Why I Didn't Follow You Back

Twitter's follow limit, the real consequences of "The Ratio," and my social media methodology.

There is a limit to how many accounts you can follow on Twitter. It was finally documented in this official help document, dated March 2019, but for more than ten years, it was implemented without any explanation from the service, and was known only to those of us who'd actually encountered it.

Here's what happens when I try to follow a new account from @NeoYokel:

https://imgur.com/gallery/GcpLylS

I was only able to verify that this has been the case since October 20th, 2017 - naturally, I didn't bother to note the actual date I first received that notice.

If you're a recent follower of mine and you've found this document, please know that I have seen your expressed desire to keep in touch in some way (which is what following someone "says," I think we can agree,) and have probably responded by adding you to one of my Twitter Lists. You may have received a notification about this, but if you haven't, it's because I have not yet chosen to make the List to which I added you public.

I also want you to know that I am available to speak directly about this if you have questions - whether that be on Twitter, by email, or otherwise. Here's my personal phone number: +1 (573) 823-4380

For whatever it's worth, thanks for the follow. I hope to hear from you but if I don't, thanks okay, too.

https://gist.github.com/extratone/8b762de50de414f8a4be05f9b0407fd8

A big theme in my 20s has been coming (slowly) to terms with the fact that I built my entire adult social life around a single, centralized social media Web Site. I mentioned this in my Tweetbot 6 review, recently, but - as I also strive to be a more sincere person and spend more time adding value to others’ lives - I’ve concluded that it is the time now to speak as openly and vulnerably as I can about my “Social Media Methodology.” Most of the resulting insights will not be new information, but I continue to encounter greater and greater confusion in the face of my well-meaning behavior online and I have decided to stop disregarding it.

This is not an essay about how to “optimize” your social media use. If anything, it is a sort of manifesto against the very idea of designed online behavior beyond simply being considerate in a sense that predates even the spoken word. I, myself, have occupied a position well on the chaotic side of the spectrum. You could say I have been mostly chaotic neutral throughout my 12 years on Twitter thus far, and am actively working toward (and advocating for) chaotic good.

Assumptions at bat

1. For the vast majority of mainstream social users, no amount of [insert vague overused marketing jargon noun] will ever result in a substantial accumulation of money/"influence" (which seems to be the diluted zag of "POWER" of the moment.) Those interested in learning about "marketing" should know that no authority on the subject would ever tell you to start with Twitter - this I can say with certainty.
2. Though Twitter was designed upon certain frameworks with certain rules which form quantifiable formulas where they are dependent upon a user's choices/methodology to produce results which we have, indeed, become more adept at predicting with study over time, it was not created as a game to be won. Perhaps more importantly, the "prize" of "winning" in the sense held by those who resist this assumption (notoriety, "influence," relevance) has continued to prove ultimately worthless (or worse) time and time again throughout the very short history of the cultural element as it exists today.
3. If both 1 and 2 pass scrutiny, the only remaining reasonable prerogatives in one’s social media use is to engage with both strangers and friends in a manner which generally adds value to the lives of all involved.
4. 3 is not only possible - it is easily reproducible. Most of my evidence is centered around my own experiences, but I believe - if I took the time - I would be able to find infinitely many publicly-facing examples.
5. Though I am going to use my own methods to demonstrate 4, neither my ideas nor my behavior are the only means of interacting positively on social media.