7 Deadly Sins Of Twitter!

If you have followed my blog, Facebook or Twitter stream you obviously know that I am one of the biggest Twitter advocates, probably outside of Mr. @ev  himself.  Although Twitter is an amazing tool to: network, develop relationships, find information, share information, promote your business, promote your brand, make the world smaller, minister to people…  It’s not all good!

What I mean by Twitter is not all good is the fact that the tool itself is great; however the element of humans using the tools can create problems.  Twitter can actually ruin your life if you don’t guard yourself and become aware of the fact that if you choose to drive down the Twitter Highway there are some potholes to avoid.   Here are the 7 Deadly Sins Of Twitter… and These 7 Things Can Ruin Your Life! It may be a lengthy list but we are talking about Ruining Your Life!

  • 1. Porn- If you find yourself being intrigued by the revealing Twitter profile pics. and clicking to learn a little bit more, this is a sign of trouble.  Next thing you know that click will lead to another click that will lead to you clicking a link of a tweet that looks something like this “Check out this video of me all alone.”  This my friends is the first pothole to a road that will ruin your life.
  • 2. Secret DM’s- If you are married and find yourself having secret DM conversations with someone of the opposite sex, That can be trouble.  What I mean my secret, are those seemingly innocent conversations that your spouse doesn’t know about.  Always leave your Twitter account stuff accessible to your spouse… I recommend universal passwords for both you and your spouse for all Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and Social Media accounts; in other-words all log-in and passwords are the same.  If you find yourself remotely questioning the potential of one of your Twitter conversations or relationships; share the conversation with your spouse and block that person immediately.
  • 3. It’s All About Me- Twitter can be a very competitive form of Social Media, as a matter of fact many of the new apps. or infomercial DM’s are relative to ways to increase your followers.  Most of us are guilty of checking our followers and having a desire to increase our number of followers. It’s important that the desire to increase our numbers or influence doesn’t turn into the “It’s All About Me” syndrome.  Don’t be so consumed with your numbers that you get big headed and think you’re the Big Man or Big Woman on campus.  Value and respect your followers and appreciate the numbers that you have, because in Twitter World it’s not all about you, it’s all about the people that follow you.  An easy way to check yourself is to daily recognize that your account, followers and entire Twitter Profile can be deleted with one bug, virus or error.  If it’s all about you, let me just say you are one pothole error away from being ruined.
  • 4. Time- It can be easy to get sucked into the Twitter time consuming capsule.  Ask yourself this question “Do I find my time on Twitter interrupting my productivity time at work or becoming a hindrance to my time with friends, family, spouse…  In case you are in denial, naive or oblivious to your time problem; ask the people closest to you, do they see your time on Twitter as a problem?  There are many tools to help you with your productivity and potentially help you avoid the Twitter Time pothole.  Here is a list of the Top 111 Twitter Tools.
  • 5. Multiple Personality Disorder- Often times people develop a Twitter Personality that is different from their normal personality.  This is a hard road to travel because you can find yourself expending energy and fueling the Twitter Personality that’s not the real you.  These personalities begin to compete with one another and trouble is on the way.  Ask yourself this question “Is my Twitter Personality the real me?”  Be yourself and don’t get caught up in the fake Multiple Personality Disorder Game… It will ruin the real you!
  • 6. Envy- If you find yourself full of Envy, as it relates to the influence that other Twitterers have then your next exit is the road of bitterness.  Many times it’s the subtle statements, thoughts or comments that communicate your heart is beginning to fill with Envy.  Comments like “I Can’t believe so and so has that many followers” or “Why do people follow them and they tweet the stupidest things” or “There is no way they should have that much influence” or you start referring to @guykawasaki  as @girlkawasaki.  You should encourage and celebrate others in the TwitterWorld who have been blessed with influence.  Envy is the tribute that mediocrity pays to genius, hard-work and success… it holds you hostage.  Here is a 3 min. video that I shot dealing with Envy.
  • 7. CopyCat- Don’t simply copy what others in the TwitterWorld are doing, Be Yourself.  Do You! It’s A Statement… Not A Question!

    Share your thoughts on any of the 7 Deadly Sins of Twitter or add some additional to the list.

    • http://mitchbolton.wordpress.com Mitch Bolton

      great stuff here scott. brilliant analogies too. the porn one is tricky and challenging. i’m already watching out for the “secret dm’s” with my wife. tweetie on her iphone supports multiple accounts. i just added mine to hers. i was inspired by a blog post from anne jackson (@flowedust) to do that. i need/want that accountability.

