Twitterquette and Facebook Faux Pas

What makes you unfriend or unfollow someone?

When you enter the world of Twitter, you’re generally answering the question, “What are you doing?” But you might also want to ask yourself “What are you doing wrong?”

If you see your followers dwindling or your Facebook friends disappear, there could be a good reason why.

Here is the list of what not to do on Twitter, according to Chesley Maldonado from Buzzle.com.

  • Avoid Tweeting while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Just don't do it.
  • Don't use @ to have a back and forth conversation with a single user. That is what Direct Messages are for.
  • Do not Tweet more than four times an hour. It takes away from other users' Tweets.
  • Please don't use DM to spam people. This is probably the fastest way to chase followers away or get reported for abuse.
  • Don't get too personal. Sexuality and bodily functions should be kept to yourself. Young teens and elderly people use Twitter, too, so be respectful.
  • Using profanity is not appropriate either.
  • Following people that you don't know for no reason is creepy. Only follow users that line up with your purpose for joining Twitter.

We posed the question to our Twitter followers and Facebook friends: What makes you unfriend or unfollow someone? We got an overwhelming response. Here is a sample:

NBCSanDiego Twitter  followers:

  • @ mackristie: I Unfollowed someone for tweeting too much with 20-50 tweets a day. That's ridiculous.
  • @ gadgetsquirrel: I unfollow when they constantly complain about everything or they tweet-bomb the same thing over and over - mainly their site or they don't reply to your tweets but only reply to celebrities.
  • @ pychap: Porn, marketing scheme, if they’re posting too many senseless tweets.
  • @ shadowcatsd:  other than bots, someone tweeting the same for-profit promotional message over and over again.
  • @ svarcoe: Over-tweeting and irrelevant tweets are two big reasons I unfollow someone.
  • @RManning_Mynt: I unfollow if there is consistent spam or unoriginal tweets - follow those that are interesting to create dialog/interaction
  • @ angierobert: multiple tweets one right after another. Annoying!
  • @ Patrice Malloy: Hmmm... you don't follow me ;-) They don't follow relevant tweeps (like me); their tweets are automated and appear in "clumps," they are excruciatingly boring.
  • @ nateritter: They need to be informational in my areas of interest, entertaining, my real life friend, or have a conversation w/me.
  • @ sandiego_john: Too many self proclaimed marketing people, lack of interaction from a person that will make me unfollow. People that are just annoying and talk about themselves all the time will also do it.
  • @ DocHobbes: SPAM!...or something really offensive.
  • @ stefaniya: If they're consistently offensive, ignorant, or irrelevant. Or just boring. Also if they stop tweeting.
  • @ mmrubio: I unfollow anyone who generates twitter spam-same things over and over or who only self-promote their "greatness"
  • @ andrewyates25: I unfollow if their views on certain issues completely conflict with my views on those issues.
  • @ 1baccas: I unfollow someone if they send a high volume of tweets (like 1 per minute) because it's overwhelming.

NBCSanDiego Facebook Friends:

  • Marlo Rhodes: Yes, I stopped following Comedian Dane Cook because none of his updates were funny. There were all about his iPhone app.
  • Heather Hughes: And Marlo is right! Kind of a let down.
  • Sean Monzet: On Twitter because they are trying to sell me something. NO THANKS. On Facebook because of negativity! I don’t want to hear that you are sad today or your life sucks. Inspire me. Make me laugh. Don’t bum me out.
  • Marla Gamez: Mostly because they are people I know little or not at all.
  • Amy Anshutz Lewis: Yes...because of the same reason as Marla (above), or I didn't care to hear about their needless updates all the time.
  • Mike Brown: Yes, one word, stalkers!
  • Florian Carr: stalkers :-(

You can join the conversation by following us on Twitter @ NBCSanDiego or become our friend on our Facebook page NBCSandiego. We promise not to send you those annoying RSS feeds most news organizations insist on sending out. Instead, we want to share things that impact you or ask for your opinion on interesting topics.

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