Where's my retweet? Ten ways to function humanely on Twitter

Painted Lady Butterflies communing Photo, Holly Massie, all rights reserved

Recently, I  was  frustrated with people who didn't retweet my content even though I was following them and retweeting theirs. I didn't get it. Why weren't they retweeting my fabulous tweets?

@jianghomeshi #Ottawa #choir this Sat June 1 St. Barnabas James Street stairwellcarollers.blogspot.ca/2013/05/spring…

— Stairwell Carollers (@StairwellChoir) May 28, 2013

Lacking any social skills growing up, (I was so spoiled ) when it came to dealing with people I would just state what I wanted or needed -- no "good morning", no "hello, how are you?" People thought I was aloof or snobbish or full of myself. In reality, I was shy and lacked self-esteem. Boo-hoo. I often didn't get what I wanted or needed because I was perceived as rude. 

Penny, our dog, didn't like me either

I grew up. I'm not like that anymore. It took a long time, too.

Damn, if I didn't repeat the same mistake online.

You know, this is weird, because as a drama teacher, for years I've been teaching kids that the most important thing is self-awareness. Awareness of self, awareness of the world around you, awareness of others, awareness of your situation, your emotional state etc. and here I'm making the mistake of being unaware, blind and kind of callous to other people online.  

My Twitter revelation -- try to be an aware, polite human being online...

1. Retweet with an @mention if you want someone to retweet your content. @mention them with the content and then pay back with a retweet.  You'll soon discover who wants to actually have a conversation with you and interact with reciprocity. You might even root out some of the bots that are following you. 

@ottmusicindex Ottawa Choral Concert This Saturday June 1 2013 -- Stairwell Carollers sing Renaissance! fb.me/2xSXbJsRi pls #RT
— Stairwell Carollers (@StairwellChoir) May 30, 2013

He may not be interested in your content

2. @mention with discretion. Don't @mention people that aren't going to be interested In your content.

3. Follow back.  It's only polite -- follow back.  I follow manually so that I can avoid following porn sites and robots. I am reticent to follow people who only follow a small number of people back.

4. Say thank you.   It doesn't hurt. It's only polite. It costs nothing. It's nice -- just do it.  then go retweet something to your followers that your compassionate tweep cares about.

@apt613 thanks so much for the RT of our concert!
— Stairwell Carollers (@StairwellChoir) May 31, 2013

5. Write relevant replies and don't overstay your welcome. The old saying "guests and fish smell after three days" can also apply to replies. Make sure you're not just replying, replying, replying just to keep the conversation going. I hope you're not that lonely.

pals forever

6. Be Nice. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. I know a lot of comedians thrive on the opposite, but you're dealing with people on Twitter. This shouldn't be your forum for being clever, or showing off your intellect, or making fun of someone else. If you have to criticize, Send a DM.

6. Create relevant lists. Wouldn't you rather be on a list that's called cool Canadian bloggers or great musicians then a list called everyone who followed me list number 15? BTW, Twitter has increased your allowed number of lists, so now there is no excuse. Nuff said...

7. Don't automatically automate.  Watch that your timeline doesn't get too repetitive and self involved. Since it represents you online, you want it to represent you the best way it can.

Classical Musicianship Weekly is out! paper.li/HollyWroteit/1… ▸ Top stories today via @kevindeen @pooja_mishra @cliftonfestival
— Holly Massie (@HollyWroteit) June 3, 2013

Summer Lilacs Photo copyright Holly Massie

8. Give others some space! If they don't follow you, or retweet your content, or answer your question after you @mention them -- stop bothering them -- have some self- respect. Twitter is a public forum -- everyone watched you stalk that person and will remember it.

9. Be honest. You don't have to give out your address or phone number or measurements, but lying about accomplishments or whether the photos you use are really yours will come around and bite you in the Twitter feed some day.

10. Rinse and repeat. Try this with Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and all of your other online interactions.

So tell me what you think. can I do better? Do you have something to add?  I'd love to know What you think.