who dropped me and the reason. So I'm thinking here, perhaps Twitter should provide a category for this very issue. Something to the effect: "Hi blank-blank! Just a short note to tell you that I'm not following you anymore because you didn't follow me back." At least there would be a reason - not that it would make a person feel better. Perhaps another space could be provided where the drop-ee could ask for re-consideration: "Please reconsider following me again because..."

On occasion Twitter does make errors in their tweet updates and in the past, it/they/whatever Twitter is, reversed my followers and following lists. Twitter has this subject covered in their "Help" section under the "My follower count is wrong" section:

• If you received a message from Twitter alerting you to a new follower, but don't see that person later in your followers list, it's likely that user was removed for spam activity, unfollowed you, or deactivated their account.

Naturally, e-mails were sent to notify them of the errors of their ways but in the end, the count remained the same.

Another issue is nowhere is it mentioned how to determine the identity of the drop-per so it's pure speculation at best. In the end it's all a numbers game, anyway, and every tweet counts. To paraphrase a line from an Elvis song: tweet me right.

Who are you following and who's following you?

Don't get me wrong - like many people world over - I like Twitter. Sometimes. On occasion. In reading this be prepared for yet another Twitter- follower-rant.

"Losing a few followers, are we, Eleanor?"

For the record, I rarely drop Twitter followers because it strikes me as un unfair action. In my eyes, making the decision to follow someone is a commitment. It is for this very reason that they remain part of my "following" count unless they start making socially unacceptable tweets or use it as a tool for blatant self-promotion. Following someone is akin to a social network responsibility. However...

Today my "blah-blah is following you" count dropped by one. In the big scheme of things, it's a small number but this leads me to wonder the reason for making this decision and a cause for further speculation. Adding a newbie to my following count is usually related to my interests in some way or sparks my interest enough to be placed in the "following" list. However...

I'm wondering if I committed a social faux-pas or slight. Were my tweets or updates perhaps too boring, maybe... Or...perhaps, and this is always a dilemma, somebody who followed me wasn't followed back by yours truly. That can cause angst. I mean, although interested in good restaurants and their menus for example, being located geographically on another part of planet earth means chances are I won't be sampling a menu since I'm not an international jet-setter. Then again I suppose, one never knows... A bakery in Brooklyn, New York for example, is (or was - haven't checked lately) a follower and checking out their advertised baked goodies made me salivate. Being that I enjoy visting NYC, I just may check them out. I mean, it's only polite. Right?

Still, I'm pondering the decision made by somebody/people to un-follow me and why. Perhaps Twitter could offer followers the option of  listing the reason for un-following a Twit...I mean, Twitter follower.
Something to the effect: "Please be advised that blah-blah dropped you today." I mean, one dropped follower deserves another, don't you think?

Twitter followers falling by the wayside. Calling Dr. T.W. Itter!

I'm developing a Twitter complex and there's very little, it appears, that I can do to remedy the situation.

"So tell us Eleanor," Dr. T.W.Itter, Psychiatrist, DFS (dropped follower specialist) would ask if consulted about the complex, "how did this come about?"

At which point I would answer Dr. T.W.Itter, "well y'see doc - a while back I decided to sign up to Twitter as a means to communicate with others who share my interests, and to pubicize my blogs. I have a lot of blogs, y'know! Seven in all!" I would answer him.

"Ahhhhh - seven blogs, Dr. T.W. Itter would comment, while scribbling notes madly on his pad. "So why do you have so many, anyway? Most people have one...two at the most."

"I'm a person with varied interests," I would state matter-of-factly while explaining my rationale for seven blogs. "One to rant and rave and comment about life...another for my art...and so on. But can we get back to the reason for this consultation?"

"Refresh my memory - why are you here?" Dr. T.W. Itter would ask.

"I'm dropping Twitter followers again," I would explain forlornly. "One minute people are following me and suddenly, they start dropping me like flies sprayed with Raid."

"Hmmm...do you think it's something that there's something wrong with your tweets, possibly?" he would or could ask, which is a logical conclusion.

"I doubt it. I mean, I'm beginning to think that I'm - you know - well...boring. People are intrigued to see what I'm all about and once they do, they decide my tweets aren't interesting."