    • http://www.questforbalance.com Lisis

      Great list here… and I don’t really like lists. I especially like your advice in #2, to keep it all open and honest. If you wouldn’t tweet it with your spouse present, best not to tweet it at all.

    • Astansberry

      My husband & I both use a password that the other knows for everything, email, facebook, twitter & everything else like that. No hiding anything :) Great list Scott

    • http://www.randygage.com Randy Gage

      I don’t think I’ve ever seen this take on Twitter before. Pretty intriguing thoughts on couples sharing the passwords and accounts. I guess I’ve always seen the business aspect of the service, as it definitely seemed more geared to that than MySpace, FB and the other social networking sites.

      I did a manifesto on Twitter in my blog a while back, including “the 11 people ruining the neighborhood in T’Ville.” You can check it out here: http://is.gd/1WT81

      -RG

    • Scott Williams

      Thanks for all the comments and Re-Tweets

    • http://www.glow4him.com Gloria

      Pastor Scott, YOU HIT THIS ONE SMACK DAB ON TARGET!!!! While I can say 100% that 1 & 2 are definitely not a problem or an issue for me (personally), I have to be honest and confess that the others have been an issue (some more than others). However embarassing it is to admit that, I am more grateful to have realized and press the “stop” button. For me, that meant completely “turning” twitter & facebook off. I’ve been 7 days clean (LOL) and have learned so much about how I spend my time, and “who” I’m spending it with.

      Thanks SO much for sharing your thoughts on this and for letting me share mine.

    • http://davidjtooley.wordpress.com/ avtoolman

      Did I fall prey to #6 by wishing I had written this list of 7?

    • http://www.phyneprint.com byron clark

      Ha
      I’m never getting married :D

    • Pingback: Big Is The New Small - 5 Signs You Have Twitter Envy #TE

    • http://www.youseedrybones.com Don

      Found you from Twitter (oh, the Irony!) Anyway, I like the site. Great list and I agree(especially the last one, BE YOURSELF DANGIT!)

      -Don-

    • Pingback: TwittLink - Your headlines on Twitter

    • http://www.birdsongcreative.com toni birdsong

      Wow. Yes. Had to be said. Love this post!!! Rock it, Scott!

    • http://blog.trushots.com Trudy

      Wow, what a great post. I think many of the things listed are important but item 7 is often over looked. I really think it is important to develop your own social media voice based on who you really are. I’ve seen a few people simply copy what someone else is doing…even word for word…even taking their blog post content! Copying another person’s social media strategy is just a bad idea. Thanks for such a great post.

    • http://www.j4man.wordpress.com Jim F.

      Good list for a guy who is fairly new to twitter. Thanks and working hard on #6.

    • http://www.godsabsolutelove.com patriciazell

      Right now, I am using Twitter to make and connect with new friends, so I can encourage them about the power of God’s absolute love. As long as I keep that message before me, I should be able to avoid the traps you are talking about. Thanks for giving us something to think about!

    • http://www.lakeside.com.np Lakeside Techies

      A nice and clear compilation. I’ve been using twitter for around 2 years now. I’vw have had multiple twitter accounts.

    • Pingback: Big Is The New Small - 5 Signs Of Twitter Envy #TE

    • HRHSAR

      I think those are good points.
      However I think everyone has a view on the whole thing.
      I would say porn would make a strange view or if someone is into it I suppose they will get those kinda followers.
      I never thought about my twitter personality being something that was other than my thoughts or things I enjoy to share.
      Then again I never planned on meeting anyone from it either.
      For me it’s just testing Java Scripts and learning updates and RTing other tweets.
      I think it’s good you pointed out some things I agree people should know some of the ways it could also become a net trap and get people confused about what they are doing.
      Thanks for the tweets and for sharing.
      HRHSAR

    • http://www.gyraxperu.com Merchandising

      Excellent article, this is my first visit to your page (I come from a tweet from @tweetsmarter) I was suspecting you were a Christian from the begining but then I read that you are a minister, weren’t you? Well, anyway, thanks for the article. God bless you. Greetings from Peru.

    • brenda pancratz

      The only thing to say is WOW!…. great stuff

    • Steph

      The porn links on twitter don’t tend to be great porn sites, but I would hardly call porn a deadly sin. Other than that one I agree completely with this list.

    Designed by EightDay Studio. Powered by the Standard Theme. Developed by Milk Engine.