Comments on: Congressional Quarterly’s Shady Twitter Account

By: Raymund @ Pinoy Social Network

Raymund @ Pinoy Social Network — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:15:01 +0000

I think there are lots of automated online tools out there that make people follow you.

By: William Beutler

William Beutler — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:03:17 +0000

Sean, I could be wrong but I don’t believe this is any more sophisticated than wanting to appear as if they are more naturally popular than they are. Remember that they are also doing this in large part to win a contest. I think the benefit is really only perceived, and not all that beneficial. They are acting rationally, but not wisely.

By: Sean Hackbarth

Sean Hackbarth — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:38:10 +0000

Bill, what I'm wondering is what the benefit CQ gets from following a smaller number than a larger number. What I don't get is what does CQ gain from not "having to appear to give reciprocity"? I figure most Twitter users will follow CQ based on the quality of the Tweets.

I manage a Twitter account with a few thousand followers and following a few thousand. What benefit would I get for going to all the trouble of unfollowing most of them? I don't see anything beneficial. It sounds like a lot of work for nothing.

By: charles

charles — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:11:35 +0000

fascinating. so its all the rage to have a high disparity btw followers and followed, like its a sign of some mighty popularity? that thinking is skewed, what, journos ultimately want some broadcast model of information delivery?

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By: eric

eric — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:07:59 +0000

is it better for CQ to be following 17,000 people (roughly the number of people following them)? is that realistic? and what’s wrong with CQ following people so they can be made aware of its feed and then stopping?

the @CQpolitics account (http://twitter.com/cqpolitics) is clearly nothing but a feed (like RSS) of their articles… it’s not like they’re having a conversation with people on twitter at all. whether or not that’s okay is a different conversation, but following folks to help them learn about the @cqpolitics account doesn’t seem like necessarily a bad thing. and since it’s clear that they’re never going to participate in a conversation with anyone, subsequently unfollowing seems perfectly legit to me.

By: William Beutler

William Beutler — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:55:03 +0000

Not sure what you mean, Sean. The benefit is a gaining a large number of Twitter followers without having to appear to give reciprocity. Meanwhile, I'm sure someone at CQ is following the account -- although I'm not so sure they'd be getting much out of it.

By: Sean Hackbarth

Sean Hackbarth — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:12:21 +0000

What’s the benefit of following then unfollowing? I’m sure there isn’t someone at CQ who was ever following the Twitter stream of the account.