"Hmmmm....dropped followers. Yes. This appears to be a common complaint among Twitter-ers but there could be another explanation," he would suggeset helpfully. "It could be a technical glitch for this occurrence. Have you tried contacting Twitter?"

"Not yet - that has happened in the past. A Twitter technical bug reversed my followers and followees. Lost quite a few as a result of that," I would elaborate.

"There is also another possibility worth considering," Doc. T.W. Itter would offer. "As much as this hurts me to have to alert you of a practice observed by some people, I feel I must. Some people may follow you just so you will follow them back and then when you do - they drop you and your Twitter count. That will be umpteen dollars. Pay the nurse on your way out."

"But doctor," I would protest, "this is not a way to boost my confidence! "what should and could I do to change this upsetting situation?"

"How would I know. I'm a pyschiatrist - not a Twitter expert," he might comment. "By the way - do you follow me? I'm on Twitter too. If you follow me, I'll follow you. A follower is a follower is a follower."

Everybody's got an angle!

Meeting the Queen - how does one conduct oneself?

Fresh from consulting Debretts on how to act if ever invited to a royal event or wedding, which as it happens I didn't have to worry about, anyway, since my invitation appears to have been lost in the mail, seems that we regular people have to be aware of social faux-pas or no-no's when meeting the Queen of England. Realistically speaking, few of us will have the opportunity to even be in the company of royalty, other than taking photos outside Buckingham Palace along with other visitors, but it's still good to know these things.

No less than President Obama, leader of the U.S. of A, breached royal protocol recently, when he inadvertantly made a toast to the Queen and then continued with a short speech. According to royal protocol, he should have stopped. The band, taking a cue from the Queen, started playing the national anthem, while Pres. Obama continued talking. Somehow, envisioning the scene, reminds me of a Monty Python sketch, but I digress. As I recall, the Obamas didn't receive an invitation to the recent royal nuptials, either.

So right now like me, you're probably wondering just what in the heck is royal protocol, anyway? Does it cover things like how to bow or curtsy (this has always been a stumper for me - I like to be prepared for these things), and etiquette that would cover issues like is it proper to spit or dip one's dinner napkin in one's water glass to wipe away sticky food from one's face. Stuff like that.

This mysterious - at least to me - issue of royal protocol goes back to a time when monarchs were accorded an almost divine status.

According to Dr. Kate Williams, historian at London's Holloway University, "From medieval times, monarchs were divinely appointed to rule by God, so they were kind of seen as gods, so they demanded to be treated as gods," says Dr Kate Williams, a historian at London's Royal Holloway university. "They are treated as people set apart from the rest of us, so primarily what it is creating is distance and grandeur."

This means one does not make any moves until a royal person moves first. For example, you wouldn't greet the Queen and her ilk like a long, lost relative by kissing her on both cheeks. Or speaking first by telling her that you love (or hate as the case may be) her hats. No hugs are allowed, either. Or using a cell phone to pick up messages and definitely no tweeting would be allowed. Bowing, according to Dr. Williams, is allowed and in fact, encouraged.

Presumably, there have to be rules in regard to bowing and/or curtsying. According to Debretts, my new "bible" for any royal "how-to" issues, have got this issue covered under the "Recommended Etiquette Upon being introduced to The Queen, and on leaving, a bow or curtsy is made" section. Take notes people!

- The bow is an inclination of the head, not from the waist.
- The curtsy should be a discreet but dignified bob.
- In conversation, address The Queen as 'Your Majesty', and subsequently 'Ma'am' (to rhyme with Pam).
- When conversing with The Queen, substitute 'Your Majesty' for 'you'.
- When introducing another person to The Queen, simply state the name of the person to be introduced:'May I present Mr John Smith, Your Majesty?'

However, not mentioned is how one measures a "dignified bob." Should the chin touch the chest area? Are winks allowable?

Royal protocol can be viewed as an expression of respect for the Queen.

This leads one (me) to wonder what the royal etiquette would be, say, if the Queen would visit the U.S. and attend say, a hockey game for example. Just thinking... Perhaps Debretts has this issue covered as well. Also found a section on Debretts covering seating arrangements, for future commentary. Meanwhile, I'll go practice my curtsies - just in case. You never know.

