Vanity Retweets – Are You Guilty?

by Deb Ng on May 28, 2010

twitterbird

I’m not a big fan of the social media police, that is, the folks who list rules and regulations telling us how to act on Twitter or Facebok. Not that they’re far off, but as far as I’m concerned it’s all etiquette mostly. The people who make the rules for the social networks are the people who own the social networks. The rest of us should mind our manners and not do things that are rude, but who are any of us to determine the rules?

With that said, I’d like to discuss a pet peeve, something that sticks in my craw every time I see it:

The Vanity Retweet

In case you’re not familiar with it, the Vanity Retweet is kind like a brag. It’s like saying, “Hey guess what? Someone said my name on Twitter today!!!” (OK, so I made up the term, but you can call it whatever you like.) So if someone Tweeted, “Hey @debng,  liked your blog post today” it would be a Vanity Retweet for me to retweet to re-blast that to 8,400+ followers. Really, is that information that I should share with everyone?

I don’t know why Vanity Retweets bug me so much.  Maybe it’s because I don’t think anyone would care if I retweeted that someone liked my blog post or  said that I’m a nice girl. In fact, if I Tweeted everything people said or Tweeted to or about me or my blogs, it would get downright annoying. I’ll even go as far as to say it’s rather egotistical – at least it appears that way to me.

I’m old and cranky, though. I could be wrong about the Vanity Retweet. Perhaps there’s value in it after all?

Tell me what you think. Are you a Vanity Retweeter? Why or why not?

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  • http://chrisg.com Chris Garrett

    I agree with you Deb, but I guess we are from backgrounds where it is not the done thing. When I complained about it in Twitter people gave me some stick – apparently in parts of the world people are enouraged as kids to share any praise they received to the whole class, whereas I would have had my head flushed for even considering a thing. Different cultures/norms perhaps.

    To me the right response to a tweet saying you are awesome is to reply “Thank you”. Anything else feels .. icky?

  • http://freelancewritinggigs.com Deb Ng

    Chris, you and I definitely have different personalities. You’re a bit on the shy side and I’m, well, I’m not. But I don’t believe it has anything to do with personality to tell your 20,000 followers “RT@joeblow Chris Garrett has a nice smile.” Honestly, who cares?

  • http://carsonbrackney.com Carson Brackney

    I think it’s tacky and self-indulgent. If the objective is to provide some kind of payback to the person who made the comment, it would seem as though @-ing them back w/ a simple “thanks” would do the trick.

    I can see where one might go for the vanity RT *if* they were adding something to the remark and thought it was Soooooo funny/clever/smart/wise that the world needed to know. Bad example: “RT@Annoyed Reader Your post is so long ——that’s what she said.”

    On a related note, what about the dreaded RT beg? You know, “Important News for MLMers Who Want the BIG Bucks–http://short.url — PLZ RT!”

    Unless it was some local announcement re: a matter of some importance, I would bend over backwards NOT to RT when asked.

    The other day, I tweeted something like “Does asking for re-tweets really work? PLZ RT”. A few people did. I think it was b/c they got the joke, though.

  • http://freelancewritinggigs.com Deb Ng

    I’m all for a RT with value, Carson. I like to especially RT quotes and links to very cool stuff. If someone says something that makes me laugh, it’s a guaranteed RT. But it to me it sounds completely ass to RT things people RT’d about you all the time. Lordy.

  • http://kimbagreen.wordpress.com Kimba Green

    Have to say I agree with you Deb and Chris you are to nice! “Thanks” is all that is needed and so what if people gave you “stick” because you spoke your mind such as what Deb just did. Not everyone is going to agree but today I agree with Deb about vanity RTs. They bug me! Perhaps I am old and cranky too!

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

    I’m still relatively new to Twitter and am pretty wobbly when it comes to etiquette.

    I tend to have a mix of tweeting other people’s posts (when I like them, not because they ask for it), sending out a link to my latest post, and having some conversation.

    I do thank people for RTs sometimes because it seems like the right thing to do, but I just do it as an @ with a ‘thanks for the RT, and a short personal greeting.

  • http://getpaidtowriteonline.com Sharon Hurley Hall

    If some says something nice about me, I thank them. If it’s something I can use as a testimonial, I ask permission, then put it on my site. No need to clutter Twitter by retweeting stuff like that. Seems a bit OTT (over the top) to me.

  • http://siriusgraphix.com Deb Dorchak

    As tempting as it is to share, I don’t. Like Chris said, it feels “icky”. I figure my own followers saw it and that’s enough. The compliments are lovely and the most I will do is respond with a polite “Thank you”.

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