A Lensmaster, Giant Squid and Twitter Etiquette

This morning finds me reading a number of helpful blogs on proper Twitter Etiquette. It was a fellow, respected lensmaster and giant squid who suggested to me the other day that I write a lens:

... on how to spread out Tweets, use Tweeting services to spread them out, and write effective Tweets to get attention, rather than clog inboxes for only a few minutes once a day!

So, I happened upon A Brief and Informal Twitter Etiquette Guide by Chris Brogan. I have extracted a few of the tips that Chris offers us that I think are so worthy of pointing out today:

• Promoting others and talking with others is a great way to show your participation to the community.
• Only blurting out your information and links doesn’t usually come off as friendly or community-minded.
• However, the more you can respond, the more people tend to stay with you and build relationships.
• People might unfollow you if you tweet excessively.
• It’s not polite to direct message people you don’t know well with your automated quiz results or similar.

Perhaps you have read my Squidoo lens, How Often Should You Send a Twitter Update? "Do you do one a day, one an hour, or one every few minutes? What is the acceptable number of updates -- is there such a thing?" What kind of twitter updates do you send? As a lensmaster, and more importantly, a Giant Squid, it is imperative that we observe a certain protocol with Twitter Etiquette.

Personally, I employ a balance to my Twitter updates. If I opt to update my 484 Squidoo lenses, it is in extreme moderation that I simply click the Twitter button that tells everyone that I updated my Squidoo lens. I've seen Twitter users who have sent only those tweets. Twitter isn't about Squidoo promotion you know -- moderation is key! Now that we have the special, interactive module pages for our reader content on lenses, it is a cool feature that you can send a Twitter update on that content. Again, in moderation!

If you are tweeting, "I just updated by Squidoo lens" over and over and over again, what is that going to say about Squidoo? If you noticed a Twitter "user" who doesn't engage their followers or friends through Twitter, but only opts to send Squidoo lenses over and over again, this blatant self-promotion will surely cast a unkind light on that lensmaster -- hopefully this lensmaster is not a Giant Squid!

Do you realize that there was a Google slap for spam a couple of years ago? Do you realize that Squidoo is filtering through lenses that are spammy to lock those? Do you realize that certain topics are now considered taboo on the Squidoo platform? For some lensmasters, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what is junk to one lensmaster may be considered a beautiful thing to another lensmaster. We are dealing with cultures worldwide, with different perceptions on what is right and wrong. I don't know that there has been an ISO Standard written on spam and junk -- sometimes there appears to be gray areas of interpretation.

Are you tweeting Squidoo, Squidoo, Squidoo over and over and over again? Like perhaps you are all excited about the opportunity to write about your passions and interests and make some royalties for your work, so you are shouting about that on Twitter -- over and over and over again? I've noticed lately, some Twitter users who are Squidoo lensmasters tweeting their Squidoo referral link a number of times. Sending your Squidoo referral link over and over again is really not a good thing. All good things are done in moderation.

Giant Squids have higher standards than lensmasters who are striving to achieve that honor. Sure, you've heard that you can create 50 QUALITY lenses and then apply to become a Giant Squid. However, there are certain responsibilities that come with that title of Giant Squid. Giant Squids are respectful not only of their fellow lensmasters, Squid Angels, Giant Squids, and Squidoo HQ, but they conduct themselves in a manner that would make others proud to know them. Giant Squids are a beacon of light for what is good at Squidoo. A beacon of light for what is good at Squidoo.

You may want to follow @chrisbrogan on Twitter because he offers sage advice for proper Twitter Etiquette as well as other valuable social media tips.