Psssssst - I'm following an escaped snake

First and foremost let me state for the record that I am not - repeat - not a snake lover. In fact, I'm not even a snake liker and would go out of my way to avoid any type of confrontation. Be that as it may, I'm following a snake and a deadly species to boot, without any fear or trepidation.

Last Saturday, an Egyptian cobra escaped from her/his (no indication of its sex supplied) home in the reptile house of the Bronx Zoo. Of course this made headlines everywhere because an escaped cobra is a dangerous cobra. As expected the reptile house is closed until further notice and there is a watch out for any signs of the escapee. Personally? I wouldn't try to find him or her.

As a Twitter-er - at least that's what I call myself - I enjoy reading tweet updates supplied by people. You know - the usual i.e. what they're doing at any given moment, what restaurant they're eating at...normal stuff. However, yesterday and much to my surprise, there were tweet updates supplied by none other than the Bronx Zoo Cobra! Seems the snake is literally and figuratively out on the town, visiting all the New York sites. I mean, how often would a cobra get to visit New York? I would safely guess, never.

For example, yesterday the cobra tweeted and shared: "On top of the Empire State Building! All the people look like little mice down there. Delicious little mice." Most likely he/she meant 'delicious little mice' not in the visually cute sense but as... You get where I'm going.

These tweets are very entertaining and witty so I decided to follow Mr. or Ms Bronx Zoo Cobra. An hour ago, cobra warned, "Getting my morning coffee at the Mudtruck. Don't even talk to me until I've had my morning coffee. Seriously, don't. I'm venomous." I believe her/him. In fact I even tweeted back: "What are the chances you'll be heading to Canada? Just want to be prepared." Really I do. A person can't be too prepared where escaped cobras are concerned.

http://twitter.com/#!/BronxZoosCobra

Two tweeters no longer like me

Today's blog is on the short and not-to-sweet side. Somehow and according to my Twitter page stats, two tweeters have dropped me. This has got me wondering first of all, who are they and secondly, what was their motivation.

Sharing tweets that strike the imagination of tweeters is a challenge in itself and it's nice when people find one (me) interesting enough to follow one(me again). However...it's also somewhat blechy discovering one has been dropped. One explanation might be that the new tweeter-ers followed me and I didn't reciprocate. It was a twitter social faux-pas. I can live with it.

Another possibility is that perhaps my subject matter didn't interest them. I mean, my tweets do cover life's more quirky stories like road kill calendars, cheese rolling events, Paul the octopus demise, a woman marrying herself...but also more staid commentaries including celebrities being and acting like celebrities. I like diverse subjects.

So the two tweeter who dropped me will miss out on all my creative commentary and witty repartee. Their loss. Plenty more tweeters 'out there' somewhere waiting to be my friend. Y'a wanna be my friend?

Well that explains it! 71% of Tweets ignored

By now people reading this blog are probably bored with my kvetching/complaining about Twitter and my missing tweets. Thing is when you have 170 people (presumably people and not pets, one hopes) following you, every tweet counts.

So today I read this interesting piece about Twitter and people's tweets. Seems that approx. 160 million people located presumably all over the planet and who knows maybe behind, use Twitter. Lot'sa tweets, right? However...according to a Wired piece, a mere - wait for it - 71% of tweets are ignored. In other words, we Tweeters who attempt to make a relatively interesting or at least intelligent statement in the 140 character allotment, are ignored!

Syssomos, a Toronto, Canada, media analytics company, scanned 1.2 billion messages(!) sent in August and September, 2009. Not surprising at least to me, anyway, their findings indicated that 7 in every 10 tweets are ignored, completely. Six percent get re-tweeted and 92% of the re-tweets happen in the first hour. This indicates at least to me that if you're going to get re-tweeted, it will be in the first hour.

So taking this all into consideration, 23% get some type of reply but 85% of those that get a reply, et just one reply. Hey - one reply is better than no reply! Furthermore 10.7% get two replies and 1.53% get three replies.

