For the Lawyer: What does ‘follow’ mean in twitter?

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Twitter is only one aspect of Social Media that Legal Professionals need to master. My Project Social Media presents my thoughts regarding the impact of social media marketing on the practice of law. See my page to for more information.

What does following mean in twitter?

Messages on Twitter are public, with the exception of accounts that have been protected. Personally, I do not understand why someone would want to have a protected account. Just don’t get on social media at all of you want to live off ‘the grid’. Like blog posts, anyone can see them. The way nearly everyone sees other people’s messages is by choosing to get into the stream of updates from people they’re interested in. On twitter you must opt-in to see the updates for a specific person. This model is called following.

When you follow someone, you receive a message every time they write an update. When someone follows you, they receive your message every time you post a tweet. This is what it means to be asymmetrical. You do not have to agree to follow each other in order to see their postings.

There are implications. Because you don’t have to acknowledge each other, you are much more likely on twitter that other social media to find people you do not know. This makes twitter a good platform for professional networking. If you are not interesting, people will unfollow you or they will never follow you in the first place. Twitter rewards the interesting.

**Why the picture of flowing water?  Twitter is a constant flow of information and communications. 

 

Ken StrongmanAbout the Author: Ken Strongman (www.kpstrongman.com) has years of experience and a growing national reputation as a mediator and arbitrator.  He has successfully resolved more than a thousand disputes in the fields of construction defects, real estate, intellectual property, and employment.  He is also a Mediator and Arbitrator for FINRA.

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