Over on the Twitter Handbook, Deb Micek and Warren Whitlock ask, "Do You Follow the Most Popular People on Tweeple?"
They argue that popularity - the number of followers - may not be the most important criteria for following someone else.
I agree. I do not follow everyone who follows me.
This is mainly because I monitor the tweets of those I follow and I need the tweets I receive to be meaningful, not just clutter.
While I can use a plethora of twitter tools to do this, I prefer to limit those I follow to those who have relevance to my professional, volunteer, or personal life.
With that in mind, people I follow:
1. Are personal friends, colleagues or relevant superstars in my field.
2. Include a biosketch or link to a website that reflects my interests.
3. Have useful, substantive tweets beyond "I need coffee" (though some of this is okay). Their tweets help me in my work or clearly demonstrate expertise.
It REALLY helps if people include a website, their real name, and a profile image. If people aren't willing to configure their profile, they give the impression that they do not take twitter seriously.
What criteria do you have? Add your comments over at the Twitter Handbook.