What does this all mean in the scheme of things? It means, to me that when sending out tweets, they won't necessarily be read and what's more, tweeters won't get replies, either. Makes a person wonder why bother sending them out altogether. As a writer it's a means to draw attention to a blog. Still, it makes you think, especially about those five missing Tweeters, who might have re-tweeted me.

In for the count - Twitter still following me (update)

It's been almost a week now and Twitter appears to have solved my follower count. Won't bore everyone with the details regarding how Twitter for whatever reason, presumably technical problems, stopped recognizing new followers, following me.

To date I have two -count 'em - new followers but...Twitter has still not recognized or returned my four or five 'older' followers. I keep wondering (too much time on my hands) if the people who are interested in my updates are wondering why they are not registered in my overall numbers. I mean, should I send them an apology?

"Dear blah-blah,

Thank you for following me on Twitter. Every person counts. In case you were wondering why you have not been included in my 'following' count, blame Twitter. They appeared up until recently not to be able to keep track of new followers for whatever reason. Unfortunately, you were among the batch who were somehow lost in cyberspace, presumably forever. It's not like I didn't make them aware and request for the return of my followers.

Please be assured that you are in my thoughts, if not in my number count."

Eleanor Tylbor

Not too sure if Twitter has the problem completely solved since they alerted me to a new follower, whose name did not show up in my e-mail. However, as I wrote, a follower is a follower and I'll take 'em!

Daily Twitter Update: forms - they got forms!

Now that Twitter is recognizing my password, the only existing problem is the dubious follower count. Surely but not necessarily, Twitter will at some point give me my five new followers. I mean, is it a lot to ask in the scheme of things? Anywaaaaaay....

Decided to check in Twitter's "Status" to see if there's anything pertaining to my situation:

"Follow, Follower Counts and DMs Intermittently inaccessible 2 days ago
Some features are intermittently not available on Twitter at this time.

- Ability to Follow a user

- Follow counts

- Sending DMs

Twitter is working to resolve this issue in full.

UPDATE Oct 4th, 2010 8:50am: These features have recovered.

Obviously, 'follow counts' is an ongoing problem, however, according to Twitter effect October 4 at 8:50 a.m. the features have been recovered.

Oh really? Then where are my 5 new followers, Twitter? Anywaaaaaay...

Just checked to see if I have a Twitter ticket yet. A ticket means that they're looking into your problem to see if they can remedy it. Unfortunately, mine is blank. It says: "ticket ID - no tickets." Yesterday, I submitted a request in which I explained my situation. 7

Moved along to the Submit a Request on-line form.

'Dear Twitter' is the first heading, along with a drop-down menu. I chose "something is broken or amiss." The next section is 'Regarding' where tweeters are offered a long list of possible breakdowns. I selected, "Tweets and Messages", naturally. In the next blank space, I provided the background information as to my situation. There is the usual user name, e-mail etc. but what really got my attention was that the closing phrase, 'I feel..." This is a space where the tweeter can express her/his opinion regarding the situation at hand. Oh yes, I did express my feeling but it was done with class - for now. We always must remember our on-line manners.

And so, I still wait (im)patiently for my 'Twitter-5' to be returned to me but who knows when that will be - if ever. Makes me wonder if the five people who decided to follow me are wondering what they did not to be included in the count. Don't ask me - ask Twitter!

On another un-related note but just as annoying, it appears that comments left by people reading this blog are not being seen. To this end, I just posted a notification in the discussion forum related to this issue. Does it every end, I ask you?

One down, one to go

Hurray!

At least one of the problems appears - notice the word used - to be solved. I actually checked into Twitter just now and it accepted the old/new/old... password.

I came accross the complaint form and informed them of the situation. In the complaint I mentioned both problems and wondering if I should tell them the sign-in is solved. Perhaps not since it could go awry like the follower count at any moment. At least making an official complaint will (one hopes) result in receiving a ticket, which in turn means they'll look into it. Eventually.

So now all that remains is the follower count situation. I follow you...you follow me...we all follow each other. I should only be so lucky!

FOLLOW UP: I tried logging in just now and it worked again! Could fixing the follower count be far behind?

When is a tweet not a tweet? It's not tweet!

Checked into Twitter as I do every morning as part of my daily regimen of keeping up to date with people's lives and what should I find? Dear Twitter still hasn't updated my followers count.

