@nickhac has developed a ranking of Australian Twitters based predominantly on their following. Yes, I could have embedded the list here, but 1) It is too wide for my blog design and 2) you should go and see Nick’s work in context with the comments that follow there!
The list has drawn much comment about the formula used, however I believe much of the debate is about the type of influence people have.
As at 11.30am (AEST) today, I appear to be ranked 28. Numbers don’t really matter to me, in the same way karma on plurk is fairly irrelevant to me, but what the numbers actually mean has got people talking.
I am not on twitter to promote or market anything (well sometimes I pimp this tiny blog, but I am not blogging to make money!) or for professional development. I do bounce ideas off people, find and share news and generally engage in community. For me, twitter is community. For others it is a platform to market and promote and to grow professionally and these are good and valid uses of Twitter.
I follow back most people who follow me. Often if someone is overseas I am more reluctant to follow back because it is hard to create community when I am twittering away whilst you are sleeping! But if someone directs an @fifikins to me then I (9/10) add them.
Because someone has a large following it does make them influential- people do want to read what they are saying and doing. However many they choose to follow back and how they choose to use Twitter is up to them. By choosing to follow someone you are deciding how influential they are. Ranking systems are always going to be open to criticism, but I think Nick’s formula is pretty accurate. Malcolm Turnbull’s foray into Twitter last week shows that he is influential! We have all tried to tell him how to do it better and he is listening to some things! By following him we are showing that what he says has some sway- no matter if we agree with it or not. We are listening to what he says and how he says it. He is trying something new and the medium he is using resonates with a lot of us.
I have (as of now!) 773 people who have chosen to follow my rants, raves, random stuff and verbosity! (Yes, you can be verbose in 140 characters!) I often wonder why people would choose to follow this ‘Thesis writing, retail working, sole parenting, music loving, verbose Aussie dreamer on the intertubes. G&T princess and meme queen.’
I am not influential! Perhaps I am, in the words of (Aussie) Kath effluential at times, but what I say doesn’t result in the world changing. Except perhaps when I call gin o’clock!
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:42 am
Very interesting, I’ve never really considered Twitter as much more than a way of keeping up with friends but then I hardly use it myself – interesting read though.