Perfect Health Project » Business http://timgrahl.com by Tim Grahl Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:27:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en hourly 1 Should mass following on Twitter be considered spam? http://timgrahl.com/should-mass-following-on-twitter-be-considered-spam-15 http://timgrahl.com/should-mass-following-on-twitter-be-considered-spam-15#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:31:42 +0000 Tim Grahl http://timgrahl.com/?p=15 We recently launched Maker Spot (a tool for Etsy shop owners) and I also setup a Twitter account for it as well.  My goal is to offer relevant links and information to help and inspire Etsy shop owners.  Obviously a goal of this is to build trust and recognition so people will sign up for our service.

In other words, it’s marketing.

To gain an audience more quickly, I’m using the Twitter search tool to find Etsy shop owners and following them.  From my experience and those I’ve communicated with that do this as well, about 50% of the people will follow me back.  Often it’s more.

The moral conundrum I’m having is whether this can be considered “spam” or not.

Why it IS spam:

  • It’s unsolicited, although this one is easily explained away since almost all follows are unsolicited
  • I’m not particularly interested in what THEY have to say
  • I know politeness/guilt/etc will cause people to follow me back

Why it IS NOT spam:

  • I’m not randomly following anyone. I’m following people that matches my content.
  • They don’t have to follow me back. I’m asking for permission.
  • I honestly believe I will offer helpful content to those that follow me

So what’s the verdict? Is it spam or not? What do you think?

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