Quelle surprise!

Checked the "ticket" page to see if my problem had even been among those worked on and was greeted with "no ticket."

Again - quelle surprise.

It is even more annoying since four new followers have found my updates interesting enough to...follow and Twitter doesn't acknowledge their existence. I mean, can you imagine the reaction of the new followers?

"How d'ya like that?" they most likely say to themselves upon realizing that they're not counted in the count. "Now I won't receive updates on those wonderful tweets from Eleanor!"

It's possible somebody might have said or had that thought.

What is most bizarre is that the following thingie works. In other words, when I follow somebody else, it matters but if they follow me back, it doesn't.

On top of which I'm experiencing problems signing in and have to keep changing my user name. Thing is, I keep forgetting the new user name, which means I have to keep changing and changing and... You get the idea.

So I'm going to mark each day that the problem continues here in this blog - with commentary of course. Curious if anyone else reading this has experienced similar problems. You begin to wonder if Twitter really cares about its tweeters.

The Twitter complex

"Twitter is a communication service that enables you to quickly send out short messages about what you are doing to a network of people."
(Wiki Answers.com)


Like many people around the world, I'm a twit. Let me clarify this statement: I'm actually a Tweeter who uses Twitter to update my status. Doesn't everyone or at least those with extra time on their hands who want to be socially relevant.

My official status in case anyone reading this is interested is 158 followers or people who find me interesting enough to want to keep up with my thoughts or impressions and related matter. In addition I'm following 179tweeters some of whom I'm genuinely interested and others because - well - they follow me so I feel it's only right that I follow them back. No insult intended, by the way. Kind of pathetic when you think about it.

There have been a few issues with Twitter, which have been brought to the attention of their techies, for example, they have reversed my followers and following count.

After searching the Twitter site extensively for an e-mail to make them aware of this error, I finally came accross a usable link. The first Twitter techie was helpful and made the necessary changes after a while to correct the reversal, however subsequent techies were indifferent to my plight. Their solution is to direct tweeters to their forum where everyone can complain about their various issues and there are lots and lots of issues.

The negative aspects to being a tweeter is that a follower can drop you at any time. In conducting my daily check-in a while back, I discovered to my chagrin that 3 people had dropped me for whatever reason. That's the thing: you just never know why a person stops following you! So you speculate that perhaps my tweets are boring, or perhaps it's a result of declining the offer to follow them... It's enough to give a person a tweeter complex! The challenge is to make an enticing statement within 140 bytes or extra words end up in the dastardly red letters minus sign.

There is some positive news. Last week a few more people were added to the followers column but how long they will stay is anyone's guess. I'm always betwixt and between tweeters.

Update: once again it appears that Twitter has not recognized a new follower today by not recognizing it in my numbers. ~ sigh ~

It's all in the Twitter count

For whatever reason I appear to be losing followers. We're not about followers of the religious kind although some Twitter-ites are as rabidly zealous about posting continuous updates about their lives and anything and everything.

Thing is...it's beginning to give me a complex especially since I can't figure out the reason. As a writer I always prided myself about having a way with words but this really doesn't cut it on Twitter. You have to share - I dunno - recipes or promote your product or something. Darned if I can figure it out. Could be, though that people are losing interest since my numbers aren't - well - high. You know, popularity draws attention. As I wrote - a personal complex.

Up until recently Twitter and I had an on-going problem what they claimed to be a technical situation regarding the number of my followers versus following others. Each time somebody decided to be my cyber friend and follower,it registered as me following them. The situation didn't improve and we i.e. Twitter tech. and myself, began an on-going correspondence. For whatever reason they claimed that after checking, the situation was normal. At one point things did return to "normal" but the problem re-occured. Corresponding with tech. support ended up with a Twitter rep. requesting that I name all my new followers in the way of proof. Go know who was who especially since many of the new followers were now in the following column. Anyway, things appear to be the way they should be, at last.

Still, I have to confess that when it's all said and done or tweeted, I really can't see the attraction of limiting one's thoughts to 140 bytes as one can in a blog. It's just so...confining. That being written, I still find myself providing Tweets 'cause you never know who wants to follow me.