Twitter ≠ Real Life

I love Twitter. I grew to love Twitter. I went through the stages. (see: 46 stages of Twitter usage). Nowadays, it's very normal for me share with, for the most part, complete strangers, the inner workings of my complex, always sarcastic, slightly crazy mind.

Something that is increasingly evident to me and what a lot of people tend to forget (especially as Twitter has become more mainstream over time) is:

Twitter is not real life.

While I'm no authority on Twitter, my take on the 'Twitter Community' is that it's pretty much replica of a school playground.

They're all there; the popular kids, wannabes, bullies, bitches, dunces, überdorks and the general pains-in-the-arse. Hey, sometimes some people even fit into more than one category.

Take the wannabes for instance. You know, the girl so desperate to be in with the 'in-crowd' that she just looks like a jerk because she's trying so hard?

#FF @Awesomelyfunnymodel @FunnyGuy @FamouspersonIoncemet cos they're, like, the best ever!

Hey @Awesomelyfunnymodel, I don't know you at all and am completely oblivious to how desperate I look but let's go for a drink! #Tweetup!

@FunnyGuy You're not tweeting me back! I need you to for everyone to think I'm cool! We're SO friends through Twitter! Please tweet me!

Let's face it, desperate and needy are no two ways to become friends (even if they are just Twitter 'friends') with anyone.

Then there's the general-pain-in-the-arse:

Please retweet: My aunty's cousin cat is missing. He has one leg. It's his birthday. @Famousperson1 @Famousperson2 @anyoneandeveryoneIknow

Follow for a follow #TeamFollowback @allhail

Something you shouldn't do when trying to engage with people on Twitter - do not try and coerce them into following you or retweeting you! It just irritates the shit out of me people!

The only way you're going to get followers is by resonating with people - be it humourous, informative or just plain crass. Figure out your niche andthe followers will come, all in due time.

I've met some really interesting people through Twitter but most of the best Twitter interactions I have are with people I know outside of (or would easily have met outside of) Twitter.

My advice, for what it's worth: It's one of the ultimate networking tools and it's without a doubt one of the best, most hands-on platforms for anyone in their personal or professional capacity, but it cannot substitute plain old human interaction.