7 Twitter Rules of the Road

Posted July 12, 2012 | Laura Christianson

You’ve had your drivers’ license for longer than you’d care to admit. By now, you’ve learned a thing or two about the rules of the road.

Did you know that Twitter rules of the road are similar?

1.  Don’t drive without a license.

No matter how much you may hate your drivers’ license photo, you still need to carry that license with you whenever you drive.

When you open a Twitter account, be sure to upload a profile image. (Unlike your drivers’ license, you can choose the photo!)

Also, be sure to complete the bio. Twitter is about relationships. People want to know who they are following.

2.  Don’t speed.

Most roads have stated speed limits. We pay a steep fine for breaking the speed limit.

Twitter isn’t about speeding your way to thousands of followers. It takes time to build a substantial following – time and solid content. Instead of begging for followers, post tweets that offer value. Followers will come to you.

3.  Don’t litter.

I hate it when drivers and passengers toss rubbish from their car windows. Nobody wants to see trash lining the roadway.

Twitter users can be guilty of littering, too. Don’t litter your posts with announcements of what you had for breakfast. Your followers don’t need the clutter… or the litter.

4.  Don’t be a self-centered driver.

Ever drive behind someone who doesn’t care about anyone else on the road? They don’t signal, they don’t allow anyone into their lane, and they back up traffic by driving below the speed limit in the fast lane.

Self-centered Twitter users don’t care about anyone else. Their tweets are all about me, me, me. Buy my book, come to my event. They don’t post tweets that meet the needs of followers. They don’t retweet, or if they do, they copy others’ tweets without giving credit.

The occasional self-promotional tweet is fine as long as long as it doesn’t dominate your posts. Follow the 80/20 rule – no more than 20% of your tweets should be self-promotion.

5.  Don’t drive with windows tinted too dark.

Many states prohibit windows tinted so dark that you can’t see inside.

The Twitter equivalent is setting up a Twitter account, then making it private so followers have to request permission to follow you. If that’s what you’re doing, then you don’t understand Twitter.

6.  Don’t carjack.

Carjacking is illegal.

Hijacking a Twitter feed should be illegal. What do I mean by hijacking? It’s when you post a bunch of tweets all at once, taking over the feeds of your followers instead of scheduling your posts throughout the day. No one appreciates a hijacker, no matter how substantial your tweets are.

Think of your tweets as salt: sprinkle, don’t dump.

7.  Call it in.

What do you do when you see a vehicle obviously weaving all over the road? You call it in before someone causes an accident.

What do you do when you receive Twitter offers for free iPads, smart phones, or cruises? Take a moment to report it as spam. With the system processing 50 million tweets a day, you’ll be doing everyone a favor.

Proper use of Twitter will get you safely to your destination, while making it an enjoyable journey for everyone!

What Twitter rules of the road can you add to this list?


Ava Pennington is an author, Bible study teacher, and speaker. Her most recent book is One Year Alone with God: 366 Devotions on the Names of God. Visit Ava at www.AvaWrites.com and Like her Facebook page.

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10 responses to “7 Twitter Rules of the Road”

  1. Diana says:

    Great post Ava. I do not read the feeds of the self centered authors. Ignore them. Enjoy the helpful ones and the hilarious ones as well.
    Thanks Laura for always offering such great advice and good guest bloggers. I almost always pass your info along.

  2. Diana says:

    Great post Ava. I do not read the feeds of the self centered authors. Ignore them. Enjoy the helpful ones and the hilarious ones as well.
    Thanks Laura for always offering such great advice and good guest bloggers. I almost always pass your info along.

  3. Thank you, Ava. I just shared this with Joyce Hart’s author’s loop. It’s a private loop for everyone who has her as an agent. Joyce Hart is president of Hartline Literary Agency. Thanks again, Cherrie Herrin-Michehl

  4. Thank you, Ava. I just shared this with Joyce Hart’s author’s loop. It’s a private loop for everyone who has her as an agent. Joyce Hart is president of Hartline Literary Agency. Thanks again, Cherrie Herrin-Michehl

  5. Cherrie – You’re the best! Thanks for sharing Ava’s post with your author’s loop.

  6. Cherrie – You’re the best! Thanks for sharing Ava’s post with your author’s loop.

  7. Diana – Ava is one of the LEAST self-centered authors I have the pleasure of knowing. She has a great handle on my blog’s audience, and she often submits superb guest articles. Thanks for being part of our community, Diana.

  8. Diana – Ava is one of the LEAST self-centered authors I have the pleasure of knowing. She has a great handle on my blog’s audience, and she often submits superb guest articles. Thanks for being part of our community, Diana.

  9. #2. Take a Driver’s Ed course to learn the rules of the road such as #(hashtag). Many new users are overwhelmed by the limitation imposed by 140 characters. Fortunately there are tutorials available that will help you learn best practices of posts so you can be on your way to become a race car driver on the Twitter highway.

  10. #2. Take a Driver’s Ed course to learn the rules of the road such as #(hashtag). Many new users are overwhelmed by the limitation imposed by 140 characters. Fortunately there are tutorials available that will help you learn best practices of posts so you can be on your way to become a race car driver on the Twitter highway.

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