Over on Etsy the talk is about how etsy sellers are the new spam villian because of the (etsy staff suggested) spamming twitter with all thier listings, relistings and bullcrap.

The thing is Etsy has been telling sellers for months to join twitter as it’s a “great way to promote your items!”. Since most etsy sellers are older females and the whole social media thing has escaped them they don’t get HOW to twitter or WHAT it is they do what Etsy says. They constantly relist items and tweet every last one of them. Their feeds are filled with nothign more than “check out my crap!” and links to etsy.

In short if you live in a cave, Twitter has been called a Microblog, I like to think of it as Public Short Attention Span text message everyone in the world can see. You can only use 140 characters – the limit on text messages is roughly 160. This allows you some space for a username. Since many people twitter from phones etc, you now get the whole character limit thing.

Last week Etsy supported a “etsy day” which mostly consisted of tweeting about etsy, and made it go to #1 in twitter trends, while I’m sure many learned about Etsy that day it annoyed people about 1000% more people.

I joined up a few months ago and I love it, but it took me a few weeks to get wrap it around my brain. It really took hold with me, and with the new job making me too busy to blog all the time I haven’t really had time to blog, but I do have time to twitter. Twitter killed this blog, one that I’ve unrecently posted to about 3 times a week or more since 2001.

So as a avid Tweeter, one that now “gets it” let me pass on what I know to folks out there.

I have a few tips:

• If you don’t understand Twitter, stay off it, moron. Seriously, we don’t want you there anyway. Really I mean it. It’s not a hard thing to get, so maybe you should follow some peopel and learnabout it first.
• Don’t follow everyone who follows you. This isn’t kindergarten. Do you book mark every site you go to? You should only follow people who you enjoy reading. If someone replies to you and you like thier tweets, sure go  for it. Maybe it’s a start of a beautiful friendship! But if you follow 1000 people you won’t know or be able to read any of them.
• Don’t get into how many followers you have. It’s no an indication as your worth as a person. Just means you have that many people who think you suck less than other people.
• No one gives a shit what you sell. Really. I mean it. NO ONE. If you are there to sell, get off. Not everyone uses twitter as you do. That means twitter wasn’t made for you to spam, It was made to connect people.
• It’s a conversation, with or without people. I said it in a tweet a couple weeks ago with someone about celebrities that are on Twitter now. Most don’t reply to anyone, ever, but just blather about thier day as if it’s the word of god from on high. “They don’t get that it’s SOCIAL media, not LOOK AT MEdia”. Most twitter people don’t get that either, and many Etsy sellers think it was invented to be text advertising. (not lying!) Talk to people more than you talk at them and you’ll be a halfway decent Twitterite.
• People who are funny are better tweeters. If you are missing the humor gene, STFU. Really. There are enough crochety killjoys out there already.
• Dont tweet everything you do, less is more. And by extension: Random is more fun that minutia. I’ve been known to just tweet that “I Like Fruit Punch!” or “I just ate ham with my fingers because I’m a fancy lady!” the like and I’ll get people replying how they do too! It’s weird but funny in it’s own way.
• I like to tweet during TVs Shows I’ve found some great other fans that way! (Run a search for your show name during your show and you’ll find some funny comments as you watch it’s great.)
• It’s a great place to ask for advice, tips, links… give the same to others too. Find a funny link? I wanna see!
• More than your “followers” see your posts. Many people use various apps for Twitter and many like to view (at least sometimes) tweets by everyone along side the ones they are following. So if you send out those tweets on your items for sale you ARE spamming indiscriminately without meaning to.

Okay thats the basics I think. Just some tips to keep in mind, but again, if you don’t get it. You don’t have to many of us do, let us have it and move on.

Yes I’m still alive. Just busy.
Anyway, I have noticed there is a new campaign out for a lady shaver recently, and they take divergent angles to the same point. One is British I think, the other I saw on TV in the US here. The latter was so subtle Mr Man didn’t even know what it was about the first time before I had to explain it with the power of TiVo. It’s nice to see they are going after women with some humor for once.

I know my readers, if I have any left, enjoy my video finds, so here you go!