Is It OK To Fake Your Tweets?
Mark Schaefer | Feb 15, 2011 | Comments: 0
The other day a prominent Twitter celebrity was kind enough to re-tweet one of my blog posts. It was not Kim Kardashian. At least that time. Any way, because of his power and influence, my link was promptly re-tweeted by 12 of his followers. Wow, that’s influence right?
Only problem is, in that period of time, my server was down. None of them could have possibly read my blog post.
Welcome to the world of fake tweeting.
How often does this happen?
I’m guessing more than we could possibly realize. How many people are either tweeting without reading … or not even tweeting themselves at all?
Tweeting — The Industry
I recently was asked by a well-known business professional to help them get started on Twitter. The person had been flailing about and frustrated, simply broadcasting news about their business and products. It was mind-numbing.
After a couple of hours of training and re-setting her social media mindset, her tweets were transformed and the engagement was much more successful. Then suddenly the whole thing flopped again. She went back to broadcasting mindless self-serving tweets. I scolded the person and asked what happened. “Oh I went on vacation and turned my tweeting over to the ad agency.”
This is happening everywhere. Fake tweeting for people has become a cottage industry. I think it’s safe to say that a high percentage of tweets are disconnected from real people, broadcasting links that were never read and are little more than the results of automated programs.
Again, it’s impossible to have data on this, but based on my experience, I think the problem is also growing exponentially.
And maybe I contribute to the issue, too. I do “blind tweet” under one circumstance: If somebody I know well and trust completely asks me to tweet a link as a favor, the link is time-sensitive, and I simply don’t have time to read it first. So yes, in a way, I’m part of the problem.
Does anybody care?
Or is it a problem at all? Isn’t there a place on Twitter for everybody? Who made the “rules” any way?
Don’t you always have the option to un-follow people who are obviously not engaging as themselves? Are we simply being close-minded and elitist by claiming that Twitter is all about “the conversation” and “authenticity?” Do you tweet without reading? Fake your tweets?
I have my own views, but I’d like to hear your take on it. The comment section is yours …
Oh, and if you’d like to read about my stormy relationship with Kim Kardashian, click for the scoop! : )
Mark Schaefer is a marketing consultant, author and college educator who blogs at {grow}. You can also follow him on Twitter: @markwschaefer.
HELL NO.
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