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Do You Follow Friday?

Posted on June 18, 2010 Written by 10 Comments

twitterbirdAt first glance the whole Follow Friday thing on Twitter seemed like an interesting idea. I’m always on the hunt for interesting people to talk to, so why not receive recommendations from others? Every week I joined in with my #FF’s and @’s. Until one day someone said to me, “Deb, why do you recommend these people. Is it because they’re your friends, or that they’re writers, or bloggers? Give us a reason.”After that I editorialized: “Follow these terrific writers,” I’d post, using the remaining characters to squeeze in a few recommendations. But I wasn’t feeling it. As I found myself with fewer characters to work with, I worried that I was excluding people. Follow Friday was a popularity club and I’m not into cliques.

I began watching other people’s Follow Friday recommendations and sure enough they were pitching the same recommendations to the same followers each week. No one was adding anything new. Plus, I wasn’t really following any of the Follow Friday recommendations and after a couple of informal Twitter polls I learned that no one else was either. Every time I asked if anyone followed any of their Twitter friends’ Follow Friday recommendations, most admitted that they rarely do.

I like the idea of Follow Friday but I think it turned into something different than intended. I find my Twitter name listed among several other @’s and I don’t know why. Do these people like something I wrote? Do they read my blogs? Do they want me to get them in as a speaker for BlogWorld? I don’t know and frankly I’m at the point where I don’t even pay attention to the Follow Friday recommendations.

So I’m wondering if I’m the only one who isn’t really into recommending folks for the sake of recommending them.

Do you Follow Friday? Do you follow the people who are recommended? Tell us why…

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  • http://angelaneal.com Angela Neal

    I still put effort into my follow Friday each week, choosing people within a specific niche to recommend, and looking into recommendations that come from someone that I enjoy their tweets and because of that it seems to pay off for me. I actually enjoy that part of my Friday and look forward to discovering new writers and bloggers each week.

    I do hate it thought when people just say “Follow…and then list a bunch of users” with no mention of WHY they recommend them, or what they tweet about! Grrr.

  • http://remarkableparents.com VickyH

    Deb,

    This is a topic I have also thought about so I’m glad to add to it my opinion.

    First I think following recommendations is either a great way to find another great friend or a way to quickly cluutter tour timeline unless your all about just adding numbers not necessarily people.

    I only do #FF if I think the person passes worthwhile tweets. So the recommender is the first pass. Second I take a look at the recommendees profile and there 20 or so last tweets, pass 2.

    At that point I’m willing to follow although I feel like the exception rather than the rule.

    I’m also pretty dligent about getting rid of the people who tweet crap

    I think it’s all about motives for tweeting in the first place. I’ve noticed over the years that most people who I follow have expanded beyond Twitter and so I look at where the tweets come from and the amount of interaction. A person should be well rounded and sociable. I can spot those with agendas now fairly easily.

    It will be intersting to hear other peoples opinions

    VickyH @eeus

  • http://www.virginbloggernotes.com Jean Sarauer

    Nope, I don’t do it. I’ve had the same experience of seeing people recommending me and not having a clue as to why. If they like something I’ve written, I’d really like to know that!

  • http://lifeslittleinspirations.com Wendi Kelly

    I have never done Follow Friday. Referrals to me are a very special and intimate gift and when I get or receive a referral from a friend or client it’s worth its weight in gold and not something I give or take lightly.

    To have to come up with a list each week just for the sake of building up each others twitter list somehow dilutes the recommendation and I find I no longer believe that all of these people each week are actually that special.

    When I put my reputation to a referral, I want my friends and clients to know that I stand behind that with all my heart and it isn’t done lightly.

  • http://getpaidtowriteonline.com Sharon Hurley Hall

    I do use FollowFriday, though not every Friday, and I try to say why I think people are worth following – either people whose stuff I appreciate generally, someone new I’ve found who provides value or someone I’ve had great interaction with that week. There are a few people who come up regularly, but I only send one #FF (not half a dozen like some people) so I rotate them every few weeks. I tend to ignore long lists of #FF nominations without any context, but I do pay special attention to recommendations from people I respect (though many of those people recommend people on any day, not just Friday).

  • http://www.workhappynow.com Karl Staib – Work Happy Now

    I don’t follow many FF recommendations. I usually follow someone that I’m already interested in. It’s the RT’s that do this for me. If I like the RT I check out the person’s Twitter page and if they are interacting with their followers I give them a chance.

    I never make a FF list of people. I usually try to highlight one person that has been tweeting particularly well. I tweet out that this person is awesome because of this reason and that’s it. I think it makes it more personal. I also do it to give my audience exposure to this person.

    That’s another thing. It usually takes a couple suggestions or times that I see the person on Twitter or on the web for me to follow them. My hope is that I can give this person a little extra exposure that maybe my tweet is what puts them over the edge and encourages them to follow.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mediamover Deanna Figueroa

    Since I’m very new to social media & twitter in particular, I’ve been doing it because most people I follow do it. Your article has made me rethink that. Thanks

  • http://www.facebook.com/mediamover Deanna Figueroa

    Since I’m very new to social media & twitter in particular, I’ve been doing it because most people I follow do it. Your article has made me rethink that. Thanks

  • Anonymous

    I figured this one out a while ago. Being included in a list doesn’t mean a lot to me other than “gee, it’s nice to be included.” The value I get out of #FF is recommending others. I starting doing what Scott Stratten already had been recommending. I do a handful of tweets every Friday if there is someone in particular that I’ve had really good interactions that week. I include one person in the tweet with the reason as to why. People appreciate it and the people I recommend are flattered. I’m not sure why no one else has really figured this out yet.

  • Anonymous

    I figured this one out a while ago. Being included in a list doesn’t mean a lot to me other than “gee, it’s nice to be included.” The value I get out of #FF is recommending others. I starting doing what Scott Stratten already had been recommending. I do a handful of tweets every Friday if there is someone in particular that I’ve had really good interactions that week. I include one person in the tweet with the reason as to why. People appreciate it and the people I recommend are flattered. I’m not sure why no one else has really figured this out yet.